Page 67 of When Eden Falls

It was Oz whom I noticed first when we entered the dining room. His askew smirk and mocking expression confirmed his thoughts about his attire, which consisted of an embroidered, robed jacket and harem pants. The jacket covered the majority of his new scar on his shoulder, but the tattoos and toned muscles on his chest and abdomen were hard to miss.

I sauntered past him, exchanging an amused look. “Forget your shirt, did you?”

He chuckled as I sat down next to him. “They didn’t give me one. I’m starting to think they want me to join their ranks.” He nodded to Rooke and Kobe on the opposite side of the table. “Those two are obviously far too scrawny to make the cut.”

“Maybe Havav simply likes admiring a large, toned torso.”

He snorted.

To my surprise, Havav wasn’t present. Thankfully, neither was Dybgo. I glanced at the guards lining the wall. Xandrak stood behind Rooke. He oozed precedence among the other guards, all of whom seemed less on edge and far more relaxed than usual.

I rested my eyes on Rooke across the table. He’d been watching me, trying to disguise a frown from creasing his brow. Did I really look that bad? I raised my eyebrows at him in question, and he slowly responded with a tight smile.

“So,” Zamya said, sitting in the chair beside Rooke, “is it just us tonight or are we expecting the fish king?”

Rooke closed his eyes in despair. Oz and Cora, on the other hand, snorted in unison which sent the rest of us into a raucous bout of laughter.

“Fish king,” Oz mused. “I like that.”

“I have names for all of them.” Zamya’s eyes shone with delight.

“Which one do you think is the original Aquaman?”

I tried not to smirk when Rooke groaned. “I’m glad you’re all feeling better.” He glanced at Oz. “But…ugh…can you please keep those types of comments to yourself. If you haven’t noticed, we aren’t alone. They can understand us.”

I glanced at Xandrak. He had shifted on his feet. He knew what had been said. It was inevitable he would relay it to Havav, just like Yuska always did.

“Oonla said the majority of them can’t speak our language,” Oz said, gesturing to the guards.

“Who’s Oonla?” Zamya asked.

Before Oz could reply, I discretely tapped his leg with my foot under the table. He glanced at me, frowning. I shook my head, deterring him from announcing his attraction to the young Akquarian nurse. I doubted any Akquarian male here would accept Oz’s opinion of one of their sacred females, and how he was considering kidnapping her when we left.

“Um…she was the nurse who healed my shoulder.”

“Oh, her. I’m still shocked they allowed a female to tend to you.”

Glancing along the line of guards, Oz said, “Why are there only men here?”

“They’re not men,” Zamya quipped, “they’re males.”

I leant towards Oz and whispered, “You have a lot to catch up on.”

“Ha. Yeah. That figures.”

The main door screeched open causing the line of guards to stiffen. Havav breezed in, an air of exasperation surrounding him. He smiled at us, but the sentiment didn’t reach his eyes. “Welcome. Welcome. My apologies for my tardiness.”

He reached the head of the table and glanced at our glasses. “I see you have yet to be served.” He clicked his fingers and barked harsh commands in Akquarian at the staff before settling in his chair.

My eyes lit up as my glass was filled with the delicious peach-coloured wine. I reached for it, downing half the glass in one gulp.Ouch!Nux, my throat felt like it was on fire and being stabbed simultaneously. The thirst from the bluepox was more tolerable than this.

Touching the fabric around my throat, I heard the door open again, and a flash of gold and blue caught my eye. Instinctively, my gaze flicked in its direction and my breath caught. Dybgo was here.

I tried to avert my stare, but it was a poor attempt. He marched down the room, behind Kobe, Zamya, and Rooke’s chairs, keeping his focus fully on his prestigious leader.

I forced my gaze to my place setting, aware Rooke’s attention was on me. I could feel his discomfort. It matched my own.

When Dybgo reached the top of the table, he spoke discretely to Havav, resulting in the leader spitting harsh Akquarian words back at him. The wordsredandwoodwere comprehensible. The same two words I’d recognised during their discussion a few weeks ago in Havav’s study. I glanced up at Rooke. He’d heard it too.