Chapter 336

She didn't know how long it had been. There were no windows in the room in which they were being kept. They had been given water twice and been fed once, but Elain was starving. She was sure that the others could hear her stomach rumbling and she wrapped her arms around her stomach as it gurgled. There had been a rumbling sound earlier from someone else's stomach, and Elain had been pretty sure that it had been Kera's stomach, but the blonde hadn't so much as blinked by way of reaction, and Elain was pretty sure that she was trying to pretend as if she hadn't just made that undignified sound.

When Elain's stomach rumbled again, she adjusted her position against the wall. She knew that she had missed dinner. They were meant to be back to the palace by the afternoon, and she would have next eaten at dinner. Evidently, they had missed that, and she was beginning to suspect that they had also missed breakfast. Had it been an entire day already? Lucien must be going out of his mind with worry. She still couldn't feel anything by way of the bond, but she knew that he would be simmering, beginning to struggle with keeping himself in check. That fire in his veins would be heating, looking for a way out.

Was that what they had wanted? Elain bit her lip, leaning her head back against the wall as she thought about it. She had been so preoccupied wondering why they had been taken that she hadn't considered that they may be bait. What if whoever had taken them had done so with the hope that Lucien and Helion would come looking? What if the High Lord and his heir were the real targets? She hoped that Lucien wouldn't get so agitated and restless that he would run off and do something stupid in the hopes of finding her. Biting her lip harder, Elain tried to push that thought aside. Lucien was so very clever. There was no way he would fall for something like that.

Suddenly, the door open and two males Elain thought she might have recognised walked in, trays in their hands. The scent hit Elain before she even got a look at what was on those trays. Food.

"Oh…" She breathed, sitting up straighter and barely controlling her urge to reach for them and the trays. If their captors had noticed that they had all slipped their bindings, nothing was said. Elain didn't spare another thought for that as the trays were set down on the floor in front of them and she couldn't hide the growling of her stomach then. As if hearing the call, several other stomachs growled in response, and Elain couldn't help a smile at the indignant look on Kera's face at that.

"Are those honeyed pears?" Ashk asked, shifting a little away from the wall and toward the closest tray.

"Yes." Elain snagged the corner of the tray and dragged it closer to them. "Yes, that is exactly what those are." She tried to hide her grin at the fact that honeyed pears seemed to be the only things that could break the Lady of the Autumn Court's stoic façade. Elain understood that though, honeyed pears were pretty good.

Eyeing Lucien's mother out of the corner of her eye, Elain turned a little so that the others wouldn't be able to read her lips. "Do you think," she breathed, trying to keep her voice low enough that only Ashk would hear her, "that Helion and Lucien were maybe the targets of this?"

Russet eyes flicked her way but Ashk's face didn't change at all as she continued to eat the honeyed pear in her hands. "I had wondered that at the start." Ashk's reply was so soft that Elain had to lean a little toward her to catch it all. "But the questions they asked us? That was not about Helion or Lucien."

Nodding, Elain picked up a honeyed pear of her own, her mouth watering. "You're right…" she murmured, "That was very much about us…" She supposed the thought should have been distressing, but Elain found that it actually made her feel a little better. At least Lucien wouldn't be walking into some kind of trap when he came looking for her.

"I will never take honeyed pears for granted again." Tisia groaned, her eyes closed as she savoured the flavour.

"They are good." Noor agreed.

"I prefer the spiced oranges." Amala said, picking up a piece of orange and looking at it approvingly. "They are famous all over Prythian as one of the best dishes from the Day Court."

"Are they?" Elain asked.

"I suppose you probably wouldn't have heard of them in the Mortal Lands." Amala replied, and Elain lifted an eyebrow at the look on her face.

"No…" She agreed slowly, "I certainly hadn't."

"I hadn't heard of them," Ashk put in simply, "Until I first visited the Day Court…"

Amala looked surprised by that and as if she didn't know what to say by way of response. Elain just watched as the bronze skinned Courtier picked up another piece of orange. She hadn't before seen the look that crossed Amala's face then, but didn't have much time to ponder it because Eria nudged her.

"I… I think the door is unlatched…"

"Is it…?" Elain pushed herself to her knees for a better look and, sure enough, there was a thin sliver of light where the door hadn't quite closed. "Oh…"