Page 23 of Under the Lion Star

“So, what’s good here?” I asked, perusing the menu.

“Rhalin doesn’t have a single bad dish on offer,” El smiled. “Although, the cairns are the best in the city.”

“You a regular, then?” I hedged.

“Yeah,” El nodded. “Rhalin and his husband, Larsel, were both soldiers. We crossed paths a few times, and even on a battlefield they could make a meal fitting a king.”

“I like the sound of that,” I smirked as a waitress approached with our beverages. “Give me two orders of cairns and whatever this guy wants.”

“I’ll do the same,” El chuckled.

“The owners wanted me to let you know that your dinner is on the house this evening, your–”

“No way,” I cut off the waitress, who was tapping her fingernails together nervously. “I insist.”

I pressed several feldor into her hands, far more than our meal should cost. Her eyes darted between me and El before she looked over her shoulder. She finally gave a slight nod, thanking me profusely and then set off to take care of a few other patrons.

El was staring at me with an amused grin and a raised brow.

“My dad is a lord,” I explained with a sigh. “But I’ll be damned if I take money from a local business just because of who my father is.”

El opened his mouth but promptly closed it, taking a moment to consider his words.

“Who is your father?”

“Erik Helner,” I answered proudly. “He adopted me and my sisters when I was sixteen. So not a dad by blood, but mine all the same.”

“Blood doesn’t dictate family,” El said softly. “I have a younger brother and sister, but my parents took in a kid when he was ten or so. He’s my brother’s best friend but may as well be my third sibling.”

My limbs froze as I realized that El had finally shared a piece of himself with me.

“Do you all get along?”

“We did,” he sighed. “Since my parents died, things have been… different.”

“A recent loss?” I pressed my luck.

“A few months.”

“Oh, El,” I set my hand over his on the table. “I’m so sorry. After my mom died, it took me probably a year to find a new normal. Although, the circumstances for her death may have played a part in that long transition.”

“What happened to her?”

“My, uh, my mom was murdered.”

El’s eyes widened, but his attention remained fixed on me as I explained everything about my upbringing. Once the words started falling from my lips, I could do little to rein them in. I told him everything: what my mom did, how her death had been ruled a suicide, how my sisters and I all came to be. If he judged my mother’s profession, he didn’t show it. Instead, he just nodded along, curling his fingers over my hand as I recounted the day I found my mom’s body.

“Gods, Z,” he breathed. “You were sixteen?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, wiping away the few tears that escaped during my story. “I never really coped, I think. I just threw myself into taking care of my sisters. They don’t need me anymore, and I’ve realized I don’t even know who I am.”

“You’re still young,” he offered, drawing small circles over the back of my hand. “You’ll figure it out.”

I shrugged noncommittally.

“And you know you shouldn’t be in customer relations,” he smirked. “That’s a start.”

“Hey,” I smiled. “I can be so nice. You have no idea.”

---