Chapter 20
773 Words
For a moment, Elara simply stared at the bread.
It sat on the silver plate like a foreign object, something that didn't belong in her world.
Her hands hovered over it, trembling slightly."
Eat."The command was sharp, but not cruel.
It was an order, and orders were things she understood.
Slowly, carefully, as if handling a venomous snake, she picked up the loaf.
She took a small, tentative bite.
The taste exploded in her mouth.
Warm, fresh, baked with honey and herbs.
It was better than anything she had tasted in years.
Better than anything she remember tasting.
Vaelith watched her.His jaw tightened beneath the silver mask.
Something about the way she ate bothered him.
Not the act itself, but the fear radiating from her.
She looked as though she expected the food to vanish at any second.
As though she believed this was a trick, a cruel game before a beating.
As though she didn't trust herself to have this.
The realization left a bitter taste in his own mouth, far worse than the wine he hadn't touched.
Elara kept her eyes fixed on her plate, determined not to look at him.
She focused on chewing, on swallowing, on surviving the next minute without making a mistake.
But it was impossible.Every few seconds, her gaze flickered up, drawn like a magnet to the silver eyes watching her from across the table.
And every time, those eyes were already there, intense and unblinking.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
Why? she thought desperately.
Why do I know those eyes?
The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
The fire crackled, casting long, dancing shadows that seemed to whisper secrets she couldn't hear.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Thank you, my lord.
"Vaelith raised an eyebrow
. "For what?
""The food."The answer seemed obvious to her.
But Vaelith looked genuinely puzzled, as if she had just spoken in a foreign language."
You are thanking me," he said slowly, his voice low and dangerous, "for letting you eat?
"Elara frowned, confusion replacing fear for a split second.
"Yes?"Another silence followed. This one was heavier, charged with something she couldn't name.
Vaelith looked away first, turning his gaze to the fire.
The flames reflected in his silver eyes, making them look like molten metal.
Something about her answer unsettled him deeply. She sounded sincere.
Not grateful for kindness, but grateful for permission.
As though the basic act of filling her stomach required the approval of a noble.
As though hunger itself was a privilege she had to beg for.
The anger that surged through him was cold and sharp.
It wasn't anger at her.
It was anger at the world that had made this normal.
At the system that had broken a human being so thoroughly that a meal was an act of charity rather than a right
Elara continued eating quietly, her hands shaking less now, but her mind racing.
The food was incredible, but she couldn't enjoy it.
Not while sitting across from the Commander.
Not while those silver eyes occasionally settled on her with an intensity that made her skin crawl.
And not while her mind kept screaming that she had seen those eyes before.
Eventually, she gathered enough courage to ask the question that had been burning in her throat.
"My lord?"Vaelith looked up instantly.
"What is it?"
The words died on her lips.Where have I seen your eyes before?Instead, she asked,
"Why?"Vaelith frowned.
"Why what?"
Elara hesitated, gesturing vaguely at the food, the table, the situation.
"Why are you doing this?"
The question hung in the air between them.
Vaelith stared at her for several long moments
His expression was unreadable behind the mask, but his eyes... his eyes were stormy.
Finally, he answered.
"I was curious."Elara blinked. "Curious?""
Curious about what it feels like," Vaelith said, his voice quiet, "to share a meal with someone who isn't trying to kill me, betray me, or sell me out for power."
The honesty in his voice shocked her.
It was so raw, so vulnerable, that for a moment she forgot he was a noble and she was a slave."
But..." she started, then stopped.
She knew better than to question a noble.
She lowered her gaze again.
"I don't understand."
"You don't have to understand," Vaelith said, his voice hardening again.
"Just eat.
"The awkward silence returned, but it was different now.
Less hostile, more... complicated.
Elara took another bite of the bread, the taste sweet and bitter on her tongue.
She looked up, meeting Vaelith's silver eyes once more.
This time, she didn't look away.And for the first time, neither did he.
- Writer
