Shifted

Chapter 11: A Royal Supper

Ferguson stepped into the room, which must have been the signal that dinner was ready. Declan quickly pulled out his pocket watch again to check the time. Dillon froze beside me, his eyes distant. Declan snapped his watch closed and stood first to lead the group. Dillon blinked and followed suit quickly, offering me his hand.

"Where did all of this chivalry come from? Outside of Raine's earlier, I thought you were going to bite my head off," I whispered.

"Well, I am a prince after all. I was properly raised. But as you know, I don't want my life to be led for me, I'd rather do the leading. So, sometimes I take a few liberties of my own," he wrapped my arm around his and walked through a door leading off the sitting room into the dining room.

The dining room was decorated similarly to the great hall, with a beautiful dark green decor. Even the place settings had forest green napkins and emerald jeweled napkin holders. Declan stood at the head of the table, waiting for everyone to filter in. Emery was directly to his right and the Campbells sat beside her. Dillon pulled out a seat for me, but Declan interrupted.

"No, no, Briony must sit here," he pulled out the chair directly to the left of his own. "She'll be traveling with you after all, lad. I should get to know the young lady before you leave."

I obliged and sat in the seat Declan offered to me. Dillon sat reluctantly to my left and Maeve to the left of him. Servers came in with the first course and placed them on the chargers.

"Briony, tell us about yourself. Where in America are you from?" Declan requested.

"Oh, uh," I stammered. I was still struggling with the fact that I was talking to a charming king, sitting in a castle. How had my life turned into a fairy tale? "Um, I was born in North Carolina. I have three younger sisters, and they're my life. We do everything together. We were raised outside of this world, though. Our father just told us earlier this week that I was a Shifter and that my younger sister is a Regulator."

"Intriguing, your younger sister, a Regulator?" Declan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, she just turned 20 this past weekend," I answered, not knowing what else to say. I felt like I was missing something the rest of them knew, but I couldn't place it.

"Wonderful!" King Delcan scanned the table, reading everyone's faces. Emery looked at him strangely, but quickly changed to a comforting smile when she realized I was looking her way. They were beginning to make me feel uneasy. I was too observant to let these odd glances slip by unnoticed. "Tell us, what have you been able to do as a Shifter, dear?" Emery asked. Her voice rang clear and delicately as a bell.

"I've been able to see people's auras, they're beautiful and colorful. The color changes depending on their emotion at the time, and it changes in intensity depending on how strongly they are feeling," I explained to the group. They all looked at me in surprise, except for Declan who looked delighted.

"How about our auras, what do you see?" Declan was nearly on the edge of his seat.

"It can vary actually. For example, Emery's is something I haven't seen before. It's muddled and faint, I can't pick out one color to describe it. If I had to though, I would say it's grey. I can't see Dillon's because he is a Regulator, of course. And yours is... interesting," I said to the king. "It's not like most auras which hover freely around each person's body, the edges fizzle out about 2 inches away from most peoples' skin. Yours, on the other hand, is very pale, almost faded, and it hugs your body with rounded edges. It's almost as though you're pulling yours close to you," I explained.

Declan's face was practically glowing. His aura flared bright yellow as I spoke but Dillon tensed beside me.

"As for the Campbells," I continued, "I don't see anything around Maeve and Mr.Campbell. They must be Regulators, but Mrs. Campbell has the prettiest blue aura I've seen. She must be happy."