Shadow Wings (The Darkest Drae Book 2)(86)

The king’s eyes rounded. “They’re dead?”

The word kill had left a sour taste in my mouth, so I just nodded again.

“Good,” the king blurted, pounding his bony fist on top of the stone table. “They were cruel and selfish. This Princess Kamini . . . She will do better?”

Dyter sighed. “The Phaetyn are in a weakened position. Their barrier against the emperor depended on ancestral powers, and the barrier was broken at Queen Alani’s death. Kamini will not be able to put it up again.”

“They are vulnerable?” the king asked, aghast.

Kudos to the guy, he didn’t even seem like he wanted to go corral the Phaetyn to keep his people alive.

“They are for now, but —” Dyter started.

“But the Phaetyn will find a way as they have in the past.” I cut Dyter off with a warning look. This king wasn’t what I’d expected, but I wasn’t willing to impart any more information to him, especially not about Kamini’s sister, at least not until I knew him better. The Phaetyn girl would be the Phaetyn’s last hope.

The king glanced between Dyter and me as his stomach rumbled again.

“Why aren’t you eating?” I asked with a huff, throwing manners to the wind. “If you don’t hurry, Dyter and I will finish the lot.”

The king smiled. “I’ll eat whatever is left.”

I watched him, listening to his stomach gurgle yet again. “But you’re hungry. I can hear it.”

“Yes,” he admitted, spreading his fingers on the table edge.

“Then eat,” I exploded.

Dyter frowned at me. “Ryn.”

“No, no,” Zakai said. “I’m not offended. My behavior is peculiar, I know.”

“You’re not eating until we’re done eating,” I said slowly, digesting his words. “Tell me why.”

“Ryn, manners,” Dyter said in a low voice.

“She is both Phaetyn and Drae, Ambassador Dyter,” the king said. “Only a fool would not answer her questions.” He leaned forward and met my gaze. “You seem to be good people, and you’ve given my people a hope they have long been bereft of,” King Zakai rested a hand on the closed case, “I do not eat because my people do not eat. I take what is necessary to survive and to rule. The rest goes to my subjects, that they may live another day until I find a solution.”

I looked at the remnants of my meal. “But you just let us eat all of that food.” I’d eaten more than I’d needed. I’d been so certain the display meant food was ample here. Since we’d arrived, there had been a steady stream of food. “We’ve been eating since we arrived,” I said in horror. “Why did you give us so much food?”

“You are guests,” the king said. “You’ve traveled far, and you’ve had hardships. Even a fool human, such as myself, could see you were hungry and in need of nourishment.”

But we’d been eating on the way. None of us were truly starving. I was upset I’d eaten so much now, and a glance at Dyter’s stricken face told me he felt the same. We were on a strict diet for the rest of our visit, and I’d put my powers to use where I could during our stay.

The king paused. “When I saw you fly down the mountainside opposite us, I felt something akin to what I felt upon opening this case.” The king studied me and said, “Did you know, your scales are the color of our royal family? My father’s name was Lapyz after the stone. Lapis lazuli is known to bring both protection and peace. Seeing a Drae that color felt like a sign.”

Considering I’d seen the resemblance between his eyes and my scales, I knew what he meant about a sign, but I’d never known about the properties of the stone.

“My people have suffered for a long time, and times have gotten worse,” the king said, his shining blue gaze on the table. “For the last dozen years, the Gemondians over the age of fifty have left the walled kingdom to survive as best they can in the mountains.”

A horrible memory resurfaced. “They go willingly?”

The king sighed. “Of course, they would stay if they could, but they go so their children and grandchildren have a chance to survive. My great-grandfather left at age fifty, my grandfather and father both left at fifty, and in two years, I will also leave, and my son, Zardin will ascend the throne. Though, now things may be different. Maybe we can abolish that custom altogether.”

“Maybe your exiled elderly will stop eating each other then,” I said, watching him.

Because I watched him closely, I did not miss any of the horror that rocked him.

“W-what?” he asked, staring at me.

Dyter was shaking his head, but if I was queen of somewhere, I’d want to know how my people were suffering. “Your elderly women form small communities. Tyrrik and I flew over an encampment in the mountains outside of Verald. They ate one of the women.”

“They . . .” The king swayed on his seat, his slack face turning green. “They . . .”

“Your elderly are eating each other to stay alive,” I said again. Now that I knew Zakai wasn’t the monster I’d thought, a part of me sympathized with his shock, but I hardened myself, thinking of the way his people were living outside this kingdom.

For a moment, it seemed he would lose the contents of his stomach, though I wasn’t sure if there was anything significant in there.