Page 14 of Bound By Blood
"One would think." The silence grew heavier for a moment before he nodded at her. "What about you?"
"I like trying new combinations. New things. Not that that happens so much here. So if it had to be a staple, it would be venison and vegetable soup."
"And you're here all alone? No family either?"
"No family here. I lost them a long time ago."
"I'm sorry."
She shook her head. Tears misted over her eyes as she forced a smile. "It's fine. It doesn't matter. I don't even remember what happened."
Oh. The lie came so quickly and easily now. He hadn't even asked for details. Why was she talking?
"You don't?" Ryul's expression grew contemplative. "That would be awful."
Sometimes the truth was worse.
She tried to wave the words away, but they kept coming. The distinct blending of fact and fiction that had become her story for the past several years. "Nan found me on one of the staircases in the forest. She's the one who owns this place. She found me and took me back to her home, and she and her husband decided I could run this soup cottage until one of their granddaughters was ready to come back from the city. Simple as that. No dark memories. No tragedies. Nothing like that."
"Still, it would be hard not knowing. Not even remembering their faces."
Her stomach clenched. The tears wanted to return. She just shook her head though. "Sometimes we just have to make do with what we have."
"It's lonely though," he said. "Not having your family or people you picked as your family."
"That's what friends are for." She set Buttons down. "And dogs, for that matter. Now, are you ready for some soup?"
"Yes."
She lifted the lid and gave it one more stir. Rosemary garlic chicken soup was a simple recipe for starting with. Her grandmother had always insisted it made you healthier and stronger. And her mother had made it at least once a month every autumn and winter.
She ladled a steaming portion into a large brown bowl and then placed it with a spoon on the wooden peel used for putting loaves into the brick oven. Carefully, she slid it over to the window and out beyond the warding.
"Here."
He accepted it, his fingers wrapping around the carved bowl as if he did not even feel the heat. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She drew the peel back in and set it aside.
Hopefully, this worked and fast. This blood fae was already making her say more than she should, and she didn't know why it was so hard to contain anything around him. Sooner or later, she'd probably tell him everything. And then where would she be?
Ryul's eyes lit up as he took the first bite. Then he masked his expression. "It's decent."
"Decent?" She crossed her arms now, not even trying to hide her smile. "Is that all you have to say? That's great soup."
He took another bite, no longer looking at her. "Well, maybe…" he murmured. He scowled. "Aren't you going to eat any?"
Surprised, she tilted her head. "I—"
"You should."
"To prove it isn't poisoned?"
"No." His brow tweaked again. "I would have mentioned it before I ate some if I really thought that. But you must be hungry too."
Not really, but she hadn't eaten all day. It was easy to forget with everything else that was going on.
She dished up her own bowl and came to stand across from him.
