But even then, it had been a case of dishing up what you wanted from all the bowls and plates in the centre. Going back for seconds of the things you liked. Picking at the roasted turkey and beef, because it had only been the three of us and none of us cared.
My gut clenched with a wave of intense grief. I blinked hard and forced myself to look up, my gaze meeting Lonan’s for a split second before he looked away again quickly.
No one moved even after the serving Folk stepped back and quietly left the room, except for two who flanked the door and gazed ahead impassively. It was only once the Carlin had picked up her fork and taken a delicate bite of pork that Balor started eating, Bres and Cethlen following soon after.
Lonan was as slow as I was to pick up the cutlery. I hesitantly cut into the pork, eyeing that unidentified meat on my plate warily. Would the Carlin get angry if I didn’t eat everything?
It was completely silent as we started eating. Was this what every dinner was like here? God, how depressing. Lonan seemed stiff and uncomfortable beside me, but I didn’t know if that was because I was here or if that was just how he was every night when he ate with his family.
“How’s the pork?” the Carlin asked suddenly, making my fork clatter against my plate as I jumped.
I nodded. “Very nice.”
“And the beef?” Her one eye was piercing when I glanced up at her, filled with cruel amusement that made my gut clench with fear.
Had they done something to the food?
“Nice,” I said again, not wanting to touch any of it.
But Lonan was quietly eating beside me, and they’d dished everything up from the same serving bowls. They wouldn’t give themselves poison, would they? Unless it was poison that only affected mortals.
“Have you tried that yet?” Bres asked smoothly, nodding at the neat pile of unidentified meat sitting untouched on my plate.
I cleared my throat.
“Not—not yet. What is it?” I asked hesitantly, not expecting an answer.
“Roasted snake. A veryspecialdelicacy.” He snickered like he’d said something particularly funny.
I eyed the snake meat. I knew that snake was a normal thing to eat in plenty of countries, but I’d never tried it and I… wasn’t particularly keen to. Especially after Bres’s mean little laugh, like I was the butt of some secret joke.
I ate round it, slowly clearing my plate as much as I could, because I was fairly sure that leaving too much would be an insult. There was so much food in front of me, and while I normally had a big appetite, it had been diminished in recent weeks as the fear of eating fae food held me back. My belly was uncomfortably full by the time I’d eaten everything except the snake.
My gut sank when the Folk cleared our plates then brought out dessert—delicate glass bowls filled with dark chocolate mousse and topped with frozen blueberries. At least it was a small portion, I thought dejectedly as I waited for the Carlin to start eating, like her four sons were doing.
I picked up the tiny spoon and had a small mouthful. It was so rich and dark, it tasted like iron against the roof of my mouth. The blueberries were freezing against my teeth and hard to bite into. When I finally finished it, I reluctantly had a small sip of wine to wash it down, wishing there was water.
Once the bowls were cleared, the serving Folk brought out tiny porcelain cups of coffee and coins of dark mint chocolate. Even though I was full to the point of feeling sick, I drank the coffee greedily. I hadn’t had coffee inso long. It was as rich and dark as the chocolate mousse had been, and I didn’t even care when it scalded my tongue.
The conversation remained as stilted as it had been at the very beginning. Why had she asked me to come here for dinner? All she’d done was asked if I was enjoying myself, asked if I liked the food, and talked briefly to Balor about a disagreement between two of the royal merchants.
It felt like this was just another game. Another way to yank me off balance, make me feel uneasy and scared. Make me sit here wondering what she wanted with me—what she was going to do to me. Why she had brought me here to “shed my mortal skin”.
“More wine, Ash?” she asked with an indulgent smile once our coffee cups had been taken away.
I cleared my throat. “No, th—No, I shouldn’t. The food was lovely.”
“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it because you’re unlikely to taste anything better.” She laughed. “I’m afraid the fare in the village isn’tquitethis refined.”
“Well, I appreciate the opportunity to have such a nice dinner,” I said slowly, not knowing what else I was supposed to say. Not knowing why the fuck I was here.
Bres snickered. “So polite.”
“Tell me.” Balor slouched back in his seat, eyeing me over the rim of his glass. “Whathaveyou been doing to pass the time in that little cottage all the way on the edge of our land? Aren’t you bored?”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Cethlen’s head tilt as if he was listening intently. He hadn’t said a word throughout the entire dinner—neither had Lonan.
“I…” My eyes darted to Lonan before I could stop them. “Erm… gardening. Cooking. Reading.”