Page 74 of Silver Slayer

His molten gaze did not waver. “A privilege.”

My throat tightened unexpectedly.

People had made promises to me before. They had offered help, loyalty, friendship, then disappeared the moment those things required effort. I had learned early that the safest way to avoid disappointment was to expect nothing from anyone.

Vennox was different in ways I still did not understand. His protection did not feel like a bargain or a trap. He gave it freely, even knowing I would someday leave him behind.

The wind gusted harder, carrying the scent of the sea between us. My shaw lifted from one shoulder, and Vennox caught the edge before it could slip farther. His fingers brushed the fabric back into place with care, covering the faint glow hidden beneath it without comment.

Then he offered me his hand.

I looked at his open palm, broad and silver beneath the growing light of the twin suns. Taking it felt like more than agreeing to follow him across the island. I placed my hand in his anyway.

His fingers closed gently around mine, and that quiet pulse of happiness bloomed inside me once more. He turned toward the path leading down into the caverns, but for a moment, I remained where I was, holding his hand and looking at the male I had accidentally called mine.

The strangest part was that I did not want to take it back.

Still holding Vennox's hand, I followed him away from the broad summit and toward a narrow trail disappearing between weathered outcroppings of stone. The steady wind sweeping across the island faded with every step we descended, trading the sharp scent of salt for the cooler, mineral smell of ancient rock. Tufts of hardy grass clung stubbornly to cracks in thestone, their blades bending in the lingering breeze before giving way to the shelter of the mountain.

Natural steps emerged beneath our feet. Some were broad and shallow, others uneven enough that I had to watch where I placed my boots. Vennox never released my hand, slowing whenever the footing became uncertain. The farther we descended, the quieter the island became. The crashing surf remained a constant presence, but it reached us now as a distant, rhythmic murmur echoing through the caverns instead of the roar it had been atop the summit.

"The island appears barren from above," he continued, "but beneath it are many connected caverns. The exiles made their homes here until Huren was reclaimed."

The passage widened, opening into a cavern so large I instinctively slowed.

Sunlight poured through broad natural openings carved into the seaward wall, illuminating the interior in soft bands. Beyond them, the Caspeen Sea stretched endlessly toward the horizon, the waves flashing silver where the twin suns caught their crests. The cave itself remained almost entirely natural. Broad stone walls curved overhead, worn smooth by untold ages.

I slowed to take it all in.

Beside one of the broad openings overlooking the sea sat a small wooden table with two simple stools, positioned to catch both the morning light and the sweeping view of the Caspeen. The waves rolled endlessly beyond the stone opening, their steady rhythm echoing softly through the cavern while the breeze carried the scent of salt and distant rain inside.

The table had already been set.

Warm bread rested beneath a neatly folded cloth to keep in its heat. Several unfamiliar fruits had been sliced and arranged on a wooden platter, their flesh ranging from pale gold to deep violet and brilliant crimson. Beside them lay thin strips of roasted meat, still fragrant with herbs I couldn't identify. Two carved cups waited beside a small steaming pot that released a rich, earthy aroma unlike anything I'd smelled since arriving on Valose.

I looked from the carefully arranged meal to Vennox. "You planned all of this?"

A faint blue flushed beneath the silver scales along his neck. He dipped his head almost sheepishly before crossing to the table.

"Come," he said, pulling out one of the stools for me. "Sit."

"What is that?" I asked, nodding toward the steaming pot.

"Vernbury tea." He leaned his sword against the wall and sat on the stool opposite me. Then lifted the pot carefully, pouring the liquid into both cups. Steam curled upward between us, carrying a nutty fragrance. "It comes from the Trisess Forest."

“It smells like hot chocolate.”

“I do not know what that is,” he tilted his head.

"It's a drink," I explained. "Cocoa seeds are dried, ground into a fine powder, then mixed with hot milk until it becomes rich, smooth, and sweet."

"The white vernbury fruit grows only in the Trisess Forest." He lifted the small pot and poured the fragrant tea into our cups. "Much like your cocoa, the seeds are dried, ground, then steeped in hot water to make the tea." A faint blue flushed beneath thesilver scales along his neck. "Vallon showed me how to prepare it. I had never brewed it before."

"You brewed it yourself?"

"I hope I did not ruin it."

"I think the fact that you tried makes it impossible to ruin," I grinned.