Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 76857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
The question was ignored. “You’re hungry. Please, let me feed you.”
If it meant I might have what my mother made for me, I would concede and swallow unwanted food. However, there was no chance I was taking the chair he offered, choosing instead the one across.
Cautiously lowering myself into the seat, I watched him do the same.
He didn’t seem to mind my rejection of his courtesy in the slightest, extremely pleased and practically purring once I was settled and glaring.
The table setup was unlike the mess hall I was accustomed to. A round, sturdy table between us covered in a starched white cloth. There were dishes, not the worn metal trays I was used to, but delicate things, round, with scalloped edges. They almost seemed to have been carved from semiprecious stone, dainty and glittery.
Had I not been required to keep my focus on the general, I would have loved observing them more closely.
“I’m going to remove the covers from the food, nothing more.” The warning was given before he reached forward to gather several domes. Flicking the mechanisms keeping food fresh, tiny vents hissed as steam released.
Seven platters were displayed, filled with all kinds of things. Some of it smelled nice; some of it did not. Yet nothing was familiar. There wasn’t a single gelatinous cube, not one serving of compressed vegetation. “I don’t know what any of this is.”
“Processed meat cubes and compacted vegetable patties are only for soldiers on duty and recruits in training. As my mate, I will serve you harvested vegetables and fresh game.” Pointing to various dishes, he began to describe them, showing me more food than I could eat. “This is the raw liver of a gacdsoo. Over here is braised bulba shoulder. The white flesh is an aquatic animal, seared and glazed with citrus.” Next, he explained the various colorful plant things, describing flavor profiles and what paired well with each meat. “We’ll explore what you like, and in the future, I will bring you what you desire.”
All of it meant nothing to me. My whole life, I had been given food, and I ate it in the twenty-minute allotment for mealtimes. I had no opinion on my diet other than the opinion of not wanting to starve.
“May I have your plate?”
The empty one in front of me? “Why?”
With a soft smile, he offered, “I will serve you so you can taste what you will. Afterward, your mother’s gift for dessert.”
An easy and relaxed General Cyderial was very disconcerting. But I’d rather have him sitting across from me than touching me in any way. Cautiously, I handed him the pretty plate, watching the imperfections in the polished crystal catch the light.
Very pretty.
It wasn’t just the table and bed that were strange.
I stole assessing glances at his space, while he filled the glittering dish. The whole room was nothing like anything I’d known within academy walls. The space was filled with soft light and fresh air, the decorations delicate and pretty. Gossamer curtains around the bed still waved lightly with the breeze, the same breeze running over my burning bare arms.
The plate was returned to me, small portions of each edible thing organized in a strategic arrangement of his choosing. He smiled when I placed it before me.
Self-conscious, knowing just why he looked at me that way, I said, “Males eat first at the academy. Aren't you going to get some for yourself?”
Voice husky, he urged me to begin. “This is for you. I won’t eat until you’re done.”
The general’s fixated stare had altered overnight. What had once been lifeless and deranged was now obsessive and pleased.
This pleased him.
Which made me very uneasy.
Sit, eat, and be stared at, or run around and be caught and potentially fucked on the floor while he held me down. It was a simple choice. Picking up my fork, I looked over my plate.
There was no rhyme or reason to my first selection. Tines stabbing into something red and shiny, I brought it to my mouth and shoved it in.
Coppery and velvet once chewed, the raw gacdsoo liver was quite nice. So nice it felt as if my hearts picked up speed as I swallowed it down. But it wasn’t my hearts making that pounding—it was my chest, rumbling out my delight without permission.
Who knew food could be this good?
More was quickly added to my plate once the male saw my reaction. Bloody and fragrant, I ate it with enthusiasm. Every last bite.
The soft liver only made me realize how ravenous I truly was. Another sampling awaited, orange in color but flat in flavor. I swallowed the nutrition but did not go back for more. Not when there were other things to try and the distraction of interesting flavors beckoning my attention.
Out of the various dishes, there was only one I absolutely hated, gagging as I worked to swallow it.