Page 87 of Fallen Star

“He’s with Princess Cierra,” Sophia replies, just like I expected. “He always spends lunch with her. But she tends to be quick. He’s usually back by dessert.”

“Cierra doesn’t like to linger after her meals,” Victoria adds with a smirk.

“Are you upset?” Sophia asks with concern. “Because you know he doesn’t have a choice. None of us do.”

“I know,” I say. “I’m not upset. I was just wondering.”

It’s the truth. Because unfortunately, it’s not Jake’s eyes I can’t get out of my mind right now.

It’s Aerix’s.

Sophia thankfully doesn’t push it.

She just quiets and waits for lunch to be served—which, like everything else in the Night Court, is decadent.

First comes a light salad with crisp greens, thinly sliced radishes, and a tangy vinaigrette. I prefer ranch, but after a week of stale bread in the Winter Court, I have no complaints. Next is a creamy tomato soup, with fresh bread to dip in it. Finally, the main course—roasted chicken legs with mashed potatoes and green beans.

I devour it all.

“Delicious, isn’t it?” Sophia asks with a smile. “Before I came here, I’d never had anything like it.”

“What was your life like?” I ask her. “Before all of this?”

Sophia sets down her fork, her smile softening. “It wasn’t great,” she says, quiet but steady. “I lived with my mom, brother, and sister in Portland—in one of those neighborhoods where you don’t go out after dark. My mom worked three jobs, but no matter how hard she tried, it was never enough. Some nights, she’d skip dinner so the three of us could eat. I used to pretend I wasn’t hungry, just to make it easier on her.”

I pause mid-bite, the taste of green beans turning bitter in my mouth. “That sounds… rough,” I say, because how else am I supposed to respond? I certainly can’t relate. And I won’t give her the indignity of pretending I can.

“It was.” She shrugs, as if brushing it off. “But I had to help. I started working when I was twelve. Babysitting, cleaning houses, whatever I could find. It wasn’t much, but it kept the lights on most of the time. Even then, there were nights I’d wake up to hear my mom crying in the kitchen, trying to figure out how she was going to stretch one meal to feed four of us.”

I glance at Victoria, expecting some sort of snarky comment.

But she’s uncharacteristically quiet, pushing a piece of chicken around her plate.

Sophia tells me a bit more about her life before all of this, and before long, our plates are being cleared.

Jake strolls into the courtyard as dessert is being served.

Sophia nudges me. “See? Like clockwork.”

He takes his seat at the table with Sebastian and Tanya, but his eyes find mine across the courtyard. For a moment, he hesitates, his expression almost guilty.

It makes sense.

After all, I now know how intimate it is when they drink from us. And I have a sinking feeling that what Aerix took from me was just the beginning.

I nod, letting Jake know it’s fine. Not like it matters, since the pebble he gave me wasn’t a literal proposal, but I can tell that my acceptance matters to him.

He nods back, his shoulders relaxing, and turns his attention to his table.

I look down at my fruit tart, suddenly finding it impossible to eat.

I’m sitting there playing with it when Aethelthryth appears beside our table, carrying an armful of packages.

My eyes widen as she begins setting them down.

The courtyard falls silent, everyone staring as she unloads the satchels.

There’s wood and carving tools, several sketchbooks with high-quality pencils, clay, yarn, knitting needles, and even a small set of watercolors. And that’s just the start.

---