His Human Queen

The truce

Maeve:

By the time the tour ended I was hungry again. Not that naked gnawing pain, but somehow it hurt just as much.

I had seen the gym, the armory, the library, the war room, and so on. This place was never ending and even with such a thorough tour, I knew I would find myself lost more often than not.

My feet, however, seemed to remember the way back to the kitchen. Or maybe it was just the scent of roasting meat and fresh bread that guided me, a siren's call my stomach couldn't ignore. The kitchen was vast and empty, a cavern of stainless steel and polished stone. A platter sat on a massive central island, leftover from the staff's dinner. Cold cuts, cheeses, and half a loaf of dark bread.

I didn't grab a plate. I didn't even use a knife. My fingers sank into the soft flesh of the bread, tearing off a hunk. I piled a slice of ham and a chunk of sharp cheese onto it and shoved it into my mouth. It was a messy, graceless act. I chewed with my mouth open, not out of rudeness, but because I couldn't breathe. The food was gone in three bites, and I was already reaching for more, my hands trembling as I stuffed another fistful of bread and meat into my face. Crumbles fell to the floor, but I didn't care. I was an animal, and this was my feeding trough.

A soft cough from the doorway made me freeze, a piece of bread halfway to my lips. I looked up, my heart seizing in my chest. Caspian and Nolan stood there, framed by the light from the hall. They weren't angry or disgusted. They were just… watching. Their expressions were a mirror of each other: a deep, profound pity that was far, far worse than any judgment. Caspian’s jaw was tight, and Nolan’s gaze was so full of sorrow it felt like a physical blow. I stood there, a wild thing caught in a trap, my face smeared with grease and crumbs, the evidence of my savagery undeniable.

Time seemed to stretch and thin, the silence in the room so thick I could feel it pressing against my eardrums. My blood roared in my ears, a frantic drumbeat of shame. I wanted to run, to disappear, to melt into the stone floor. But my feet were rooted to the spot, my body paralyzed by the weight of their stares.

It was Nolan who, to my surprise, moved first. He stepped into the room slowly, his hands held up in a gesture of peace, as if approaching a skittish deer. He didn't look at my face, but at the platter. The man who had been so disgusted and angry with me just hours ago, was now coming closer, his brown eyes had gone from untamed fury to… pity… which was worse.

"There's plenty more," he said, his voice gentle, almost a whisper. "Please. Don't let us stop you."

His kindness after our fight earlier was a lash. I flinched, taking a half-step back. The movement broke the spell. Caspian pushed off the door frame and walked to the other side of the island, his movements fluid and deliberate. He pulled out a stool and sat, resting his forearms on the polished surface. He didn't say anything, just watched me with those piercing eyes that seemed to see right through my skin and into the hollow, desperate place inside.

Nolan opened a nearby cupboard and pulled out a plate, then another. He placed one on the counter in front of me, the soft clink of ceramic against stone making me jump. He set the other in front of Caspian before selecting a knife and beginning to slice the bread with steady, precise cuts. The domesticity of the act was surreal. Here I was, a feral creature, and they were setting the table for a picnic.

"Sit, Maeve," Nolan said, his voice still impossibly soft. He gestured to the stool beside Caspian. "Eat with us."

I couldn't. My throat was too tight with unshed tears and humiliation. I just shook my head, my gaze fixed on the plate he'd given me. It was a clean, white canvas, and I was a mess of muddy colors that would only stain it.

Caspian finally spoke, his voice a low thunderous rumble. "Nolan's right. There's no shame in being hungry." He paused, and when I finally dared to look at him, I saw it again—that flicker of something so much deeper than pity. "We've been hungry, too."

And just like that, the dam broke. A single hot tear escaped and traced a path through the grease on my cheek. I swiped at it angrily, but it was too late. They had seen. They had seen everything.

Nolan sat the knife down with a soft click and moved around the island, his approach slow and non-threatening. He didn’t try to touch me this time. Instead, he pulled a clean linen napkin from a drawer and placed it on the counter beside my hand. "It's alright," he murmurs. "Just breathe."

Caspian remained seated, his presence a solid, silent anchor. He pushed the plate of neatly sliced bread a little closer to me before speaking.

"Start with this," he spoke, his voice calm and steady. "One piece at a time. No one is going to take it from you."

His words were a balm and a curse all at once. The promise of safety was so overwhelming that it brought another wave of tears and a guilt so deep that it hurt. I finally sank onto the stool, my body was trembling, and with a shaking hand, I picked up a single slice of bread. It felt so foreign in my grip, too civilized. Still, I brought it to my mouth, and this time the bite was smaller, hesitant. Nolan quietly busies himself making me a proper plate, stacking meat and cheese with a quiet efficiency that feels like a form of care.

I know I shouldn’t have, but the embarrassment was so great, and I was so eager to replace it with something else, even if that something else was anger, that I let the words fall from my lips. “I thought you hated me,” I spoke to Nolan, but both of the large men stilled.

“Titus was my friend…” Nolan’s voice was soft, so soft that a pang of guilt rattled my still aching ribs.

Before I could say anything, he spoke again. “He was my partner in war, my confidant, but he should never have been over that mountain, and you should never have been reduced to a hunger so great that you were able to kill him. So…” That was all he said, then he kept slicing, piling, preparing my plate.

“I’m sorry.” I finally managed.

“I believe that, thank you,” Nolan muttered.

And with that, the three of us ate.