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We made our way to the table near the wall, stuffing our faces with freshly cooked rolls while Imelda made herself busy.

It didn’t take long before delicious smells filled the kitchen and three sandwiches were placed on the table.

I’d barely chewed through my first bite before I looked wide-eyed at Imelda.

“Oh my gods!” The savory grilled sandwich filled my mouth with a whole new world of flavors that I didn’t even know was possible.

She chortled, “That good?”

I nodded my head eagerly and looked at Ysabel, who also smiled at my reaction. She covered her mouth with her hand and spoke over her own food, “Told you.”

We ate the rest of our food in silence, each one of us too enthralled with the flavors to waste another second without them. When I finished, I wiped my mouth and released a sigh. I was stuffed, and tiredness was starting to weigh on me from the intense morning.

Clearing my throat, I said, “That was beyond amazing, thank you.”

Imelda waved me off, “Anytime. . . So, tell me a little bit about you, Mira. Ysabel mentioned you’re a newcomer?”

I nodded, “Yes, one of the hunting parties saved me from a naracuga a couple of weeks ago.”

Surprise flashed through her features for a split second before returning to understanding—having answered her own questions. “Those nasty little creatures have been out like crazy lately. I heard about the one you and the king caught.”

My lips thinned at the reminder of how the kepsing stabbed Nickolai. “That one almost got the better of the both of us.” At my reference to me and Nickolai as an “us” the sandwich tried to make another appearance.

“I can imagine. When no one else is here, there have been a few times that I hear the squeals of that thing down in the dungeons,” she admitted, and a shiver went down my spine at the thought.

“I wonder if the philosophers will find anything,” I said.

“They have.” A deep, velvety voice broke out over the room, startling each one of us as we turned to the door to find Nickolai standing there. Imelda and Ysabel jumped up to curtsy and he gave them a nod before his cold and bitter eyes met mine, “War room, now.”

He didn't leave any room for refusal, forcing me to promptly follow him out of the room as I cast back an apologetic glance at Ysabel and Imelda. I had to jog to catch up and match the large strides of his long legs, with my legs protesting at the movement. We didn’t say anything or even look in each other’s direction as we climbed up the multiple flights of stairs.

Awkward didn't even begin to describe the situation.

On the last staircase, I saw the person of interest in the gossip I shared with Ysabel, walking down with a group of women.

I wish I could say Katryn looked hideous, but annoyingly she was dressed in a gorgeous soft pink dress that complemented her light hair and cool skin tone perfectly.

Even as her eyes narrowed when they landed on me, clearly not heeding her warning while I walked beside Nickolai, she looked elegant.

With my focus on her glare, I forgot to pay attention to my steps, causing my foot to catch on the edge of the stair.

My body lurched forward and, like before in the woods, Nickolai’s large forearm wrapped around my waist. But where I was greeted with a smile the first time, this time I was given an anger-filled stare.

One that made my stomach both drop and ignite at the same time.

It was as if catching me was yet another inconvenience to him.

His voice came out in a low growl, “Watch where you’re going.”

My eyes narrowed at him and I pushed his arm off me. “You don’t have to catch me if you’re just going to be an ass about it.” He opened his mouth to speak again, but I ignored him—trying to hide the hurt that his tone caused—and continued my way up the stairs to the war room.

He stayed behind me the rest of the way, no doubt trying to burn a hole in the back of my head.

While I did feel guilty for disregarding his excuse for the last five years, I was being honest with him—it wasn’t enough.

If my honesty meant that I would have to endure him being a complete ass to me, then so be it.

It was better than him being nice, because when he was nice it made me want to blur all of the lines.

I was the first to walk in and see the worried looks on the rest of the room.

A few other men and women now sat at the table with Zeke, Loughlan, and Nessy, who all jumped up to bow at Nickolai when he strode through the door behind me.

The act of bowing to him was ridiculous, and it took every bit of strength I had remaining to restrain myself from rolling my eyes each time.

Once everyone but Nickolai sat down—per his request—he cleared his throat, looking at each person but me.

“The philosophers have observed that the captured kepsing does appear to sleep at night and awaken during the day like us. But they, so far, have been unable to figure out what has started this.” He paused and no one bothered to ask questions yet, as they waited for the news, and I waited for him to look at me—my irritation growing by the second.

“One thing that they did find was sand under its claws. . . Sand that isn’t from any of our shores,” he finished, and behind his facade of stone I could tell there was a hint of concern in his eyes.

A brunette woman with her hair pulled back into a tight bun spoke first, “What does that mean?”

I read the look on Nickolai’s face and stated, “It means that this may be an act of war.” I was unaware of how my answer to the question that was meant for Nickolai, would be taken.

That was until his glare was upon me. The victory of getting him to look at me was overshadowed by the fact that he practically had shut the fuck up written all over his face.

My attitude immediately grew. “What?” I snapped.

The room was silent, watching for the exchange that was bound to happen between him and I. “We can’t jump to the conclusion that this is a different court.”

“What else could it be?” I asked, my voice raising.

“Many things!” he said, shouting back at me.

I stood in an effort to make us be slightly more eye to eye. “So what do you prefer we do? Twiddle our thumbs while we wait for the philosophers some more, or should we wait for each of the monsters to start sprouting wings?”

His eyes narrowed. “You seem to have no problem wasting your days away locked in your room, what’s a few more?” I felt the heat of my blood rush out of me.

“Nic!” Nessy scolded.

He ignored her, continuing to stare me down. “You are only a part of this meeting as a courtesy for bringing this information to light and for helping with the kepsing, that’s it. If you cannot learn your place then leave.”

I stood there in shock until Nessy reached for my arm and I backed away from it.

I’d never seen him like this, so cold, so hurtful.

A small voice inside tried to remind me of the fact that I’d done this exact same thing to him.

Except it wasn’t the same. Mine was out of heartbreak and grief, and he was doing this out of spite and a need to humiliate me.

I dropped my gaze to the table, my lips pursing before opening, “You can say whatever you want about me, but the truth of the matter is. . . the longer you wait, the more the people of this kingdom die.”

“Do I need to remind you whose kingdom this is?” His tone was nothing more than a whisper of rage.

“No,” I paused, my voice turning to ice. I met his piercing gaze once more, “but you might want to remind everyone else.” At that, I turned around to walk away, with Nessy calling after me.

The door didn’t even finish shutting before I heard Loughlan’s gruff voice speak to Nickolai, “That was uncalled for.”