Forged in Frost and Fire (Book 1 in the Chronicles of Kings trilogy)

Chapter Twenty Eight

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

After the river incident, life moved quickly and slowly all at once. In fact, two months passed. Two months since I was taken from Camp Caligo. Two months since Tellie died. And I felt nothing.

It was simply a strange blur to me, sometimes I'd blink and an hour would pass by. I'd remember nothing of it. Other times I'd feel trapped in a second, watching everything move slowly around me. I didn't care though, time moved around me but I stayed wrapped in my own bubble of nothingness. I didn't speak unless spoken to, and even then it was short, one-worded answers. My voice was actually changing because of it, growing weaker and more quiet.

"You need to eat," Gray said, pushing a thing of bread towards me. I stared down at the basket, willing it to disappear. I couldn't stomach anything anymore. Any food made me want to puke and I was never hungry either. If I was, I wouldn't have been able to tell. That hollow ache was everywhere.

"I ate earlier," I said, pushing the bread towards him. We were sitting on the ground of his room, on the plush carpet. It had become a ritual for us, eating dinner together. Gray had a bottle of dessert wine on the ground between us and I reached a hand out towards it, running a finger down its side, beads of water formed on it as I cooled the bottle.

"Whatcha doing over there?" he asked, popping a slice of apple into his mouth. Gray and I had gotten closer over the past months, he no longer kept his weapons away, trusting me not to touch them. Rookie mistake. If that boy thought I still wasn't plotting my escape at every second of every day, he was gravely mistaken.

"It's desert wine. It tastes better cold," I said. As if to prove the theory, I brought the bottle to my lips and drank deeply. Chocolate. The burn of the alcohol slipping down my throat felt warm and comforting but disappeared quickly...as it always did.

"Easy, Eira," Gray said. He still acted like the charming, flirting boy I had first met in my cell, but I could see concern in his gold-black eyes now. He noticed the change in me. I hardly fucking cared.

"Do fae get drunk?" I asked, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. As soon as I said it I realized my mistake. Gray eyed me strangely. "We were too poor to afford alcohol in my village and I've never gotten drunk."

"Yes," he chuckled, he took the bottle from my hand. "We do get drunk. In fact, I was quite the drunkard when I was younger, before I stopped aging. I'd go out with Sable." He said it casually, tipping the bottle back and taking a long sip. A longer sip than I had taken. Sable had his own issues as well, I'd be blind not to notice them. He liked to hide them, but I couldn't ignore the way no one respected him in the palace. No one bowed like they did to Sable, everyone either sneered or openly ignored him. Not to mention he got drunk every night.

"Sable went out with you?" I scoffed. "Liar."

"No, I know right?" Gray sighed, leaning back against the wall and tipping his head back. A sly grin played on his lips. "He'd never get drunk, he saved that for his cadre. But he'd have a few drinks with me. Normally, the king would call him back and he'd have to leave, but he'd have fun for a few hours."

"His cadre?" I asked. I had heard of the cadre before, the monsters that worked under the king. They were led by Sable, they were all brutal and cold. Merciless. No one wanted to meet the cadre. If you did, you were likely already dead.

"Yes, they'd have some fun nights when they had time off." Gray smiled at the ground, taking another swig of wine. I reached over for the bottle, and took a sip. I wished the burn lasted for longer.

"We're not talking about the same Sable then," I said, running a hand through my hair. It had gotten longer, nearly reaching my ass. It was still white, and whenever I looked in the mirror I was still surprised by it. The surprise was quickly chased away by disappointment. I missed being human.