Page 61 of Villains and Vengeance
‘Lower levels. The orcs have a few street food carts down in their spaces.’
‘Oh,’ I say. ‘I’ve never been down further than the Cluster. There aren’t any shafts under this one, so there aren’t many places I can hide.’
‘So you had no idea there was take-out here?’
I shake my head.
‘I’ll get it for you whenever you want,’ he promises me.
I’m taken aback because, one, I can’t remember the last time anyone was this nice to me and, two, good food is the way to my heart, one-hundred and ten percent.
There may only be three days until the portal opens, but I’m in trouble.
But after weeks of the cold, preserved stuff and the occasional piece of bread or cheese, I snatch that shit right out of his hands and sink down to the floor to open my prize.
Inside, I find pieces of meat on skewers. They’re still hot and, beneath them, flat breads.
I grab a piece of meat off one of the sticks with my teeth and can’t help my moan as the flavor hits my tongue.
‘This might be the best thing I’ve ever had,’ I mumble between mouthfuls.
‘When was the last time you ate something decent, something not from a can?’ Axel asks.
‘Since before I got here,’ I say. ‘Over two months.’
‘What kind of meat is that?’ Axel mutters to Jayce, seeming vaguely disturbed. ‘It doesn’t smell like anythingnormal.’
When I look up, Jayce is still standing there watching me.
He shrugs at Axel. ‘Who cares? It’s delicious.’
I have to agree.
His eyes don’t leave me and I start feeling a little self-conscious.
‘What?’ I ask with my mouth full.
‘Nothing.’
Axel is side-eyeing me from where he’s sitting.
Oh! Am I eating their food too?
‘Sorry,’ I say, embarrassed. ‘Was this for you guys as well?’
‘No,’ Jayce assures me. ‘It’s all for you, lass.’
He sits next to me, so close that his knee is touching mine.
His hand starts rubbing in small, light circles in the center of my back.
I don’t think much of it, or at least I try not to. It’s monotonous and constant though so I soon forget what he’s doing as I put the meat into the flat breads and start eating it that way.
But by the time I’ve finished my meal, both of Jayce’s hands are on me, kneading my back and shoulders.
‘What are you doing?’ I ask, becoming a little alarmed.
‘Don’t you like it?’
