Page 34 of The Poison of the Earth
“No. Never. Not Lilac. She mistrusts everyone. She’s... she’s more like an overbearing older sister, I imagine.”
I nod. “Well, she’ll just have to warm up to me.” I smile. “I’m not so bad, usually.”
He tosses me an adorable look. He holds out his arm and I slip my hand into it. We go slowly, and by the time we reach the main hall, I’ve relaxed into his hold.
We head into the kitchen. It’s one of the few hours of the day that it’s empty. Lonan gently presses me onto a stool and I can’t help my grin as he putters about.
“How did you get acquainted with the kitchen?” I smile. He pulls out some leftover bread and adds it to a plate with cheese.
He chuckles, “Well, I wasn’t always the leader of a huge rebel group.”
I blink. “The rumors say you are one of the Gaeba sons. That you alone survived.” I see his shoulders hitch up.
“We spread counter-disinformation,” he shrugs, attempting for casual but I can see right through it. He grabs a basket of eggs from the back cupboard and turns on the stove.
“So you’re not of the Gaeba line?”
He flashes a handsome grin, “I didn’t say that.”
I hop off the stool and slowly walk around the table to him. He watches me as he stands still.
I lean against his broad, muscular back, my skirts pressing between us, and I wrap an arm around to his chest. I curl my fingers loosely, feeling his flesh through his linen shirt. He groans at my touch, head tilting back.
“I don’t like games where I don’t know the rules, Lonan. I can’t win if I don’t understand the game. So...” I let my hand slide lower, to his stomach, “If you truly want me to align with you, you’re going to have to hand over some control.”
His breath is fast, but he stays still.Good.
“Alright, sweetheart.”
“Pet names are for private. I must have respect in public.”
He turns off the stove and twists in my arms, his arms coming around me. I struggle not to tense.
“I will always do you honor, my Queen.” He blinks slowly, looking down at me as his arm tightens over my back. “No, I am not a son of Gaeba. My father was King Gaeba’s trusted advisor and General. He died in the second wave of the Attack of Cowards. Along with Kai’s father and our mother.”
“I’m sorry, Lonan. I know how much loss can change a person.” I lean my cheek against his chest and he holds me for a moment. When he releases me, he grabs the pan of eggs and shoos me out of the way. I sit back down and watch him. He plops the eggs on the stale bread, after which he thinly slices the cheese over the top. Grabbing two forks, he brings the plate around and sits next to me, his knee bumping mine.
After a few bites, I ask, “You said ‘our’ mother. Is Kai your half brother?”
He chuckles, “No. Kai’s mother died in childbed. Our fathers were friends. Uncle Luc brought Kai to our home, begging for help. My parents wouldn’t have turned away a stranger, let alone a friend. We all lived as one big family.” A smile ghosts his face.
“Wow,” I breathe, “Three parents to love and guide you. Sounds incredible.”
As soon as the words leave my lips, I want to claw them back. Those few sentences revealed entirely too much. I quickly put a bite of the—wonderful—breakfast into my mouth.
I watch from the side of my eye as Lonan very purposefully eats a few more bites. I can feel it coming though.
His voice is just above a whisper. “And what of you, Ollie? How are you a child of the Stonesthrow family when your brother has...” He pauses, searching for a delicate way to say ‘murdered all your siblings.’
I swallow, and pour water from the pitcher into our glasses. I force a smile that I hope looks confident. “I will share my tale with you, mate,” I am hoping that calling him that wins me some points, “But can it wait? It is a long story and I wish for wine to be involved.”
He nods slowly and I get the feeling that he is not thrown off by my good humor.
At that moment, the kitchen door swings open. Cook, wiping sleep from her eyes, long gray hair loose down her back, comes to start the work of feeding the keep for the day. Her big brown eyes quickly take in the scene and immediately fill with tears. Cook throws herself at me, “Oh, child, I’m glad to see ye.” The hug she wraps me in makes my already on-edge nerves feel raw.
She rounds on Lonan, “Don’t you ever scare your old Cook like that again!”
Lonan hugs her, “I’m glad to see you like her, Cook. She’ll be around awhile.” And he throws me a loaded look that makes me squirm.
