Page 61 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
As she crossed the great hall, she felt several eyes glance her way and watch her as she continued to the other side. It was hard not to draw similarities between their two people. There was nothing going on in here that wouldn’t happen back at the king’s castle. People were drinking happily, talking boisterously, and eating a lot of good smelling food.
As she neared the table, Jasmine rose to her feet and welcomed her with a broad smile. “Glad you came down from your chamber.”
Adorra rounded the table and hugged her sister in a tight hold before taking a seat next to her. “You didn’t get me?”
“I wanted to make sure you were allowed to rest.” Jasmine patted her hand. “I figured you could eat later, but a nap might be needed after the rushed journey through the mountains.”
“It was needed, but so is a good meal. Mathar was only able to provide dried meat and as good as that was, I can’t wait to have another hot meal.”
“Well, you’ll enjoy their food. Absolutely delicious.” Jasmine assured her.
Adorra tossed her sister a smile. “Only one way to find out.” She reached out and snatched a slice of bread. Raising it to her mouth, she gave it a few quick nibbles.
A servant passed by, and Jasmine motioned them to bring Adorra a plate.
“Wait until you have a hot meal to judge their cooking.” Jasmine rushed to tell her.
In no time, a servant placed a plate in front of her, and Adorra was able to fill it up with meat and vegetables, all steaming hot and ready to warm her from the inside out. She dug in. She needed a hot meal. It was just the thing to make her feel like a person again.
Jasmine turned to talk with Dryden, so Adorra took the opportunity to study the ice giant people. Her eyes wandered over the giants in the great hall until her eyes landed on one in particular.
Mathar.
Her heart sped up. She told it to stop its thundering, but it was like it had a mind of its own.
He was sitting with other ice giants, a mix of women and men. He looked comfortable and even chatty from where she sat, which hadn’t been her experience as they’d been traveling through the mountains. He’d come off as cold and distant for the most part… until their passionate night together near the fireplace.
As Adorra sat there staring, she got the feeling the women were trying to catch his undivided attention. She clutched one of her hands into a tight ball. He was attractive, yes, and she was feeling a bit… jealous. An emotion she really ought not to be feeling.
They’d shared a few moments on the journey, and she felt a bit embarrassed by it. He could be her husband’s killer, and he’d already moved on to other conquests. He must have pulled the wool over her eyes.
It didn’t help her jealousy that the giant women’s clothing barely hid anything. And the women were well endowed. She continued to glare hot circles into the women hoping they would freeze to death, but alas they were ice giants, and resistant to the iciness of her glance.
Then she felt an intense gaze focus in on her, and the small hairs on the back of her neck rose.
Glancing back over at Mathar, Adorra found his dark obsidian eyes focused in on her.
A slow smile crept across his lips as he stared at her silently. Then he reached over and grabbed an ice giant woman and plopped her on his lap. The woman immediately wrapped her arms around his neck.
Adorra was done. She may have fooled around with her husband’s killer, but now he was just being an ass. Bile rose up in the back of her throat. To think she’d slept with him! That decision would haunt her for the rest of her days.
Turning to Jasmine, Adorra grabbed her elbow, interrupting her conversation with the king.
“What is it?” Jasmine asked leaning over.
“I’m going back to get some more rest.”
“Is something wrong?” Jasmine asked picking up on Adorra’s sudden mood swing.
“No,” Adorra waved away her concern, “I just need to get some more rest. I find myself still fatigued from the journey.”
“Do you require help getting back to your room?”
“I’ll find it.” And if she got lost, she’d ask another kind ice giant. For some reason, the ice giants around her seemed to be proving all that she’d heard as a child was wrong. No one here had done anything to her. In some ways, she was hoping they would so she could prove to Jasmine that they weren’t as nice as her sister thought they were.
Mathar watched Adorra storm out of the great hall in a rush. The moment she disappeared, he shoved the woman off his lap who stumbled a bit before catching herself. She sent him a puzzled look, but it didn’t take her long to find another man’s lap to sit on.
He scowled at everyone around him.
