Page 20 of Savage Crown
I peered at the plate. “I can’t eat all that.”
“Just try.” He set it before me. “I’ll mop up what you don’t.”
Did Kaelric tell him to fatten me up?
We tucked into our food, Godric taking small, deliberate bites of his meat.
“I can tell you’ve never skipped a meal,” I teased as he settled beside me.
“Are you saying I’m fat?”
He looked mock-offended, and I laughed.
“No, you just eat too slow.” But a shadow crossed his face. “No one should go without food. That’s a very big deal in our culture.”
I nodded. “And yet it happens.”
Fenmyr was fertile, overflowing with abundance. It made me wonder who was suffering outside Aerlyn, far from this rich land.
“So when he entered the Arcane Trials for the first time…?” I redirected the conversation.
He nodded slowly. “He was looking for her.” He pointed toward Val at my hip. “But she wasn’t there, so he went with the next best thing. He was hoping to procure a weapon strong enough to take on Harrow.”
Guilt burned a hole straight through me. I knew this already, but hearing it from Godric made it sharper somehow. More real.
I felt the need to defend myself. “I would have given her to him, you know. I would have given him anything. But she said he couldn’t wield her.”
Godric bit into his corn and nodded. “I know my sister to be truthful and levelheaded. If she said that, it was no ruse.”
Val thrummed lightly at my hip.
“Well, a lot of good that did me,” I muttered, picking at the sweet roll.
We ate in quiet companionship, watching the camp. Wolfkin in human form sparred with wooden practice blades while others ran drills. Wolfkin in wolf form sprinted through the surrounding trees, weaving effortlessly.
Beyond them, farther out, a long black wall cut across the landscape. I pointed with my roll.
“Is that it?”
Godric sighed. “Lunaria, the greatest city in Fenmyr.” His voice carried longing, a softness I hadn’t heard before.
I stared at the wall. I wanted to see the city. But ten years under the rule of a king who could force loyalty would change everything. Whatever it once was, it wasn’t that anymore.
‘Meet me at the river.’Kaelric’s voice entered my mind suddenly, and I stiffened.
‘Why?’I shot back, defensive without meaning to be.
‘Please?’
I sighed. I could deny this man nothing, especially when he asked nicely.
Chapter Four
“Kaelric wants me to meet him by the river,” I told Godric.
Godric nodded, stood, and set his food aside. “I’ll take you.”
He led me into the thick trees, away from camp. We walked for maybe five minutes before I heard water. The rushing river came into view, wide and fast, cutting through stone and thick undergrowth.
