Page 54 of Enchantment of Silver and Sea
I chose one of the chairs closest to the fire, then instantly regretted it when the heat rubbed up against the heat from my sunburn. I moved to an old lawn chair a few rows back.
I was going home tonight. Returning to Cyllene.
I couldn’t decide how I felt about that.
I stared into the flames, listening to the crackle and breathing in that musky scent that had already become a comfort.
The day passed quietly. The clouds remained gray and heavy overhead, but no rain fell. Eventually, Nya found me where I sat by the fire and let me know she was going to her room to rest. Her eyes were weary, and I knew it wasn’t just from the battle with the Leviathan. After I reassured her that I would be fine on my own for a while, she headed to the house.
For lunch, the cooks served plates of summer vegetables, fresh from the camp’s garden. Juicy red tomatoes joined yellow squash, purple eggplant, and bright green cucumber in a mixture that was surprisingly delicious. Even without a protein, the cooks had prepared the meal in a way I imagined even Brielle would appreciate.
“We have more to work with when hunting’s good,” Wren had explained as she handed me my plate and cutlery, a bandana tying back her auburn hair. The large folding table she reached over was tidy, the platters of vegetables neatly arranged, still keeping with that theme I was noticing, that what the Strangers did have, they tried their best to maintain. “But everyone’s been busy with other things lately. As you know.”
While walking back to my spot by the fire, my gaze snagged on another girl around my age, whose almond eyes were fixed on me. Even though my stomach clenched, I forced myself to look straight ahead and pushed a breath in and out my nose.
I was a visitor here. An anomaly. There were multiple reasons why the girl may have been staring at me, including something as simple as that I had something on my face. I refused to let Xiomara get in my head even more than she already had.
I was still eating, lost again in my thoughts while the fire danced before my eyes, when I heard the chair next to me creak. I turned, expecting to find Nya or Kieran.
It was Cecil.
He gestured to my plate with his own. “It’s not much, but we’re running low on meat right now.”
I wished they would stop explaining why they couldn’t serve me a more impressive meal. Like I was there to cast judgment.
“It’s really good,” I said, and meant it. There was a question that had been tugging at my brain, though, and I decided this was as good an opportunity as any to ask it. “If you don’t mind me asking…how do you, Nya, Kieran, and some of the others maintain being so muscular?”
Cecil swallowed more than just his food, his eyes downcast. “The cooks usually insist on giving us extra rations, even when we try to refuse. They say it benefits everyone because we need the calories to hunt and to protect the camp. But it still feels wrong, you know?”
The cooks’ logic made perfect sense, but I imagined I would feel the same way if I were him. Not wanting to take more than my equal share, no matter the reason.
We sat in silence for a while. Mostly companionable silence, although I was becoming curious why he had chosen to join me. Where were Rubi and Filimena?
His blond hair curled around his shoulders at the ends, blending with his fair beard. Once his plate was empty, he crossed his arms over his rumpled shirt and stretched his legs toward the fire.
“You know,” he said. “Rubi is the love of my life.”
I smiled politely. “I can see that. You two seem to love each other very much.”
“We do.”
Some time passed, and I assumed he was done speaking.
Then he said, still staring at the fire, “I want you to know, though. There was a time when I would have said the great love of my life was your sister.”
At first, the words didn’t process. I set my fork down. “My sister?”
“Yep,” he said, popping thep-sound. His eyes were trained on the fire, but they had a faraway look to them. As if he was seeing something else instead. “I was crazy in love with Irene.”
I should have been incredulous. I should have bombarded him with questions. I should have unloaded on him for not telling me sooner that he knew my sister. But instead, I sat there. Plate on my lap. Still.
Waiting.
“Part of Irene’s job was coming Outside to do supply runs. You know that.”
I did.
“We crossed paths one day when she got separated from her troop or squadron or whatever the hell theEnforcerscall their little groups. She practically chased me down. Wouldn’t leave me alone until I stopped to talk to her.” He chuckled. “She said she had always wanted to know what it was like Outside, how we all lived. And this was her chance! I needed to man up and have a conversation with her! Whatever I was doing could wait!”
