Page 52 of Return of the Vengeful Quee

“I’m fine.”

“You need food.” Tal’s tone didn’t ask for an argument, but she’d never required an invitation.

“I need to check on the crew and then solidify our strategy for the rest of the poison.”

“You can talk while eating.” Tal gestured at the tray. “And the poison has already been handled.”

“Handled by whom?” She patted the satchel she always kept tied to her waist. Did it feel a little lighter than it had yesterday?

“Ayve was in the kitchen, so it just made sense to put a pinch of poison in a few soup bowls.” Tal gestured toward the chair again.

“Did the Rakuuna know Ayve was in the kitchen? Because if something goes wrong, and they can tie it back to us . . .” She stopped at the stricken expression on Tal’s face.

“Risks are part of war,” Holland said firmly.

The room spun, and she reached out to hold on to something for balance. It was unfortunate that the closest object to her was Holland’s arm. He swore, and the next thing she knew, she was in the chair, and Holland was spearing a bite of fish onto a fork.

“Eat it by choice or force me to have the impostor feed you.” Holland shoved the fork into her hand.

She lifted her chin, but then Tal said softly. “Grim, Lohan, and I started fishing at dawn so we could have something other than fish stew to serve our people. Ayve and Dec risked a lot to convince the Rakuuna who runs the mess hall to let them cook for us this morning. Even Reuben dragged himself out of bed to stand guard outside your door so you could enjoy this breakfast without interruption. When was the last time you ate a meal?”

Charis tried to lie. To tell them this was ridiculous, and she was fine. To order them to leave her alone.

The words wouldn’t come. Instead she drew in a breath and said quietly, “It’s been a little difficult to feel hungry.” It had been impossible to swallow more than a bite or two when everything tasted like dust and the idea of chewing seemed like an insurmountable task.

“I’m never too upset to eat,” Holland said. “Unless it’s Lady Shawling’s cookies. Those are an insult to the mouth.”

“They were pretty awful.”

“And yet you ate them, just to be polite.” Holland waved at the fish. “Tell yourself it’s impolite to refuse something your people worked so hard to give to you and get it done.”

“Besides, if the poison works, we may have a volatile situation on our hands. You’ll want to be clearheaded.” Tal locked eyes with her, and she glared.

It didn’t seem fair that he still understood exactly what to say to motivate her.

The first bite tasted like nothing, but she chewed anyway. There was a knock at the door and Ayve entered, followed by Dec, Grim, and Lohan. Reuben, looking positively ghastly, stood guard outside.

Ayve’s long red hair was roughly subdued into a loose braid, and her cheeks looked a bit too pale, but her eyes glowed with enthusiasm. She held a small piece of baked dough in her sturdy fingers. It smelled like the cookies Charis loved to eat at winter solstice parties.

“Your Majesty, we found some flour and spices the Rakuuna took from a merchant ship. It isn’t much, but if we stretch it out, we can have little pastries every day between now and when we reach Calera.”

Charis took the pastry with the same care and ceremony with which she’d once received gifts from ambassadors and kings. “This looks delicious, Ayve. Thank you.”

As the others began whispering to each other about the poison and how likely it was to work when mixed with stew, Tal leaned down and said softly, “I told you I’d prove that you weren’t alone.”

She swallowed hard, took a sip of water, and made herself meet his gaze, though it felt like she was prey exposing her belly to a predator.

“About that whole scene in the mess hall . . .”

“Yes?”

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to forget about it?”

His eyes softened, and his lips quirked in a small smile as behind them Holland ordered Grim to have more sense and Grim, in turn, offered to throw him to the sea monsters. “I’m not going to forget about it because it was important to you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Then promise me you won’t use it against me.”

His smile disappeared. “I would never do that.”

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