the kitchen always had food ready to go, and then the truth hit me—the chef probably prepared it with magic. And then I realized, with mild shock, Ophelia herself was probably a witch. I’d only just learned the basics of the creatures that made up the Amadis, and mage made the most sense. Since she served the royal family domestically, she couldn’t have been a warlock, who’d be out fighting, even at her age. Although . . . she might have been a shifter, explaining how her frail-looking body could hold all that food, but then I noticed she wasn’t actually carrying it. The tray hovered just over her arm, so it only looked as though she carried it. Yep, a witch. Weird.
Dorian eyed her, apparently not seeing that magic held the tray. “How are you so strong, Ophelia? You’re so old!”
“Dorian!” I hissed, my face even hotter than it had been. “That’s not nice.”
“He’s simply saying what he sees—I am old,” Ophelia said with a chuckle as she doled out all of Tristan’s plates. Then she winked at Dorian. “Bat wing soup and lots of vegetables.”
“Ew,” Dorian said, wrinkling his nose. “Good thing I’m strong because of my dad.”
“Vegetables help,” Tristan said as he pierced some kind of decorative leaf on his plate of eggs and shoved it into his mouth.
He dug into all his food while I pulled my croissant apart, picking at it more than eating it. My stomach remained knotted with worry, not helped by the embarrassment for my loss of control last night. I couldn’t have felt any more awkward than I did at this moment, sitting at a table full of people who had all experienced my orgasm right along with me.
“Alexis!” Rina’s voice came in my head, sounding very nearly like her regular voice but loud as a shout. I nearly jumped in my seat at the urgent tone, and my eyes shot up at her. Her brows drew together as she studied me then she finally said, “I need to talk to you about your gift.”
Had she heard my thoughts about last night? I blushed.
“Yes, we will talk about that, but it will have to wait,” she said. “I need to discuss a few things with you regarding the council meeting.”
This way or in private? I asked her.
She rose from her chair. “We need to be at the Council Hall in ten minutes. Sophia, Alexis, please come with me, yes?”
I dropped the fist-sized strawberry I was eating onto the plate next to my half-eaten croissant, wiped the red juice from my fingers onto the cloth napkin, and stood up.
“I’ll stay with Dorian during the meeting,” Owen offered. He wasn’t a member of the council—just my bodyguard, though I thought of him more like the big brother I never had but always wanted. Similarly, he was like an uncle to Dorian. They adored each other. Dorian, who’d been pouting because he wanted Tristan to himself all day, grinned at the idea of at least getting to hang out with Uncle Owen.
“No, Owen, I would like you at the meeting,” Rina said. “You will continue to serve as Alexis’s protector, so you need to know everything. Ophelia will take care of him.”
“We’ll go toad hunting,” Ophelia called from the kitchen just as Dorian’s mouth began to turn down into a frown. His eyes lit up. He jumped off his chair, gave Tristan and me quick hugs, and ran for the kitchen.
I followed Rina and Mom out of the dining room and down a long hallway. Rina’s deep-violet, floor-length gown swished at her legs as we entered what appeared to be her office. It was large and beautifully decorated, with polished wood furniture, including a desk and ceiling-high bookshelves, full of ancient-looking books and knickknacks. A leather sofa and two high-back chairs created a sitting area near the fireplace, where crackling flames danced, as they did in every fireplace in the cool stone mansion. Everything was antique.
“Alexis, use your mind to determine if anyone is nearby,” Rina said after Mom closed and locked the door.
This was something she could do herself, of course, so she was either allowing me to practice or testing me. I probed outwards with my mind, careful to keep my mental wall in place. I sensed no other thoughts nearby and shook my head.
“Before we go into the council meeting, you need to know we have not disclosed your gift of telepathy to anyone,” Rina said, moving to the chair behind