‘You were caring for a loved one, and Itookyou,’ he said flatly.
‘She died,’ I blurted. ‘The night you took me. I’d literally just got the call.’ I looked down, swallowing against the wave of grief. ‘It wasn’t … We knew. We knew it would come one day. Just notwhen,and I wasn’t expecting it quite so soon.’ I looked back up at the two sets of black eyes fixed to my face. ‘Willow asked if I needed help. I said no.’
‘Anna,’ Alcide said, aghast. ‘You should have saidyes.’
I pulled out a chair at the table and slumped into it. ‘I don’t want to leave Vesper.’Or you, I thought, but I didn’t say it out loud.
Alcide and Callan exchanged a look. Callan pulled out the other chair, then brushed a hand over Alcide’s shoulder when he sank into it. ‘I’ll leave you,’ he said gruffly.
‘Thank you, Callan,’ I called after him. He nodded as the door slid closed behind him.
Alcide and I sat for a moment in silence. I looked down at my cutlery, adjusting my fork. ‘Did you have to make these, too?’
‘Yes,’ Alcide said, giving a half-smile that made my heart beat hard. ‘We made everything. Callan and I aren’t engineers or mechanics. We can’t help with most of the fixes the orb needs. So we did a lot of cleaning, and then we made this.’ He looked around. ‘I’m thinking of keeping it, to be honest.’
I smiled. ‘You should. It’s lovely.’
This was where a human trying to seduce me would sayso are you, but Alcide missed the cue completely. I didn’t mind. ‘How are you feeling?’ he said instead.
I answered, glad that my period had finished and the only pain in my body was in my still-healing shoulder, and we fell into silence once more.
He sighed when it became awkward. ‘I’m no good at this,’ he said bluntly. ‘I’m too nervous.’
I eyed his six-foot-six-at leastframe. ‘Nervous? You’re a King, and twice my size.’
He snorted. ‘And do you know the last time I spoke to a female?’
I shook my head.
‘When I was seventeen turns old. She was my grandmother. Then she died, and I’ve not spoken to a female since. I have no idea what to say to you.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I said softly. ‘My mother died when I was young, too.’
Alcide lifted his glass and drained it dry. ‘What was her name?’
‘Arabella,’ I whispered. ‘I used to think she was a princess. She had hair down past her waist, and eyes so blue they almost glowed.’ I toyed with my fork. ‘It was why I liked my friend Maeve straight away. She has the same eyes.’
‘My grandmother was fierce. She shaved her head and she had black eyes, like all Roth do, but she was strong and graceful. She could fight with knives, and she taught me everything she thought I needed to know.’ Alcide smiled. ‘I am lucky to remember her. Callan has no memory of any of his family.’
‘How long have you known him?’
‘Since before I can remember. He was a military orphan; one of the generals gave him to my father to raise as my companion. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me.’ His lips twisted. ‘I’m not so sure it was the same for Cal.’
‘He seems very loyal,’ I said. He seemed more than that, but I could have misinterpreted, and either way, I wasn’t about to out Callan. Maeve had told me once how awful it was; a friend hadouted her to her mother when she was a teenager, and she’d said that it felt like being suddenly stripped naked.
‘The most loyal,’ Alcide answered simply. He picked up his fork, studied it for a moment, then stabbed a piece of charred meat with a controlled, savage grace. I watched him put it to his lips and take a small bite; I couldn’t tear my eyes from his mouth, his lips full and beautifully shaped, the corners tilting upwards as he chewed.
His eyes met mine, and I flushed and looked away, taking up my fork and attacking the carbonara. I shoved a forkful in my mouth.
It was … not awful.
Alcide raised an eyebrow at me. ‘How is it this time?’
I considered, letting the creamy taste flood my tongue. There were pieces of something that did an admirable job of pretending to be pancetta, and the garlicky, buttery taste was not unlike a pasta you might order at a club. ‘It’s … good.’
He blinked. ‘Really?’
I swallowed and laughed. ‘No. Not by my standards. But it’s edible, which is better than the last one.’
