Shadowburn (2)

Chapter 3

Kalen was already waiting for them in the dining room by the time they'd descended the stairs. Andreas wasn't used to the slowness of it all, but knew that Sin would want to get a look at the house. Flashing was out of the question... at least until her curiosity had been sated. Judging by the size of his house, it wasn't going to be for a long while. Andreas sighed. She was here. He still couldn't believe it. And for now, that was all that mattered.

Andreas took his seat at the head of the table as he always did, Kalen sitting on his left. Sin took the seat on his right, across from Kalen and immediately grabbed at the food set out in front of them. He chuckled.

Kalen simply raised an eyebrow, his eyes shooting warily between the two of them.

"Can I ask?" he asked, his tone slightly amused.

Andreas shook his head and his eyes stayed on Sin as she filled her plate. There wasn't space for much more, yet she kept piling more onto it. Andreas' gaze went to the food; it wasn't even that good of a spread. Garlic mashed potatoes, boiled chicken with a thick mushroom sauce, and broccoli mixed with onions and carrots with cheese melted over it.

When she finally eased back into her chair, Andreas moved to scoop some of the food onto his own plate, Kalen following suit. Sin's eyes darted between them for a second when they leaned back into their chairs, their plates filled, but not nearly as much as the Djin's.

Her eyes stopped on Kalen. "I'm Sin," she told him flippantly. "Not much else to tell." The second the words were out, she shoved food into her mouth. By the looks of it, Andreas could've sworn she hadn't eaten in days.

"And your real name was so difficult to tell me earlier because...?" Kalen asked, taking a bite of chicken.

She smirked between bites, pausing just long enough to say, "Devlin Cendermane is my real name. I have many real names. That fact that it wasn't given to me at birth doesn't mean it isn't mine." She went back to eating nearly as quickly as she had stopped.

Kalen simply shook his head.

Andreas took a bite of his own food, pausing for a moment to admire the taste. Kalen had improved.

After a while, Kalen put down his eating utensils and gazed back and forth between Andreas and Sin again, just as the Djin was helping herself to a second plate. "I feel like I am missing something here. First you act weird," he nodded his head toward Andreas, "then three days later she shows up and you act like you've known each other for ages... what's going on?"

Sin glanced at Andreas curiously, but kept eating, not uttering a word. Andreas felt Kalen's heavy stare and sighed. He didn't particularly feel like explaining the situation to him. Perhaps Sin would feel so inclined.

"It's complicated."

"Everything with you seems to be complicated."

"It usually is."

Sin remained quiet, simply adding more food to her mouth. Andreas wondered at how much she could eat for such a tiny girl. Soon enough, her plate was empty and she was filling it for a third time. Even Kalen stared at her now.

Sin arched a brow at the two of them. "What?"

They ignored her.

"What's the problem in telling me?" Kalen asked after taking a sip from his goblet, his gaze turned to Andreas.

"There is no problem. I just don't feel like explaining."

"You can never make anything simple, can you?"