I take my seat at the table in the library as Queen Judith fixes a plate for me.
“No, thank you,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. I don’t want her to know I’d practiced refusing the food all morning. “I have found some foods that agree with me. The healer says they are wonderful for a growing pup, so I would like to stick with those. If I eat this, I will become sick and risk having a weak pup.”
She pauses, and her head snaps to mine as she levels me with a gaze. I square my shoulders and sit tall, trying not to squirm. I won’t back down. She arches an eyebrow at me. “What CAN you eat?”
I don’t know why she pronounced it so dramatically. She watched me vomit everything I ate for over a week. “Things that are cold,” I tell her. “Cold chicken, boiled eggs. I’m even wil
