Page 38 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

“You have an audience,” the man said in a low voice.

My head jerked to the side, and I found a group of fae with a variety of appearances and bonded beasts waiting.

We were blocking the dining hall’s entrance.

“Does the human taste different than a fae?” one of the guys in the group asked.

It was a good thing my face was already red, or my embarrassment would’ve been obvious.

“No. A little softer, though.” His expression was thoughtful as he looked at me. “We’ll share a bed tomorrow night?”

Had I agreed to that?

I didn’t know if I was ready to commit that completely to my revenge plan. I couldn’t turn him down with a crowd though, so I flashed him a smile and nodded.

He smiled back. “I’ll find you.”

With that, he and his friend vanished back into the hallway we’d walked down.

“Uh, sorry, everyone.” I waved at our audience before slipping into the dining hall. Since I didn’t want to wait and see if anyone would happen to serve me, I headed into the doors that I assumed led to the kitchen and poked my head in.

I was probably still red and flushed, but I didn’t really care at that point. My stomach was rumbling fiercely.

My gaze collided with a group of male and female fae who looked like they’d just stopped in the middle of a conversation.

I said quickly, stumbling over my words a bit, “Hi. I was living in a cellar up until a few days ago, so I’m starving. I’ll eat anything and everything, and I have no idea what I like. So if you have enough food, I’d love to have some.”

There was a moment’s pause before a sympathetic-looking woman spoke up. “We’ll bring it out. Just sit down at any of the tables.”

I nodded. “Thank you so much.”

They brought me a dozen plates, loaded with food. My eyes got a little teary every time they brought me something new, and sometimes when I tasted said new food as well.

It was all absolutely incredible.

Fancy savory breads.

Elegant sweet breads.

Soups.

Pastas.

Salads of every kind.

Desserts, desserts, and more desserts.

I must’ve died and crossed the veil, because damn, it was something out of a dream.

I was already incredibly full when Eisley, the fae who’d brought me the dress, strolled back into the dining room with another woman. She looked just as short as me, and just as skinny too.

My heart went out to her even as I shoved another bite into my mouth, and I gave a quick wave to show that I’d seen her. We were alone in the dining hall at that point, and it would’ve been rude to ignore her even if we weren’t.

Unlike Ravv, I wasn’t an asshole.

At least, not most of the time.

Eisley gestured to the chair next to me, and the girl sat down as the fae introduced us. Though we were equally skinny and wimpy-looking, her light skin was a bit tanned and her long, wavy hair was a gorgeous dark green color. “Laeli, this is Nissa. Nissa, this is Laeli.”

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