Page 41 of The Stone Secret
I blinked against the gathering heat behind my eyes. “It’s more than okay. Thank you.”
She cleared her throat. “Okay, well. I’ll leave you to unpack. Supper will be ready in thirty minutes.” She closed the door, shutting me into what had once been Romi’s space.
There was nothing left of him in here now, but the fact that he’d been here, occupied this room, meant that he’d left an imprint. I pressed my palm to the wall and closed my eyes. “I will find you, Romi. I’ll find you, and I’ll bring you back.”
* * *
The observatory was a tower,housing seven floors. I was on the sixth with Selas, two floors above Serath, with Orix and Prasan a floor below us.
Each floor had a lounge, but there was a huge communal space on floor three and a kitchen on floor two. A state-of-the-art gymnasium filled the first floor, which explained why I’d never seen the elites in the training room.
My stomach trembled with nerves as I took the lift to the second floor. So far, the other elites had stayed out of sight, but now I’d be thrown into their midst, forced to get to know them and be a part of this group. Would I fit in here? I couldn’t imagine feeling at home, not like I did in the dorms with my friends.
The doors to the elevator opened, and a delicious meaty smell hit me, nudging my stomach to rumble in appreciation.
This room was a huge open-plan space with support beams cleverly hung with interesting prints. A long table sat in the center of the space, lit by low-hanging overhead lights, and a modern functional kitchen made up the back of the room, complete with breakfast bar and stools.
The elite moved between table and kitchen with practiced synchronization, carrying plates and cutlery, huge bowls of stew, and plates of fragrant bread, but they all stopped to look at me as I stepped into the room.
My attention zeroed in on Serath like a homing beacon, and the nervous flutter in my belly turned into a different kind of flutter. The kind that spawned beneath heated touches. My breath hitched as our gazes snapped and locked.
He swallowed hard, and my stomach flipped in response.
“Welcome!” Prasan, the scholarly elite, approached me with a warm smile. “You can sit here with me.” He pulled out a chair at the opposite end of the table from Serath, and I noted how Serath’s eyes narrowed slightly. He didn’t protest, though; instead, he broke eye contact to place the tray of bread on the table before taking extra time to adjust it.
“Here you go.” Selas popped a plate in front of me. “Help yourself to food.”
It wasn’t the easiest thing to focus on the food with Serath in the room, but I did my best. There was stew, bread, salad, and some round dumpling-type things. “Everything looks and smells delicious.”
“Consider it a welcome meal,” Orix said. “We don’t always cook like this.”
“There’s a rota on the fridge,” Prasan said. “You’ll be cooking with me tomorrow.”
“We cook in pairs,” Selas explained. “For the team.”
“Makes sense.”
“Can you cook?” Prasan asked.
“I get by.”
“Prasan’s a great cook,” Orix said, “but a nightmare to cook with. So fucking precise.”
Prasan sniffed and lifted his chin. “The final product is worth the care and effort.”
“Everyone, take your seats,” Serath said. “Let’s eat.”
“Without me?” Willowman entered via a door on the far side of the room. Probably the stairwell.
His dark hair was windswept, kohl-rimmed eyes brightening as they took in the spread. He rubbed his hands together. “Smells delicious. I’m starving.”
“Take a seat,” Serath said.
Willowman shrugged his jacket off and flung it onto the breakfast bar before parking himself on the opposite side of the table to me. Everyone left one seat between them, which was kinda needed because goyles weren’t exactly tiny. I was cocooned between Prasan and Orix while Selas sat directly opposite me, between Serath and Willowman.
We loaded our plates, and the scarfing of food commenced. The stew was thick with a tomato base and just enough spice to give it a kick. The bread was soft on the inside and crusty on the outside, the perfect accompaniment to the stew. The salad was crisp and fresh, and the dumpling things were delicious when dipped in the stew.
Plates scraped clean, we all loaded up a second time.
