“You must hurry to the mess hall,” she said when she was done. “Quickly, my lady.”
I hurried to the mess hall. When I approached, the low hum of conversation filled the hallway, but it stopped abruptly when I stepped through the double doors. Everyone turned to look at me.
I swallowed hard.
“A tray, my lady,” a servant said next to me, and I jumped slightly before taking it. She showed me where to go, and I walked to the human who was serving breakfast from a series of metal dishes.
“Anything you’d like, my lady,” he said.
I chose honeyed oats and a piece of fruit. Eating in the morning was a foreign concept.
I turned and surveyed the room. The heavy wooden tables were all filled with warriors who ate. They’d continued talking after I’d walked in, but I was painfully aware of them watching me.
A warrior sitting alone at a table waved at me and beckoned for me to join her. I walked to her and sat down.
“Farynx Slayer,” she said.
“Ellie.”
She grinned. “Zita.” Her blonde hair was cropped short, with a longer fringe swooped to the side. She was tall and powerful and exuded confidence. Her sharp features, shimmering skin, and pointed ears screamed Fae. “You’re a legend around here, killing that thing. The King loves that Farynx. You killed his favorite pet.”
“He shouldn’t have put me up against it if he loved it so much,” I countered.
Zita laughed. “Feisty, aren’t you? Relax, I’m kidding.”
Tension left my body, and I took a bite of the oats in my bowl. I groaned and dug in.
“It’s notthatgood,” Zita said, watching me devour my breakfast.
“You don’t know,” I said with a full mouth.
She laughed and shook her head, finishing her own oats.
“Word of advice,” she said. “You’re a warrior. You’re not like the rest of us, but if you don’t act the part, they’ll treat you like an outsider. You’re one of us, sobeone of us.”
She stood, and I watched her walk away with sure steps.
I glanced around. The others were still watching me from the corner of their eyes.
I straightened a little and finished my breakfast, too.
* * *
“You’re on time,”Nylah said, stepping out of a side door that led directly from the palace.
I stood in the arena, ready to get to work. The sun was a red orb on the horizon, bleeding color into the night-stricken world, and Nylah looked as fierce as any other warrior I’d seen in the mess hall this morning.
I nodded. “I don’t want to mess this up.”
She smiled and walked to me. She’d pulled her long chestnut hair into a tight braid so that her golden eyes looked like the midday sun. Instead of her long, flowing robes, she wore leather clothes, similar to mine. Hers were white, rather than black, and embroidered with silver thread.
“How did you sleep?” Nylah asked.
“Oh…” I wasn’t used to being asked how I was doing. “I slept well.”
Actually, I’d slept like a baby. The bed was softer than anything I’d ever slept on, and the silence in the warrior quarters had been divine.
“That’s good. You’ll need your strength for our training sessions and the battles you’ll eventually fight in. I suspect you’re tired, but time will fix that.”