Page 32 of Acedia

“Oh, that’s so kind of him,” I whispered, hoping there was enough distance between him and I that he wouldn’t hear the words. “He’s very involved for a prince, isn’t he?”

“Not usually,” Meera replied lightly, giving my arm a quick squeeze which I took as a warning not to say anything more. “Hi, Damen. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

Tilly bounded ahead, and I heard him ruffling her fur fondly and speaking to her in a low affectionate voice. I was surprised she’d run up to him at all—usually she was content to stay close to my side and barely acknowledged anyone else’s existence.

“I thought it might be nice for Iris to have someone she’s already met here to make the introductions.”

“I couldn’t agree more. Of course, I’d intended to stay with her…” It was difficult to pick up on tone with Meera because she had such a reserved way of speaking, but I hazarded that she sounded a little amused.

There was a long stretch of silence before Damen spoke again. “You can come too if you want.”

“No, no, that’s fine. Iris, if you’re content to go in there with Damen, I’ll leave you to it.” She was definitely amused now. And perhaps a little hopeful? I got the impression that Meera wasn’t overly fond of group social situations.

“Of course. I’ll be fine with Damen. Thank you so much for helping me this morning.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll come and collect you before dinner? Like yesterday?”

“I would appreciate that. Thank you so much.”

She extricated her arm from mine and suddenly Damen’s much larger one was there in its place, guiding me forward while I gripped Tilly’s lead in my other hand.

“You’re not nervous,” he said decisively, which confused me for a moment before I remembered Tallulah saying that Shades could read our emotions through scent. That would be an odd adjustment.

I felt a brief flash of jealousy that they had an extra sense for reading people when I was already at a disadvantage being one down, but I quickly squashed the impulse. I wasn’t a Shade, I couldn’t expect my body to function the way theirs did.

Besides, as Nana always said, comparison was the thief of joy.

“Iris,” a friendly, feminine voice said. “Welcome! It’s so nice to meet you. My name is Ophelia. This is my husband, Allerick.”

There was a sort of grunting sound that I presumed was the husband in question. Did they not use their titles here? It seemed like a very informal way of greeting the king. Then again, perhaps movies had given me an unrealistic expectation of how royalty worked. There had been a lot less pomp and ceremony than I assumed there would be so far.

“And this must be Tilly?” Ophelia asked.

“Oh, yes.” Tilly pressed hard against my legs, knocking me a little further into Damen’s side. Fortunately, he was as solid as a rock, and steadied me immediately.

“Yes, this is Tilly. She’s a little shy, sorry.”

“Is she?” Damen murmured. “She likes me.”

Ophelia laughed. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you’ve charmed the dog too. Damen charms everyone. Sit, sit, please. We have tea and cake.”

“Noteveryone,” Damen muttered as he guided me around a couch until we could sit down, with Tilly on top of my feet. “She’s exaggerating. I don’t just go around charming everyone I encounter.”

“Okay,” I replied, a little bemused. Had I missed something?

When the king finally spoke, I heard the resemblance between him and Damen immediately, though his voice was gruffer and less personable. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here, little brother.”

“Damen has been so kind,” I said hurriedly, not wanting him to get in trouble for inviting himself along. “He’s really made so much effort to make me feel welcome here.”

“How altruistic of him,” Allerick murmured.

“Very,” Ophelia added enthusiastically. “So helpful of you, Damen.”

“I want to make sure Iris is comfortable here,” he replied, still sounding oddly defensive. Maybe he didn’t get long with his brother? “Here, Iris. A plate of little cakes.”

He carefully pressed it into my hands and I set it down on my lap, feeling around with my fingertips. Would they taste like cakes in the human realm? I’d only ever had cake on my birthday or Nana’s, it was the most special of treats. Though, after tasting pizza, I couldn’t decide what I was most fond of.

“This one is my favorite,” Damen whispered, gently nudging my fingers with his knuckles toward something soft. I plucked itup carefully, hoping I wasn’t making a mess as I nibbled on the edge of it.

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