Zalthor shut his eyes. The scales slowly began to disappear on his skin, his eyes returning to the book like something dangerous had not almost happened.
Not long after, there was another soft knock on the door. Zalthor said nothing. He turned the page as he continued reading.
Raymond entered calmly, his face looking slightly nervous as he tried to think about how he was going to frame his words to the king.
Zalthor's eyes remained on the book unflinchingly, like he was the only one in the room. His legs were still crossed.
"Your Majesty… it is—" He paused, then added. In fact, he did not know if he was acting like that out of fear that His Majesty might change his mind on the shoes, or maybe because of the news.
"I… it is about the queen."
Zalthor's hand, which was about to turn the page, paused midway as he looked at Raymond, his eyes sharp yet calm.
"What is it?" he asked.
Raymond bowed and then spoke.
"It seems like she had refused to eat until your presence…" His words trailed off as Zalthor stood.
Yeara sat at the dining table, the food in front of her untouched. She leaned back in the chair as she knew she would need to wait for the king's meeting to be over so they could eat together.
After all, it was a little bit wrong if she ate alone on her first time at the castle. Not like she was not okay with it—she was very much okay with it, but she just wanted the first one to be with the king.
'It would have been better if I continued my exploring than sitting here staring at this food,' she said to herself.
When she had entered and passed the demarcation before she could go further, a maid had called her for dinner.
She sighed. The foods were a lot… many. Now this really made her miss Cedric. She missed her little brother. Even when they had lots of food, she loved taking his, and then he claimed she stole his meal and did the same to her.
A soft smile formed on her lips.
Just then.
The large door opened.
Yeara's head shifted toward the door, and then Zalthor entered, his posture perfect as he walked gracefully to the dining table. The dining table was in the middle of the large dining hall.
Above was a beautiful chandelier light. Normally, the aides stayed at the side in straight lines. The king had changed that, so instead they lined outside. There was a small button beside each cutlery area that could be pressed to summon them.
Zalthor sat, his eyes now moving to Yeara. Yeara's eyes turned to him, and for some reason, her chest began to race.
"I see you refused to eat without my presence," he spoke as he moved to pick up his cutlery.
Yeara did the same as they began eating.
"Your Majesty, I can, but I cannot. On our first meeting in the palace, it is considered an abominatio —or rather, tales say that if you visit a person or go to a person's home, you need to eat with that person.
So no need to bother. From now on, I would be able to eat without you," she spoke, almost assuring him, or more like telling him not to take himself higher than he already had.
Her hands moved to the glass cup of water. Moving it to her lips, she took a sip before gulping it down.
Zalthor moved his fork, the roasted, well-seasoned meat resting on it. He moved it to his lips as he chewed slowly. His gaze watched as she tried to reach for the fruit, which was far away. He finally moved, picking up the small plate filled with colorful fruit.
Yeara's face flushed as she realized how obvious she must have been. She moved her hands to take it.
Their fingers brushed.
Yeara's pulse quickened as she immediately pulled her hands away as the sudden spark in her heart caught her off guard. Her lips pressed together as she took the plate, avoiding his now questioning gaze.
"Thank you," she softly muttered.
She had barely eaten three spoons of her food so far.
"Tell me… what if I weren't around?" he asked.
Yeara's fingers loosened slightly on the fork. She turned to him. She had not really thought of that at all.
"Well then… I will not eat."
Just as she spoke—
"Brrrr."
Her stomach growled as if answering the question.
Yeara's face burned as she began to eat quickly.
Zalthor's lips stretched slightly as his eyes flickered to her stomach before returning his gaze to his meal.
Silence fell.
Zalthor moved the wine glass to his lips as he began to gulp. Yeara shifted her gaze to his neck, her eyes staring at his Adam's apple that bobbed up and down as he drank. She swallowed softly at the sight, then shifted her gaze to his face.
A gasp escaped her lips.
His eyes were on her through the wine glass as he gulped down the wine.
"Cough… cough."
Yeara began to cough as her hands moved to her chest. She had choked on her own saliva, embarrassment cloaking around her as she realized she had been caught staring.
Zalthor's hand moved as he handed her a glass of water.
Yeara took it and gulped it down. She dropped it on the table as she turned her gaze to the side, momentarily forgetting etiquette. She used her hands to wipe her mouth.
'Oh my, Yeara, what is wrong with you…' she scolded herself hard as she continued her meal.
But heavens knew what those dark stares had done to her soul.
She took in three slow breaths as she finally focused on her meal.
"We have a visitor in our home. They will be staying until our wedding, so expect the dining area to host more than just the two of us for the time being," Zalthor informed her.
Yeara nodded with a smile.
Zalthor's gaze lingered on her, fixed on her smile.
Yeara immediately froze, sensing his attention.
"I met Lady Ella… we were childhood friends," she said slowly, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
Zalthor listened.
"We were in the same orphanage," she added, but immediately shut her mouth, realizing that Zalthor might not care. She did not know why, for some reason, she felt like she could tell him her secret.
"I see," Zalthor said with a hum.
He then placed a piece of meat on her plate.
Yeara's eyes shifted to him as their eyes locked.
"You'll need to eat more… for better stamina," he said, his eyes briefly flicking to her lips as he slowly lifted the napkin to wipe his own.
Yeara's eyebrow raised.
"You don't have to worry about that. I have great stamina," she said with a smile.
Zalthor's lips curled up sinfully at her innocent reply.
"Night and midnight exercises are quite different, my Queen," his deep, husky words rolled out in the most seductive way.
Yeara choked.