Page 35 of Gift from the Tree

“Not at all, kitten. It’s already been cleaned and fixed up, as if it never happened,” he assures me.

Well, that’s incredibly impressive. I, for the most part, destroyed everything in the room aside from the table and window. We approach a set of double doors as I go to ask Draken how that happened so quickly, so I hold my tongue. Time to put on my big girl pants and make the most of this dinner.

Steeling myself for the guys to look at us as soon as Draken opens the doors, I pull my shoulders back and lift my chin a little. Fake it till I make it, am I right?

Internally laughing at myself helps calm the nerves a little, so when he opens the doors to an empty room, I’m a little pissy with myself for getting worked up over nothing.

He leads me to what I guess will be my seat tonight, then plops down right beside me, ignoring all the other seats around the table, and slings his arm over the back of my chair. I’m about to ask where everyone is when the doors open again and in come Corentin and Tillman.

Corentin takes the seat at the head, just like this morning, directly beside me, and Tillman sits right in front of me.

Fucking lovely.

“About time. I’m starving. Where’s Cas at?” Draken asks, like we’ve been sitting here for an hour not two minutes.

Before either can respond, Caspian emerges from the wall, striding toward the table on the side Tillman’s on. Without a word, he claims a seat, leaving an unoccupied chair between them.

He just walked out of the freaking wall.

“How did you do that?” I ask, both fascinated and a little freaked out that he can just come out of walls and no one even knows he’s there.

Instead of answering me, he just scowls at me like I’m gum on the bottom of his shoes. Okay, that’s the second time today he’s given me a look like that. What the fuck did I do to him?

O-fucking-kay then, dickhead.

Tillman suddenly chokes on the water he just drank and all of us turn our heads to see what he’s got going on. He clears his throat and starts staring off into space, not speaking. No one says anything at all.

It’s so fucking awkward, but luckily, the chef opens the doors and pushes in a cart of delicious-smelling food. Other staff move around the room, each placing one small tray and a larger tray down in front of each of us. Whatever’s under these serving lids has my mouth watering.

I murmur a thank you as the staff member lifts both lids at the same time, revealing a small Caesar salad and the biggest, juiciest steak I’ve ever seen paired with a loaded baked potato and mixed vegetables.

I’m about to embarrass myself by eating all of this.

Still, no one speaks, other than I hear Draken and Corentin murmur thank yous as well. I know Caspian didn’t because I can see out of the corner of my eye that he’s too busy shooting me daggers and hasn’t even looked at his plate. And instead of saying thank you out loud, Tillman gives a slight bow of his head to the staff who serves him.

When Draken nudges my arm, I look to see him holding up his utensils, making a cutting motion. I laugh quietly because I don’t know if he truly thinks I don’t know how to cut my own food or he’s just encouraging me to dig in. Regardless, it pulls me out of this awkward standstill I’m in, and I cut into my steak.

The moment the first bite hits my tongue, flavor bursts across every taste bud in my mouth, my eyes roll back, and I moan. The knife cuts through the steak like butter, and it’s cooked and seasoned to perfection. I don’t think I’ve ever had a steak so good in my life.

“Fuck, I love that sound,” Draken whispers in my ear, causing my eyes to fly open.

He leans back, looking at me like he’d rather eat me than the food in front of him. Blushing, I realize I was a little loud in my appreciation for the food. Unwilling to hold his gaze, I turn back to my plate and continue eating silently, not daring to look up and meet anyone else’s eyes. It’s embarrassing enough that Draken called me out. I don’t want to see the other three’s reactions.

“How was your day with Gaster?” Corentin’s voice slices through the silence, surprising me, but I hold in my flinch.

“It was good. I learned a shit ton. I know I’m very behind, but Gaster believes I’ll catch up quickly if I work all week with him and a little extra around classes.”

“So we’re just supposed to believe you’ll be able to come into a third-level academy, catch up in a week, with a little extra help, and that none of this has already been taught to you before? It’ll just be that easy for you,” Caspian jumps in, voice dripping in accusation.

“What are you getting at?” My guard instantly goes up, but I’m not willing to tiptoe around this.

“You aren’t meant to be here. Something isn’t right with you. I don’t care that you have a Memoria stone. If anything, it just proves my point more that you’ve been sent here to fuck us over,” Caspian says, seething. He really does hate me.

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Enough, both of you.” Corentin bangs his hands down on the table. This time, I don’t hold my jump back, but I’m too pissed off to let it bother me for long.

“Me? I haven’t done anything to him, to any of you for you all to be giving me the cold shoulder. I know just as much and just as little as you do,” I practically yell at Corentin.

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