Page 49 of When the Moon Met the Sun

I made sure my spine was straight, my shoulders were set, and my wings were tucked in before walking into the room.

Conversations quieted as we approached the table, and I noticed they made sure to prepare a basic meal—slices of some type of meat sat in the middle, with an array of different vegetables on the side, as well as the fresh bread I had smelled earlier, and some type of pudding for dessert.

I smiled at the effort they put into the food. Most of the food I’d been presented with in the South had been strange and unfamiliar, but all of this food appeared to be simple, staple foods from the North.

“Sorry it isn’t anything fancy—we weren’t sure what you liked, so we went with the basics,” Teagan said, the first to break the silence. I could see a small bit of flour still clinging to the hem of her gray shirt.

“We’re glad you could join us,” Ezra said, grinning from his spot next to Quinn.

“Took you both long enough,” Quinn mumbled, and I watched with fascination as Ezra lightly elbowed her in the side.

“The guest of honor has arrived! Can we eat now?” Margo asked, obviously excited to get this dinner started. I noticed that her little hands were still bound in the same brown leather, despite it being time for a meal.

Maybe there’s more to her than meets the eye.

My smile widened, and I took a moment to glance at the different people surrounding me. People who cared enough to take into consideration what I might prefer to eat. People who weren’t scared of me, despite what they saw this morning.

It was almost enough to bring a tear to my eye.

“Thank you. All of you,” I said, looking between each of them. My eyes landed on Drayven last, and he dipped his head slightly in a show of respect.

Robyn walked closer to the table, and for the first time, I noticed that while everybody else had an ordinary high backed chair, the chair at the middle of the table—where I presumed Robyn wanted me to sit—wasn’t a chair at all, but a wooden stool. One without a backing.

“I noticed how uncomfortable you were that first day I met you, in the carriage. I’ll make sure to get some custom made chairs just for you in order to accommodate your wings when we return to Cairnyl,” Robyn said, his voice soft. “I hope this is alright for now.”

My mouth fell open slightly, stunned into silence that he would even think about something as small as the space my wings take up, or even remember my discomfort that first day.

This time, I had to make an effort not to allow the tears to well in my eyes.

Not knowing what to say, I reached for Robyn’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. I looked up into his eyes, and hoped that he could see in them how much I appreciated this small gesture.

He smiled in response, and I could see some of the tension leave his body, as though he was worried I wouldn’t appreciate his efforts.

I squeezed again.

He pulled the stool out for me, and though I was continuously shocked at his actions, I sat, realizing the red cushion on top made it much more comfortable than it had appeared.

Robyn sat next to me, the rest of the Valwain following suit. Rayven sat on the other side of Robyn, and Teagan on the other side of me. Margo sat across from Teagan, next to Quinn, and Ezra sat across from Robyn, leaving Chess to sit across from Rayven.

We filled up the eight person table perfectly.

Teagan made an effort to try to serve everybody individually, but soon enough the formalities dropped, and everybody was helpingthemselves. I waited until almost everybody had gotten their fair share, but Robyn insisted I get my servings before he did.

I gathered a small amount of every dish onto my plate, and dug in.

I listened as they all talked about how their training had been going so far, and how Chess pranked Ezra by discretely placing a caterpillar on his shoulder in passing—just to hear Ezra start screaming a moment later. Apparently, Ezra was not fond of bugs, despite his seemingly infinite knowledge.

I listened to Margo as she explained to Ezra exactly why bugs weren’t scary, and how most of them were actually quite friendly. Though, Ezra didn’t seem all that convinced.

I watched as Chess animatedly explained how he almost set fire to the vegetables as he and Teagan were cooking, and listened as Robyn let out a hearty laugh that brought a smile to my face.

I learned that besides training with Robyn, Rayven had been in daily contact with the officials back in Cairnyl via Lark, and everything was going as smoothly as expected back at The Haven—at least for now.

It seemed long-lasting peace might be achievable, after all.

“Aviva,” Margo said, catching my attention. “You were scary awesome this morning. I’ve never seen anything like that before! Could you do it again sometime?”

I nearly choked on my food, coughing so it didn’t go down wrong.

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