Page 144 of The Warrior
Solo straightened in his seat. “Yes, Lord Khan. That would be an honor.”
Laura whispered a “thank you,” low enough for only us men to hear.
“Let’s hope it will never be relevant,” Khan muttered.
“It might, with all the new brides coming in. There will be a cultural clash,” Laura said in a low voice. “A Motlander woman might accuse her husband of abuse if he gives her a simple ass spanking.”
“What are you whispering about down there?” Pearl asked from the other end of the table.
“Nothing, dear.” Khan gave her a smile.
“I can tell you’re up to no good. Are you saying bad things about the food? The children spent a lot of time preparing it.”
“It looks delicious,” I said and grabbed for the large bowl of salad that was being passed around.
“What the fuck, Magni, did you convert or something?” Boulder asked with a deep voice when he saw me fill half my plate with salad.
“Convert?”
“You’re not a vegan now, are you?”
I laughed. “Hell no, I just didn’t eat much green stuff in Alaska. I missed all the crunchiness of a good salad.”
“I keep telling you,” Mila said and pointed her fork in my direction. “You don’t need meat. Salad and greens are delicious.”
I smiled at her as white noise filled the room when the bowls and plates with food were passed around.
“Let’s have a toast,” Pearl exclaimed and raised her glass. “Wait a minute, where’s my mom?”
“Isobel had to make a call,” Laura informed her.
“Okay, but cheers to the rest of us.”
I looked around the large table where we sat squeezed together to fit. Everyone was raising their glasses, clinking them together in the air. A few of the kids were hanging over the table to reach a friend on the other side.
“Nicki, Rochelle, Victoria, and Paysey, you’re getting your long hair in the food, please sit back in your seats,” Kya reprimanded. “And Willow, would you please pass the meat.”
Willow picked up the tray as if it was the most disgusting thing in the world.
“I didn’t ask you to eat it, just to pass it along.”
Hunter stabbed his fork into a large piece of chicken breast and dangled it in front of Willow’s face. “Wanna try? It’s really good.”
“Stop it, Hunter,” Solo ordered from a few seats away. I chewed on my salad and studied the young man for a second. He did have clear leadership skills and an authority that was unusual for his age. I’d seen him fight and knew he was outstanding. The fingers on my right hand began tapping the tabletop. My logic was telling me he would be worth keeping an eye on and someone I should pick for my elite Huntsmen unit. Yet, there was resistance in me – I’d never liked Solo.
Why?
William and Nero quarreled a little and right away Solo scowled at them and told them to shut up. My hand stopped tapping when I accepted what I’d known from the beginning. I didn’t like Solo because he was too similar to me. Seeing him was like seeing what I didn’t like about myself.
“That boy looks and acts a lot like me,” I told Laura.
She swallowed a mouthful and raised her glass, looking at Solo before she leaned against me. “Don’t tell him that. I mentioned it and he got offended.”
“Hewhat?” My words came out louder than planned and made the people around us look up at me.
Laura waited for them to resume eating before she spoke again. “You saw it yourself. He’s not a fan anymore.”
I threw the fork down on my plate and leaned back thinking hard. It wasn’t that my ego was depending on a fourteen-year-old schoolboy to respect me, but it still bothered me that he’d called me a coward.
