Chapter 7 #4
I studied the liquid inside and brought it close to my nose for a quick sniff.
It smelled nutty and a little like chocolate.
Hoping my body wouldn’t automatically reject it, I took a small sip.
Flavor burst on my tongue. It had a hint of bitterness like coffee, but that was rounded out by a rich, dark taste, like the best dark chocolate I’d ever had without the sharp edge.
Then, there was a nutty finish, as though I’d bitten into a pistachio right after the dark chocolate melted in my mouth.
There was sweetness, but it wasn’t too sweet.
A soft moan escaped me as I savored the flavors on my tongue. I wanted to gulp it down, but I wanted to be sure it was safe for me first. After Bokkan’s description of szite last night, I was a little worried about how my body would react.
“Do you like it?” he asked, his deep voice soft and rough at the same time.
I opened my eyes, wondering when in the heck I’d closed them, and met his gaze. His black eyes were locked on my mouth.
“It’s delicious,” I said. “Do humans often drink it here?”
“Yes.”
“It doesn’t cause them any issues?”
Again, that confused expression appeared on his face. If he wasn’t so huge and terrifying, it would be cute. “Cause issues?”
“Physical problems? Mental problems?”
Maus answered instead of Bokkan, “No. I’ve seen many humans drink szite as often as daemons do with no ill effects.”
At her words, I shot her a grateful look and lifted the cup again and took a much larger sip. Actually, it was more like a gulp.
“Oh, that’s good,” I murmured to myself.
“You truly like it?” he asked.
“I think it’s better than any coffee I’ve ever had.”
His shoulders straightened as he stood tall, as though he was proud he’d given me something I liked. Once again, it was cute. Or would be if he weren’t the size of Sasquatch.
“Will both of you sit down so you can eat the food I’m making while it’s hot?” Masu snapped, breaking the silence that had fallen over the kitchen as Bokkan and I stared at each other. “I don’t work myself half to death at this stove so you can eat cold eggs and sausage.”
Bokkan turned back to the table, pulling out the chair I’d sat in yesterday and planting his ass on the seat. Unlike me, his feet actually touched the floor when he sat down.
Carrying my cup to the table, I set it down in front of the chair on the other side, but diagonal from him, leaving the seat directly across from him free for Masu.
Feeling like a toddler, I used both hands to drag the tall chair out and hauled myself into the seat.
My feet swung freely until I hooked them in the crossbar between the front legs.
Masu brought two plates over, giving me a strange look. “Why are you sitting there?” she asked.
I gestured to the chair next to me. “I left this seat free for you.”
A warm smile crossed her face. “That is very kind of you, but I ate my breakfast at dawn before the master came downstairs. I won’t be dining with you.”
“Oh.”
She placed one plate in front of Bokkan and the other in front of the empty seat. “So, you can sit here, Little Leda. I’m sure you have many questions for the master about our kind and our world.”
As soon as she said it, all the questions I’d been stockpiling in my mind last night and this morning vanished without a trace. All that was left was awkward silence.
“Come, come. Move over and break your fast before the food is cold.”
She didn’t even wait for me to move, just grabbed my cup and set it down on the other side of the plate before pulling out the empty chair.
Biting back a sigh, I hopped down off my current seat and climbed onto the other. A squeak escaped me when Masu shoved it closer to the table, using only one arm. Holy shit, she was strong.
“Uh, thanks, Masu,” I murmured.
She patted my shoulder. “What did I tell you about thanking me?”
I managed to summon a bit of sass for her. “And what did I tell you about humans and our culture?”
Her red eyes narrowed on me, but I could see the smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. She didn’t say anything else, just went back to the stove and started carrying bowls and pans to the stone sink to clean them.
I glanced down at the plate in front of me, relieved to see that the food looked very similar to common breakfast foods on Earth.
I wondered if I was technically still on Earth.
Or if I was on another planet all together.
Was Penumbra a parallel universe? A different plane of existence? Or something else?
I didn’t ask because I honestly worried that Bokkan’s answer would destroy my grip on my emotions.
If I wasn’t prepared for what he would say, I might lose control completely.
I wasn’t sure what that would look like, but I knew I didn’t want to find out.
Not until I’d wrapped my head around the fact that I was no longer where I belonged.
Instead of asking questions, as Masu suggested, I picked up the strange fork sitting on my plate. It had two thick tines with only a narrow space in the center and was shaped almost like a shovel with a point on one end. I would be able to pierce my food with it or scoop it up.
Not letting myself think too hard about anything, I speared a sausage link and brought it to my mouth.
Breakfast first. Meltdown later.
As I chewed, my throat began to close, and my eyes burned.
Shit. Maybe the meltdown was coming now, whether I liked it or not.