Forged in Stone - Alyssa Rose Ivy Page 0,55
when he took in the room.
“Good morning again, James.” Charlotte spoke while I stood there.
“Good morning, Charlotte. Helping Ainsley out?”
“Helping her in.”
“That color looks wonderful on you.” He placed a covered tray on the bedside table.
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“I will leave you two to your breakfast.” Charlotte grinned and walked out of the room. She closed the door behind her.
“You did not wait in bed for me.”
“I had company.”
“I see.”
“Thanks for getting the food.”
“I hope you are still hungry.” His eyes remained fixed on me.
“Very.” Surely it had been more than a normal amount of time since my last meal. Hours had passed before we reached the castle, and then we slept.
“Since you are dressed, want to sit out on the balcony?” He gestured toward the large windows.
“There is a balcony out there?”
“Yes. A nice one.” He picked up the tray and headed toward the windows.
I watched as he unlatched one, still managing to balance the tray. “I can help.”
“I am capable of multi-tasking.” He held open the door for me, and I stepped out onto a wide patio. A wrought iron table sat in the center with two chairs next to it.
James pulled out one of the chairs before I could, and I took a seat. He set down the tray and sat down in the other chair. “Not quite breakfast in bed, but at least it is nice weather this morning.”
“Beautiful weather.” It was warm and sunny, and the balcony gave us a view of the city. Most of the buildings were stone, and it had a timeless feel to it.
“I hope you like some of what I chose.”
“I am not a picky eater.”
“Neither am I.” He opened the lid to the tray.
“Wow.” I took in the heaping tray of eggs, several different breakfast meats, fruit, and pastries. “That all looks amazing.”
“There are benefits of being in a castle.”
“I take it the cook is good?”
“Very.” He moved the large plate to reveal two smaller ones as well as place settings. He handed a plate to me. “Want me to serve you?”
“I can help myself.” I resisted my initial inclination to grab a pastry first. Instead I went for the eggs. I could use the protein. I also served myself some fruit salad, although it wasn’t fruit I recognized.
James took a bit of some sort of white fleshy fruit. “You have to try the jade Fruit. It is my favorite fruit.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“It only grows in Energo.”
“Oh.” I used my fork to pick up a bite of the white fruit. It melted in my mouth. “Amazing!”
“The food here is quite good.”
“I see.” I took a bite of eggs before giving in and going after an iced pastry.
James smiled but said nothing.
“What is the plan?” I set down the pastry after a bite. It was warm and sweet and tasted like a cinnamon roll.
“We meet with the Guard after this.”
“Do they already know I’m here?”
“Yes. They have been alerted. “
“Alerted?”
“The Guard has to know what is happening around the Essence at all times.”
“When you said we meet with them, does that mean I come?”
“Yes. They may have questions for you.”
“Questions?”
“About how you got the house sitting position, things like that. Liam sent someone to find Stan and Emma, so hopefully they will bring us answers soon, but until then we have to work with the information we have.”
“How long will the meeting take?”
“Not too long. Then I need to do a few things.”
“A few things?” I raised an eyebrow.
He took a bite of some sort of sausage. “Yes. Nothing to worry about.”
“Can I come?”
He shook his head. “No, it is not safe. You will stay with Charlotte.”
“That sounds sexist. It’s dangerous so I’m going to stay back with the girls?”
“It is something I have to do alone. But I will be back.”
“I’d hope so. Remember, you promised not to ditch me.”
“I will be with you by tonight… speaking of which.”
“Yes?”
“The castle is comfortable, but would you want to see where I live?”
“You mean your real home?” I remembered his words. This wasn’t his bed, his home. Was he inviting me over there for that reason? I took a deep breath. I wasn’t allowed to get excited. Besides, I shouldn’t have been excited.
“Yes. It is not quite this fancy, but there are comforts. Plus I can cook for you there.”
“You cook?”
“Yes. Very well.”
“This I have to see.” As if he wasn’t good at enough things already? He also knew how to cook?
“Then you will. Dinner tonight.”
“With everything else going