Page 79 of The Wishing Game

"I'm not sure. A day or so?"

He frowns.

"On foot?"

"Of course not. We'll need to take a plane to China, and then probably a car to reach Mount Tai."

He stares at me, unblinking.

"What is a plane?"

I take a deep breath. Right. These people are experts in Chinese mythology but have no idea what a plane is. But that's not the most pressing issue right now. To get on a plane, I'll need to go through passport control. It hasn't escaped me that I'm technically a fugitive—okay, maybe not that bad, but there's a warrant out on my name. The moment I check into a flight, the police will be notified.

My eyes snap shut as I ball my hands into fists in frustration. Of course nothing would be easy. How the hell am I supposed to bypass the police and get to China? Do I even need a visa to go to China? Dothey?

need a visa to go to China? Do they even have passports?

"We'll talk more about that at dinner. I'm starving."

"Dinner," he repeats, an odd look on his face.

"Food? I don't know about you guys, but I need food to survive," I explain, my tone less than civil.

"Food. Fine. We will get food," he decrees with the same air of superiority as before.

NINETEEN

Maybe getting food wasn't such a good idea after all. I'd been so hungry after the events of the day that I ordered almost the entire menu. Knowing that Cer still had a wad of cash, I reasoned that he could afford this.

But now, noticing Thea's longing expression as she stares at my juicy steak while she's only having a mushroom risotto breaks my heart.

Her brother had been adamant she could not have meat—in any shape or form—going as far as taking the menu from her and ordering on her behalf. She clearly doesn't look too happy about that.

For himself, Cer ordered a hearty portion of vegan mac and cheese, while Ze refused to get anything. In his words, he would not deign to eat lowly human food. Well, his loss.

I stare down at the plate in front of me, my mouth already watering. Starving from all the ghost acrobatics, I'd decided to go for two portions of medium-rare ribeye steak with some mashed potatoes on the side. I've been thinking about this juicy meat for the last twenty-four hours. And now that it's in front of me...

The meat is crusted with pepper, the inner part a pink-reddish color as more juice pours out as I slice a small bite. Bringing it to my mouth, I chew slowly, enjoying the rich flavor and the soft texture.

"This is divine," I moan, unable to help myself. "Thank you for buying us dinner, Cer!"

He gives me a nod, though I doubt he heard me. He's too focused on his own food, wolfing down his mac and cheese. Going by the way he eats with so much gusto, I'd say he's pretty happy with his choice.

Even Thea, after a little pouting that she wasn't allowed meat, decides to give her food a chance. Her face lights up at the first taste of the risotto, almost as if she couldn't believe a non-meat dish could be just as yummy.

"This isn't that bad either," she notes, taking another bite.

Ze, on the other hand, is merely sitting with his spine straight, his arms crossed across his chest, and his chin tipped up—as if he's too good to even sit at the same table as us.

I notice from the corner of my eye that he's staring intently at me, probably judging me for my choice of food. But hey, I lived under the poverty line for eighteen years of my life. Back then, I could only dream of having a taste of steak. So of course the moment I could afford it, that became my favorite food. Maybe it was my way of proving to myself that I'd surpassed my circumstances—that I was now able toaffordthat type of food.

"Why can't you guys eat meat?"

"It's not that we can't eat meat. It's that we can only eat meat from a few select animals from our home," Cer explains. "We're not exactly compatible with your meat."

"Is that why Thea got sick?"

"Thea is a different story." His lips curl up as he glances at his sister. "She's still in training, so she isn't allowedanytype of meat. Animal protein interferes with her energy flow and creates instability in her body."

---