Wings of Hope

Chapter Three

Larc scooped me up from the floor, crossing the distance between us in seconds, and placed me gently on his bed. The silken sheets slipped underneath me and I began to protest against the fact that I was on his bed, but the Dragon-born whispered soft assurances into my ear that everything was okay.

Once I was settled and not wriggling to break free anymore, Larc retrieved the plate and glass of water from the door and placed the former in front of me. Before I could speak, he held the cup up to my lips and tilted it slightly so I could sip from it. At least, that was his intention. As soon as the refreshing coolness of the water filled my mouth, soothing the dryness that had built up over the past few days, my hands reached for the glass and I began to gulp it down.

"Easy now. Take it slowly before you accidentally drown yourself," Larc chuckled, the deep sound making me tense. That sound had been lovely to hear before, but now it only made me uneasy.

The Dragon-born sighed with a weak smile. "Try and eat something too."

I let him take the empty glass from my hands and turned my attention to the plate. What I thought I might have dug into straight away made me hesitate as I picked up the fork. I had no idea what was on the plate. It looked warm and the smell had my mouth watering, but I had never seen any of it before.

"What is it?" I asked, my voice much clearer now I'd had something to drink.

"This meat on the side here is the thunder-fried heron I spoke of," he began, leaning over me and pointing to a dark-golden brown slab. The sight of the crispiness that surrounded the meat had my stomach growling. "Then this," Larc moved his finger to point to the vibrant green pile that looked a little like mashed potato if it weren't for the colour, "is muyeva which tastes a bit like human cheese, maybe a little sweeter. Lastly, this is oxomon. I'm not sure what it tastes like compared to human foods, but it's quite salty." He pointed towards the dull purple sticks that were thin and spindly. His explanations were so gentle that I almost forgot he had betrayed me and my sister a few days ago.

Picking up my fork once more, I tried the heron first, then the oxomon, and then moved to the muyeva.

"So, what do you think?" Larc questioned, an eagerness hidden behind his cautious expression.

"They're... okay. I'm not too fond of the Oxomon, but the other two are okay." I didn't know who I was fooling, but the thunder-fried heron and the muyeva were more than okay, they were so delicious that my body screamed for more. The heron had the perfect crisp to every bite and the meat inside was juicy enough to keep you wanting. The muyeva had melted on my tongue despite its mashed potato consistency and it did taste like human cheese as Larc had said. Nothing could taste this good without there being some sort of ungoddessly consequences.

I dropped my fork at the thought, suddenly feeling nauseous. "It's not poisoned or laced with sleeping herbs is it?" It would be very easy to poison me when I was so vulnerable. When I was on the verge of starvation and the only food I had was in front of me, it would be very convenient to mix some sort of herb in it.