Page 17 of Ira

“It’s my pleasure.” The amount of gratitude in her voice was jarring. Didno oneever do nice things for this woman? She deserved so much better than the life she’d been given. I shouldbring her more food offerings. “It looks like you’ve been busy today.”

“I have. I’ve been putting that garden bed off for a while, thinking it would be really difficult, but actually, the branches are soft and easy to cut. I didn’t have anything to worry about. Shall we go eat by the river?”

“I’d like that,” I replied, shocked she’d suggested it. The riverbank was only across the path from Elverston House—merely a few feet away. But it was very much on neutral territory, and I was honored that Meera trusted me enough to venture out of the Shade-free zone with me.

We sat on the ground next to each other, leaning back against one of the gnarled old trees that lined the riverbank, the water lazily trickling past, and uncovered our bowls of food.

“Ooh, carrots,” Meera said happily, pulling out a violently bright stick from the bowl. “Have you ever tried one?”

I shook my head, eyeing it warily.

“Do you want to?” she asked, holding it out to me.

Not really, in all honesty. But I suspected I would struggle to deny this woman anything. “Sure.”

I took it carefully from her hand, making sure my claws were well away from her fingers, and took a bite.

“What do you think?” Meera asked, avidly watching my expression. I could get addicted to seeing that expression on her face.

“It’s… sweeter than I expected,” I replied, hoping my face wasn’t giving away my revulsion.

But then Meera laughed, and I felt anything but. I’d eat a thousand of these horrid things a day to hear that sound again. Unfortunately, it was over nearly as quickly as it began, and she looked just as surprised as me that she’d done it.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I didn’t mean to laugh at your discomfort. That was rude of me.”

“You worry too much. I would dearly love to hear you laugh more often—I don’t mind in the slightest if it’s at my expense. In fact, I encourage it. It’s good to know that my presence in your life brings you joy.”

“Of course it does,” she said quickly, her smile a little more genuine now. It was a little softer around the edges. A littler warmer in the eyes. “I don’t suppose you want to try some cucumber? Not for my entertainment! It’s not as sweet as carrot.”

“On the off chance it makes you laugh again, I will try your strange human vegetables.”

Her smile widened as she handed me a green stick this time. The colors of this one were slightly more muted and less intimidating.

“It tastes like water,” I told her after chewing on it for a moment. “This one is not so unpleasant.”

“Good.” She bit into a green stick of her own, staring out over the water. “I sort of volunteered myself last night to try grow these kinds of vegetables so Astrid doesn’t have to bring it back for us each time. Ophelia was really keen on the idea.”

“I’m sure she was—she would be mad not to be considering how much easier it would make life here for all of you. Do you have what you need to get started? Is there anything I can source for you?”

Meera’s scent sweetened ever so slightly, her expression soft and affectionate. It was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen.

“That’s okay, thank you. Astrid is going to get me an assortment of things on her next supply run. I can’t do anything until I have the garden beds cleared anyway.”

It was very unlike me to even consider breaking the rules, but I immediately contemplated occasionally venturing over the invisible border to help Meera remove some of the more difficultshrubs. It was entirely unreasonable to expect her to tackle those on her own.

I glanced at Meera, deciding whether I should suggest it or not. I suspected she wasn’t a rule breaker either. Perhaps I could sneak into the garden at night and do some stealth gardening.

“Maybe we used to grow these kinds of food here, back when the Hunted lived here,” Meera mused.

I grimaced at the reminder of our kinds’ shared history. “I think the fact that we called you ‘the Hunted’ does not bode well in respect to how we treated you all.”

“Possibly not,” Meera agreed, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully. “Though I’m sure some of my kind liked being chased around in the dark, if the small sample of ex-Hunters I’ve talked to are anything to go by,” she added wryly.

I coughed awkwardly into my hand. If I’d been given a thousand chances, I never would have guessedthatwas what she was going to say.

“Is that so?”

“Don’t get any ideas,” Meera added, glancing at me, an almost playful expression on her face. “I have no interest in being hunted, and I’m good with a knife.”

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