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No one appeared to be eyeing her limbs in a ravenous way, though.

The positives were overwhelming.

The Chief stood in the back of the room, at a head table.

“These are our guests of the Desert Spring. You’ll treat them with respect,” she announced, her commanding voice cutting through the whispers. “However, if you see them attempting to escape, alert a warrior immediately and they’ll be speared to thegates at daybreak. Now, please, sit and eat.”

With that wonderful, not at all terrifying introduction, the Chief settled into her seat, and one by one, figures emerged from a back room, carrying bowls of food.

Ferren gestured their group toward the nearest wooden table. But when they sat, a family of three quickly scooted as far away as possible.

She shifted in her seat, palms itching, muscles pulled tight into knots, when the little girl with black pigtails next to her appeared on the verge of tears.

“Hi,” Khalani smiled at the girl. “What’s your name?”

The little girl’s face turned red, and her chin trembled. She scrambled into her father’s lap, and the family abruptly stood. They moved to another table, shooting her looks of disdain.

What just happened?

Ferren set a steaming bowl of broth in front of her. The scent wasn’t unpleasant, but she grimaced at the appearance.

“Where does the food come from?” Serene asked, eyeing her bowl warily.

“We raid the nearby ruins,” Ferren replied, setting bowls in front of Takeshi and Brock. “The old cities have plenty of stockpiled food that could feed thousands. Eat up.”

The brown color and strange lumps of meat in the broth made her uneasy. But after months of dreadful prison ‘food’ and tiny ration bars on the surface, she was desperate for an actual meal.

Ignoring the rusty spoon, she lifted the bowl to her mouth, only for a large hand to set it down.

She looked up at the culprit sitting across from her. An endless black pit resided in Takeshi’s eyes, and she met him with an equally stormy scowl.

“What do you think you’re—”

“Tell me what’s in this,” Takeshi asked Ferren, ignoring her.

“It’s canned beef stew raided from the city,” Ferren replied.“As I mentioned earlier.”

“Eat it then,” Takeshi demanded.

“If we wanted to kill you,” Jared said, stepping closer with his arms crossed, “there are much easier ways to do so.”

Takeshi’s granite expression stayed stagnant as he stared at them.

They didn’t realize that arguing with Takeshi was akin to yelling at the ground to stop being hard.

After a tense silence, Ferren dipped a spoon into Khalani’s broth and brought it to his mouth for a taste.

“Satisfied?” he asked after swallowing, his throat bobbing.

Takeshi scrutinized him for a long moment before nodding.

“You sure are paranoid,” Serene griped before diving into her food.

Khalani wasted no time eating either. She barely took a breath, gulping everything down. Even if the food was poisoned, she still might’ve gone for another bite.

“We stay alive by questioning everything,” Brock answered, agreeing with Takeshi for once.

When they finished eating, the Chief approached, her maroon cloak floating gracefully behind her. She walked with such grace and poise that Khalani straightened in her seat.