Page 24

Food has been set out on the table next to the window.Someone must’ve brought it while we were dressing.

“Shouldn’t we go check on Karl and the women first?”I ask.

“Kian is taking care of them.I can feel your hunger, mate.Filling your empty stomach is more important.”He takes my hands and kisses them before ushering me into a chair.“I beg your forgiveness for my negligence.I should’ve fed you before attending to other needs.”His smile is wolfish.“I tend to get sidetracked when you’re naked in my bed.”

The heat in my cheeks is more from self-loathing than embarrassment.That makes two of us.

Admittedly, I’m starving, and when I take in the food, gratitude warms my chest.Aruan made sure all my favorite dishes were served.

My stomach growls.Now that I’m no longer nauseated from the concussion, my hunger has returned with a vengeance.

He pulls closer a small box decorated with shiny shells that sits on the corner of the table.Curious, I watch as he flips back the lid to reveal a necklace with a silver chain and a glowing red oval stone pendant.He lifts the necklace from the box and moves behind me to fasten it around my neck.

I’m not a jewelry kind of girl, but the fact that Aruan is the bearer of the gift makes the gesture seem hot.Suddenly, I understand why some women find it romantic when guys give them bling.

Surprised and touched, I lay a hand over the pendant that lies just below the hollow of my throat.“You got me a gift?”

He comes around the table and takes the seat opposite me.“It’s more of a practicality, but now that I know you like gifts, I’ll rectify that neglect on my side too.”

I can feel myself blushing furiously as I realize my mistake.His crooked smile only makes my humiliation worse.

“The stone is very rare,” he says, mercifully not commenting further on my assumption that he got me a gift like a boyfriend who cares.“It turns black in the presence of poison.”

The reason for the “practicality” becomes clear.Someone in the palace tried to poison me.Although he doesn’t mention the incident outright, the threat hangs all too real and dark between us in the air.

“I didn’t oversee the cooking myself,” he explains.“I’m not taking any risks.”

I swallow away the sudden tightness of my throat.“Where did you find the stone?”

“I commissioned Kian with the task.”His lips quirk.“He has valuable contacts when it comes to stone trading.”

He serves a generous helping of each dish on a plate and places it in front of me.

I look down.The ruby-red stone continues pulsing gently with an inner light.

No poison here.Which is a relief, both for obvious reasons and because I would hate for this delectable-looking food to go to waste.

Despite the unpleasant memory of our mating ceremony, during which someone slipped a deadly substance into my drink, my curiosity gets the better of me.“How does it work?I mean, how does it really work when you break it down to science?”

He arches a brow.“To science?”

“To a logical explanation of its inner workings.”

“Ah.No one knows.Like the scrolls, it’s a mystery.”

A faint scratching noise on the other side of the wall that separates the bedroom from the hallway draws my attention.I prick up my ears.

“What’s the matter?”he asks, his relaxed features setting into concern in a heartbeat.

“I heard something.I think it’s a spiked pet.”

“They’re always on the prowl for food.If there are a few crumbs to be scavenged somewhere, you can count on finding them under the table.”

More than hearing the tuatara, I can feel it.At first, the connection is faint, but then it slowly grows in my chest, the presence of not only the tuatara but also of other living beings filling me until the feeling bleeds out to every cell of my body.

My heart lurches.Could my power be back?I’m afraid to find out.What if my ability to connect with animals is gone for good?

Aruan reaches over the table and takes my hand.“What is it, Elsie?”