I’m so screwed.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
The canteen’s buzzing,louder than I’d like. Chatter bounces off the stone walls, plates clatter, and the smell of a stew that’s probably 80 percent eyeballs clings to the air like an overly affectionate ex.
I’ve tucked myself in the far corner, away from the noise, away from the questions I don’t want to answer. I’m hunched over my tray, idly picking at my food. It’s decent, thanks to Decca and Molsi—my favourite snarky kitchen duo—but my appetite’s halfway to hell, and I don’t have it in me to track it down.
I promised them I’d catch up properly soon. Just not today.
Today, I want time to sprint by so I can see Kael. Which… yeah. I’ve officially become that guy. The needy one. The one who stares at doors like a forlorn puppy and makes up imaginary scenarios where his stoic maybe-boyfriend sweeps in dramatically.
Tragic.
I sigh and scrape the last of my food into my mouth, chewing without tasting. I’m about to take my tray up when a voice pipes up behind me.
“Sonny?”
I turn to see Jack approaching, his Akubra still somehow pristine, like it’s immune to the grime of Terrafeara. He’s got Solan with him—still a walking tank of calm menace—and trailing beside them is the kid I saw a few days ago, with a mop of sandy-brown hair and a grin that’s way too wide for this cursed world.
My heart does a weird lurch.
“You must be Jamie,” I say, nodding to the kid.
“Yep!” he chirps. “You’re the guy who went off with the Glowranth guard to find the human doctor, right?”
“That’s me,” I say, a little startled. “News travels fast.”
“People talk,” Jamie says, shrugging like a mini adult. “Also, everyone’s been on edge about the prince being here. My uncle won’t shut up about it.”
Jack rolls his eyes. “You love it, don’t lie.”
Jamie just grins wider. “Only a bit.”
Next to him is someone I haven’t met yet, but I clock them instantly as the fourth member of their small group. Calythra.
The kid gestures to him. “This is Caly. He’s my other best friend.”
Caly nods at me, ethereal as all hell. His skin’s so pale, it makes paper jealous, and his eyes—big and bright blue—don’t seem to blink nearly enough. “Sonny, g’day, nice to meet ya,” he says, and—what the hell—it’s in a perfect Aussie accent.
I blink. “Wait. Did you just?—”
“Yep,” Jamie says, trying (and failing) to whisper. “He can mimic voices. Accents. Sometimes even languages if he hears enough.”
Caly smirks. “Crikey, mate. You all right?” he says, now full Steve Irwin.
I choke on my laugh. “You’re terrifying.”
“Flattering,” he replies.
Jack laughs, then jerks his head towards the exit. “Wanna take a walk? Got something I want to ask you about. Been thinking on it since you left.”
I eye him. “Sure.” I glance at Jamie and Caly. “You two good?”
“Going to get food,” Jamie says. “Caly says the tentacle pie’s decent today.”
“Good luck with that.” I dump my tray and follow Jack and Solan out of the canteen, the din behind us fading into the background.
