Page 144 of The Forsaken Heir
At the mention of food, my stomach cramped painfully. When was the last time I’d eaten? There’d been that impromptu meal in Aurelius’s healing room the night before. I thought Imighthave had an apple earlier in the day too, but I couldn’t be sure.
Turning to Delphine, I raised my eyebrows in question. “Are you game?”
“I would be delighted,” she said.
I’d anticipated a quick and dirty meal when we got to Aurelius’s quarters. Hell, I’d have drooled over a frozen pizza at that point.Instead, a huge spread had been laid out on a table near the big bay window—a roasted rack of lamb, potato and leek tart, lemon and parmesan grilled broccoli, and chocolate cake. Saliva flooded my mouth at the sightandsmell of the food.
“Oh good,” Aurelius said as he stepped out of the bathroom. He’d changed out of the formal attire into more leisurely clothing. “The staff just brought it in a few minutes ago. Have a seat.”
“Let us know if you need anything else, Your Highness,” Titus said, closing the door behind him.
“Don’t wait for me,” Aurelius said as Delphine, and I sat. “Dig in. I’m sure you’re as hungry as I am.”
“This is much more than I’d anticipated,” Delphine said.
“I was in the mood for something that would really stick to my ribs,” Aurelius explained as he poured us each a glass of wine.
“Has there been any response from Elle’s family? They obviouslyknow you escaped. That fae girl’s vision even showed that Bastien is apoplectic. Nothing?”
Aurelius cut a thin strip of lamb and took a bite. “Not a word. It’s strange. I spoke with my father a few hours ago. We’d all anticipated something—another blustering message calling for war, calling us a disgrace, all the things they did before. Today? Silence.”
“That doesn’t sound like Bastien,” I said, after swallowing a huge bite of food. “He’s too much of a spoiled brat to take this lying down. It’s like he’s still a kid. Freddy stole his toy, and he’ll be driven to retaliate. When we were young, it meant him smackingFreddy in the back of the head or kicking him. Now? God only knows what he’ll want to do.”
“I agree,” Delphine said, shaking her head sadly. “I saw even more than you did of your brother when he was younger. There were things he did that you children never saw. He’s a sociopath. Several of us tried to tell your parents that, but they never listened.” She gave a little dejected sigh. “If I had to guess, it was my words that made them exile me along with you, Elle. They were tired of me saying their precious oldest boy was a maniac, and their oldest daughter needed a caretaker after they turned her out in the cold.”
I put my hand on hers.
“It’s not your fault. You tried to warn them,” I said.
She patted my hand and went back to eating. “All I mean is that Bastien is most definitely planning something. He hates being made a fool of.”
“That’s for sure,” I agreed.
“He’ll never quit,” Delphine said. “He’s like a dog with a bone. Or a wolf with a bone, I suppose.”
“I think I might have an idea about how to end this,” I said. I’d been pondering the idea for a few hours now.
Delphine and Aurelius both froze, bites of food halfway to their mouths.
“You do?” Aurelius asked.
This was not where I wanted to get into specifics. Hell, my plan was barely even formed. Plus, I knew Aurelius wouldn’t agree. Instead of admitting the truth, I shrugged noncommittally.
“It’s nothing,” I said. “I’m still working it around in my head. It probably won’t come to anything. I need some time to think about it.”
“Time may be one of the things we don’t have much of,” Delphine said.
Aurelius didn’t question me again, but throughout the rest of dinner, he’d give me questioning looks. I hated hiding things from him, but I did not want to get into it until I was positive it would work.
32
AURELIUS
“Nice day, right?” Rasp asked.
We were in my office, looking out at the grounds. The sun glinted off the mountains in the distance. After being locked away in that cell, I’d never take the orange glow for granted again. Even so, I couldn’t shake the ominous feeling in my gut.
“It is. Or itwouldbe if it didn’t seem like the whole world was ending.”
