The Last Dragon King (Kings of Avalier #1)(28)

Now that was what I called a date. I looked for the door that led outside to join him, but he stowed the bow and began walking towards me. The back doors to the room opened and a man stepped in rolling a food cart.

“Oh, hey.” I walked over to the table but didn’t yet sit down. I didn’t want to sit in the king’s favorite chair or anything.

A second later, the man of the hour stepped inside. He wore a nice black silk dress tunic that fell past his knees, and suede trousers much like mine. His gaze landed on me and did a slow inventory of my body, before a halfcocked smile dragged across his lips.

“Did Annabeth see you dressed like that?” he asked.

I nodded. “She loved it,” I lied, knowing he could smell it.

“Liar.”

I grinned. Okay, he was in a joking mood. This was good.

“Thank you, Ferlin,” the king told the man who had set two plates full of warm food at the table.

“Ladies first,” the king said, gesturing to the table-sitting closest to me. I nodded, taking my seat, and pulled my napkin onto my lap.

Ferlin wheeled his cart out and I looked at the delicious plate before me. Crab, potatoes, and some kind of green salad.

“I’m starved. I skipped breakfast,” I informed him and grabbed my fork, digging into the deliciousness. I made sure to take small bites and chew slowly so that he didn’t think me a total pigin, but still he seemed to watch me with careful eyes.

He reached over and grasped his fork, pretending to write on the table. “Refuses to wear dresses, eats like a starved child… anything else I should know?” he asked, half smiling.

I had to hold in my shocked laughter. The king is funny. I liked seeing this side of him. I grabbed my fork and mimicked him by pretending to write on the table.

“Is currently dating a hundred women at once, only wants me for my womb.” I gave him a challenging smirk.

His eyes absolutely glittered with mirth at my jab.

He pretended to scribble on the table again. “Can take a joke and hit back with one.”

I laughed. “I didn’t take you for a funny guy.”

He shrugged. “You’re different than the others. I like that. I feel I can be relaxed around you.”

It was a very sweet thing to say. It made me wonder if he had people in his life that he felt he couldn’t be himself around.

“I do not covet the dresses and flowers and makeup as much as the other women, that’s true.” I nodded.

He took a bite of his food. “Are you enjoying the crab? Have you ever had it before?”

“It’s wonderful. I’ve only had crab one other time, on a visit to Jade City a few years ago.”

He looked surprised at that. “You’ve been to Jade City before?”

I nodded. “Back when Queen Amelia was—for the royal wedding.” I stopped myself, realizing what I’d done. “I had a wonderful time.” I left it at that, regretting saying her name, unsure how painful it was for him to hear.

He gave me a wan smile, taking a bite of his own food, but a darkness had cast itself over our meal. It was silent for a moment and I felt awful.

“I’m sorry for bringing her up. I wasn’t thinking,” I finally said.

He waved me off. “It’s fine. I just miss her. She was my best friend.”

“How long had you known her before you got married?” I asked, wondering if asking these questions was okay.

He swallowed hard. “It’s not a well-known thing, so please keep this private, but Amelia and I were betrothed at birth by our parents.”

I gasped. “Betrothed at birth? You always knew you were going to marry her?”

He nodded. “Always.”

An arranged marriage. They were more common with the fae than here but they did happen. Still, I wasn’t sure how I would feel knowing my whole life had been mapped out for me. He’d called her his best friend, but did that mean that’s all they were? Or was there a romantic love too? My tongue burned with unasked questions that I forced myself to swallow down.

“So when did you start hunting?” He changed the subject and I was grateful.

I swallowed hard, the lump of crab falling into my stomach like a stone. “After my father died. I was nine.”

His hand stilled. “The men in your village didn’t help out your family? I thought the Cinder community was close?”

I nodded. “We are. They helped as long as they could, but with my little sister there are three mouths to feed, and my mom didn’t want to remarry just for food. So I took on the responsibility. Kept us fed.”

His hand reached out, draping over mine, and heat pooled in my belly as I looked up into his sincere green eyes. “That’s incredibly admirable of you, Arwen.”

It was as if all the oxygen had been sucked from the room. His hand on mine caused my chest to heave. He must have realized the effect his touch had on me, because he yanked it back a second later.

“So have you been feeling well? No more fevers?” He changed the subject again. He seemed to be an expert at that.

I picked at my dinner roll, no longer trusting my body to stick with the plan.

What was the plan? Oh yeah, don’t fall for the king! He didn’t want love, he wanted my magical womb, and might kill me if he found out who my birth mother was. Yet I couldn’t help but admit I’d judged him wrong. He was not what I thought. “Nope. All good.”