King Cave (Forever Evermore, #2)(44)
Scouting a table at the edge of the crowd, we sat next to each other, both of us placing our backs to the wall out of habit. Unperturbed, we began eating from our piled-high plates. Ezra had grabbed a few items I loved, and I had grabbed a few I knew he prized when his plate had been too full. We sat in companionable quiet, every once in a while taking an item off each other’s plate, enjoying our meal.
Noshing our goods, Ezra took a bite of something that was definitely questionable. His face instantly puckered, his nose crinkling. I laughed at his expression, and in retaliation he tossed a bit of it into my wide open mouth. My snickering abruptly cut off, my own face wrinkling as a definite taste of fish — and maybe cheese — wrapped my taste buds in revulsion. Then it was his turn to hoot while I held my nose, swallowing it down.
“Not funny,” I muttered, smacking my tongue on the top of my mouth.
“Here.” He handed my Coke to me, his chuckle rumbling deep.
After rapidly grabbing it, I started chugging the refreshing liquid, only belatedly realizing it was abnormally quiet around us. Glancing past the rim of my cup, I noticed almost everyone was staring, their jaws gaping. I almost choked on my drink, but I set it down delicately, still feeling mighty peaceful, no one’s staring going to ruin my mood. Turning my attention to Ezra, I wore a mischievous smile. “Maybe we should start a fake fight.”
He sniggered, his eyes darting to the gawkers. He grinned down at his plate before scooting it away, shrugging, and pushing his chair back to put his boots up on the table in an unperturbed position. After grabbing his coffee from the table, he sipped it before peering at me, rumbling, “They’ll get used to it.”
I snorted, my eyes skimming the crowd as I continued eating. There were many Mysticals here. After the news had broken through the masses about hybrids creating Beasts, the Mysticals had become even more separated. After lifting a fry, I munched on it and decided you could cut the room in fourths by Mystical factions. Vampires were to the far back right, Mages to the far back left, Elementals to the direct right, and Shifters to the direct left. Still, even though the situation had only become worse behind the scenes, I knew that if war truly broke out between Com and Mys, none of them would give a flying f*ck if they were fighting beside a member of a fellow faction or of another.
In matters of war, Mysticals were only Mysticals. We protected each other.
Survival in its most basic form.
My gaze stalled on a table a few over. It was mixed like ours.
It was also the air Elemental and Shifter I had seen this morning with Antonio, Cahal, and the Kings. Peering at the air Elemental, I saw that his bright yellow hair was a direct contrast against his deep ebony skin. He was striking, with delicate features, his body built on the slimmer side, like a swimmer, and he appeared to be near thirty years old by Com standards, which meant he was probably around eighty years old. The Shifter next to him looked to be approximately the same age, but that was where the similarities ended. He was enormous everywhere the air Elemental was slim, even his facial features more bold and fierce. His spiral-curled black hair complemented his olive-colored complexion, making his blue eyes appear navy.
They were watching us, but their gazes were much more penetrating, not ogling like the others.
I opened my mouth to ask Ezra if he knew who they were, but my question stalled in my throat as I sniffed the air and blinked in confusion. I smelled smoke. Cigarette smoke, in particular. Unfreezing, my gaze snapped to Ezra. He was lounging on his chair, boots still on the table, with his coffee in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other, as he inhaled a prolonged drag. My jaw dropped, and I sputtered, “What are you doing?”
His lips twitched, and he lowered his cigarette and dropped his head back to blow the smoke to the ceiling. “I’m smoking.”
Complete shock. “I can see that.” His lips quirked in a resulting grin as he watched me, his head tilted, obviously enjoying my stunned reaction. “When did you start doing that?”
He ashed on the cave floor and shrugged. “I only smoke every so often now, but I used to smoke these…and other things…on a normal basis before coming to King Hall.” Another shrug as he lifted the cigarette to his curling lips. “This past week, I took it back up.”
My gaze narrowed as I waved a hand in front of my face. “Just those, or other things?”
He grunted, taking another drag. “Just these.”
Eyeing him a moment longer, I hummed in my throat and reclined on my chair, trying to ignore the fact that when his lips curled around the cigarette it looked sexy as hell. Not moving my lips, I barely breathed, “You do realize you smoking right now is a little cliché?”
His deep chortle reverberated. “Maybe, but it’s no less enjoyable.” He tilted his head toward me, whispering, “You do know Mysticals don’t grow addicted or get lung cancer, right?”
I snorted. “I’m not a complete idiot.” My eyes met his. “But I could use your,” my words were drier than dirt, “supreme knowledge on another issue.” One of his eyebrows quirked in silent question, so I slanted my head toward the left. “Five tables over. Do you know who the air Elemental and Shifter are?”
Lifting the cigarette and taking another drag, his head cocked and his eyes searched where I had indicated. He stilled after a moment, then slowly ashed his cigarette, his eyes lingering on them. Blowing the smoke out of the corner of his mouth — away from me — he murmured, “I’ve seen their pictures before.” His gaze held in their direction, and I glanced that way, seeing both of them watching Ezra. The Shifter’s lips were even curled a bit. Eyes back on Ezra, I saw he was returning the gesture, until he turned his attention to me. “The air Elemental is Elder Jacobs, the Shifter’s Elder Merrick.” When I stilled, he chuckled, relaxing further into his chair, and took another drag. “Yeah, they’re the other half of my dad and Antonio’s posse.”