Page 8 of A Sea So Cruel
Maren gave the women a soft smile and nod. “Good morning, sister.”
“Morning,” Asta grunted out as she piled fruit onto her plate.
The platter at the center of the table was much more extravagant than usual, filled with fruits Asta hadn’t seen in months.
She peeked at Svanhild through the corner of her eye. Her sister’s lady-in-waiting had always intrigued Asta. She had never seen the brunette smile, nor had she ever seen her eat more than a few bites of a meal. But somehow, Svanhild was quite muscular. Maren’s lady-in-waiting was hired by their father when Maren turned sixteen, which was six years ago. Asta had never seen a sign of aging on Svanhild since her arrival, but she guessed she was in her late twenties. She never bothered asking the woman anything about herself because, frankly, she wasfrightening. Asta could ask Maren, but their sisterhood had been fading over the last two years.
Asta noticed the empty seat at the head of the table. “Where’s father?”
“Not feeling well after last night’s activities. He says he will see us for dinner, as his day is filled with meetings starting this afternoon.” Maren gestured to a maid in the corner, summoning more orange juice to her glass.
Good. Asta didn’t feel like dealing with their father and Kaid at the same time. She knew her father loved her; he always had. But Asta had heard so many terrible things about how he had treated her mother during the last year of her life, and it was something she could never let go, even when they were sharing delightful moments together.
Since she died giving birth to her, Asta never had the pleasure of knowing her own mother, Queen Else. Maren couldn’t tell her anything either, since she had been about a year old when Asta was born. But Asta would stare at the paintings of her mother around the castle daily. Sometimes she would even talk to them, asking advice that a daughter would ask her mother, had she been alive.
Asta listened to the breakfast conversation as it manifested. Kaid and Maren asked each other questions that, in Asta’s opinion, children would ask when they first met. It made her stomach churn, causing the bacon to be far less enjoyable than she anticipated.
“What’s your favorite color?”
“What’s your favorite food?”
“What’s your favorite animal?”
Maren was only doing this because their father wanted her to. Asta knew that without even needing to ask. Kaid was not the man for Maren, and everyone knew it.
Linnea, being the extremely polite and docile creature she was, had engaged in pleasant discussion with Halsten. To Asta’s surprise, the man was not a terrible conversationalist. She enjoyed watching Linnea’s eyes light up as Halsten described the Poulson manor in Haalberg. Linnea seemed especially excited when he told her about the gardens, the ivies climbing the stone walls and the bubbling fountains. Asta made a mental note to go on a walk through the grounds with her sometime soon. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had done something Linnea wanted to do.
Selfish,Asta scolded herself.
Halsten Seung wasn’t horrid to look at, Asta admitted to herself. His warm beige skin complemented his dark, shoulder-length hair. He had it pulled back the first few times she had seen him, but today he let it flow freely, the locks being tugged in every direction as the sea breeze swept through the room. His dark tendrils framed his high cheek bones and accentuated his deep brown eyes. Yes, he could stay here.
Asta interrupted Kaid and Maren’s painfully awkward chat about their favorite flower. “Have you ever had a girlfriend before?”
Halsten’s fork clattered on his plate and Maren cast Asta a warning glare, but Asta just returned the gesture with a sweet smile.
Kaid cleared his throat and the cogs in his mind were clearly at work, pondering what the correct answer was. Asta tried to hide her amusement as she imagined smoke billowing from his ears due to his brain overexerting itself.
“I have before, yes,” he said.
She raised her eyebrows and stabbed her fork into her eggs. “I mean girlfriends that lasted more than one night.”
Kaid clamped his mouth shut and Halsten choked on his juice, a small orange drip slipping from his nose. Asta was proudthat she could make her enemy’s best friend laugh at her snide remarks.
Maren snapped at Asta. “Sister! I’m not sure what your foul attitude is driven by the last few days, but I suggest figuring it out. Perhaps you need to start taking more naps, since you are acting so childish.”
Asta blanched. Even though Maren was only a year her senior, her older sister had always been much more mature. Likely because neither of them had a mother, so someone had to take on that role, especially since their father had always kept them at arm's length. Asta kept her mouth shut after that, but noticed Kaid’s glances and hidden smirks each time Maren was distracted.
After another thirty minutes, Asta caught herself cracking the bones in her fingers and decided it was time to excuse herself. Everyone else began rising as well when they realized how long the breakfast had lasted.
Linnea escorted Asta down the halls, making their way back to the west wing. Asta could hear two sets of footsteps behind them and knew they were Kaid and Halsten. She ignored them the entire walk back, only making small comments to Linnea to make it seem as though she was busy.
Asta lingered outside her doorway, hoping to catch a glimpse of exactly which suite Kaid was staying in. Linnea was clearly tired of her cousin’s antics for the moment, so she stepped inside and began helping the maid tidy up the rooms a bit.
Halsten led the way, opening the suite door directly next to Asta’s and stepping inside. Kaid turned to Asta before heentered. “Waiting to see where I’m staying so you can kill me in my sleep?” he mused.
Asta grinned. “Now all I have left is to count the windows so I know which is your bedroom. Then you’re gone.”
Kaid shook his head and laughed—actuallylaughedat Asta’s joke about murdering him. “If you want to know where my bedroom is, Princess, you need only ask. I’ll gladly show you.” He winked, a corner of his mouth turning up.
