Chapter 28 Introductions
Chapter twenty-eight
Introductions
Alaceandra
In the kitchen, Sam and Sorin jump up from the table and crowd around me.
“Did you sleep well?” Sorin asks me in low tones, casting suspicious eyes towards the prince.
I nod and he pushes me towards the table. Sylvie bustles in and sets down a plate of food filled with fruits, various meats and cheeses. My stomach growls just looking at it.
“Thank you.” I smile at her.
“Of course, honey.” She returns my smile before handing the prince a plate with similar contents and turning towards the doors leading to what I can only assume are the bedrooms of the house.
“Please let me know if I can help with anything else.” She yawns.
“I have left some lunch for you all in the ice chambers.” She points towards a metal box in the corner of the room.
“I am off to bed, be safe and hopefully I will see you all for dinner.” She places a gentle hand on Sam’s shoulder before departing.
“How long has she been awake?”
“The sun has only just risen, do not worry,” Sam supplies. “As much as we have tried to convince Sylvie she does not need to be awake for us nor serve us in the mornings, she refuses to go to bed until she has handed us our breakfast and given instruction for lunch.”
“Even though she puts the food in the same place every day,” the prince chimes in, chuckling.
“She has very strict rules on hosting.” Sam smiles. “I will see to it she is repaid for all the work she has put in caring for us. Her generosity to us far exceeds the saving of her daughter. I would hate to take advantage of such a kind woman.”
“You did almost die,” the prince adds.
“Yes well,” Sam clears his throat. “From what I understand she assisted in saving my life as well, making any debt she may have had to me paid.”
The prince nods and continues eating his food.
I dive into breakfast with vigor, my stomach still not completely recovered from only eating small amounts of food from my time with Sorin.
Speaking of— “Have you both eaten?” I ask Sam and Sorin between bites of food.
Sorin stands at my back, he has bags under his eyes and his posture is tense and guarded.
He does not look like he slept well last night.
“Yes. We have been awake for about two hours now; Sylvie was sure to hand us a plate the second we arrived in the kitchen.”
I nod. “Good,” I say, before stuffing another bite of creamy cheese in my mouth.
Chewing thoughtfully, I observe all three men together in the kitchen and note Sam is a lot more relaxed around the prince than Sorin, who is most definitely guarding my back at the moment.
Did the prince really mean what he said about pursuing Sorin and Sam?
I mean I already was kind of pursuing Sorin but Sam?
I look over at Sam. He catches my eyes and gives me a small smile.
I knit my brow and bite the inside of my lip before sliding my gaze to the prince, but he was already watching me.
I frown at him, and throw my gaze back to Sam.
He frowns back at me, shifting his gaze to the prince, before tilting his head at me.
I shove another piece of cheese into my mouth.
Yeah, this could definitely get interesting.
That is if Sam would even want me in the first place.
Why am I feeling so comfortable with this idea?
“What are we doing today?” I ask once I swallow.
“Well,” Sorin starts. “I was talking with Fadres last night and we thought it might be in our best interest to start training you while we have quarters here.”
Sam shifts his eyes to Sorin and then nods looking back at me.
“Right. Credour told me you encountered some trouble much like I did when you first arrived here. We do not know if your kidnappers are still in search of you and while Credour did say it looks like you put up quite the brave fight against them, we both agree we have not done much in preparing you against such attacks.”
I nod. “I would appreciate that. I feel as if I am gathering enemies quickly as of late.” I force a smile. “No matter what kingdom I am in it seems people think they can use me to their advantage.” I slide my eyes over to the prince. “It is best to be prepared in any way I can be.”
The prince snorts. I feel Sorin’s hands tighten on the seat behind me. “What?” Sorin all but snarls.
The prince rolls his eyes. “We probably need to work on making sure the little dove is safe from herself first. Who knows what chaos she can cause with her newfound powers.”
Sorin stills. “Powers…?” Sorin comes to my side and crouches to look me in the eyes. “Did you tell him about your fire?” he whispers, his tone filled with worry.
I bite my lips and look at my plate. “I uh—no, we—”
A loud crashing interrupts whatever I was about to say as Baldar comes bolting into the room, his squeaks shrill.
“Really? You close me behind doors again?? While you are in here EATING WITHOUT ME?? Must you betray me so soon?” Baldar looks up at me, his voice filled with melodrama.
“What the fuck?” Sam and Sorin both grab one of the knives and try to crowd in front of me.
“It is okay.” I try to say.
“No, it is not.” Sam says sternly. “That is a demoni! They only bring chaos and death, him being here is dangerous Alaceandra. Who knows who sent him, we need to--”
“More of them, really? Nice to make your acquaintance too, Sam.” Baldar huffs, cutting off Sam and causing him to bring his attention firmly back to the creature.
I squint at him. “How do you know his name.”
“You can talk to him?” Sorin says, his voice filled with incredulity.
“She summoned him, as far as we know anyway, not some grand enemy, don’t get your panties in a bunch,” the prince says, his voice bored.
“What?” Sorin turns slightly towards me. “How did you—” He pauses and flicks his eyes between the prince and me. He raises his brows, a glint of interest in his eyes. “I see... You two did more than sleeping then.” He does not seem upset, just curious and maybe slightly resigned.
The prince smirks. “I can see you have had experience with her coming into her powers as well then.”
A blush steals over my cheeks. “What is that supposed to mean? If you think we—well we did not, we just—”
“We can talk about this later,” Sam growls, still glaring at Baldar. He did not seem surprised by the revelation I summoned Baldar, rather just annoyed by his presence here.
“Of course he is not surprised, he’s—”
Sam clatters the knife he was holding back down on the table and Baldar huffs again.
“I will be keeping an eye on you,” Sam says seemingly to Baldar.
“Lace, please put on some of the leathers that were left for you in your quarters. We will start training today on some more dagger work in an hour. Do not be late.” He grabs a bit of cheese and scoops Baldar up before quickly leaving the room.
Sorin looks at his friend and sighs. “I-I need to go check on him,” he says before racing after Sam.
Baldar’s squeaks echo after them. “See you soon!”
Ptheryeth I am fucked, am I not?
My gaze flits over to the prince who I have once again been left alone with and I groan, looking towards the door, towards escape.
He smiles. “Looks like a nerve was struck.” His tone screams arrogance, and he lets out a small laugh. “Go on now, Dove, fly along.” He waves a hand in my direction. “I will not stop your retreat… this time.”
With a frustrated sigh, I rise and hurry from the room.