Page 23 of Kingdom of Flames & Flowers
“It’s me. I’ve brought you something to eat.”
Zion. Back so soon?
Reluctantly, I opened the door and there he stood in all his fireguard finery minus the helmet, holding out a tray with chicken and rice.
“Sorry it took a bit, but it should still be warm. I had to … switch shifts.”
A bit? He must have run to not only fetch me food so quickly, but also change into his armor. Then again, he’d likely made a servant get it. Regardless, his apologetic attitude wouldn’t make up for lying to me earlier.
I made Zion watch in uncomfortable silence as I ate, not caring a wit if he felt awkward or not. This was my first meal since they had taken me from the streets of the mud quarter, and it washot. Hot food was a luxury. I was used to hard bread and cold cheese and dried meats. This meat was warm and moist, and without helping it, I groaned aloud as the meat practically melted off the bone and into my mouth.
I expected a rude comment from him, but he only gave me a genuine smile as if seeing me happy made him happy.
My eyes narrowed.
That wasn’t the Zion I was familiar with. Then again, itwasin line with the fireguard who’d tried his best to save as many of us as he could.
Zariah.
Was that the difference? Did Zion feel as though he had to act a certain way as a prince, and then another as a fireguard? Or was it the other way around? Perhaps the selfish jerkwashis real self, and the fireguard persona was a lie.
My head hurt, so I took another bite of chicken. And I ate all the juicy yellow vegetables and the warm bread with real butter. I barely tasted the sweet juice as I drank it too fast, worried he would take it away before I could have my fill.
“Easy now. I can get you more if you’d like.”
I dropped the drumstick I’d been holding, gazing at him dumbstruck.
“There’smore?”I asked, incredulous.
He laughed nervously, putting a hand behind his head. When he realized I was serious, he cleared his throat. “Yes. Well. Alright. I’ll get more.”
I barely noticed his departure as I wiped the rest of the plate clean, even taking advantage of his absence to lick the plate like a dog. Even the drippings from the meat sent my taste buds exploding with flavor. I’d be damned if I wasted a drop of the best meal I’d ever had. I barely glanced up when Zion returned and swapped out my empty plate for the full one.
I was halfway through that plate before I slowed down, pausing enough to study him more. What was it about the fireguard uniform that transformed him? His eyes were the same green and silver, but he looked at me differently than he had with his prince persona.
“I’m going to take you back now. You need to be fitted for your dress for the final evening and clothes for your talent portion.” He smiled down at me as though that were something to be excited about.
“If I survive, I suppose,” I quipped back smartly, feeling more myself with a full belly.
Zion smirked. “From what I saw of our journey here, you will have no trouble with anything thrown at you. Getting here is where most girls fail.”
My eye twitched. “You assume I have some sort of talent to display. Unlike the other girls, I grew up … differently. I can’t even read—”
I stopped myself there, not sure why I was about to reveal a weakness to someone I didn’t fully trust.
“Surely, you’re good at something,” he pressed with a touch of arrogance I recognized from his prince persona.
I rolled my eyes, resting my head on the table between my arms. “Only thing I’m good at is fighting off the other kids. I usually got to the food wagons first. The bigger girls would try to steal my food once I left, but they could rarely catch me.”
One eye rose. “So you’re a good fighter?”
I snorted. “I wouldn’t call it fighting, not like what you do with swords and training and all of that. It’s more like street tussling with dirty tricks and hair pulling and teeth kicking.”
“Try me.”
Zion took his armor off, setting the heavy breastplate on his chair along with his arm cuffs and knee guards. The metal shone like liquid fire on the floor, and he slowly turned to face me.
Too slowly.
