Chapter Ten

As I mentioned, I knew plants better than I did people. With plants, there were rules I knew to follow. Pruning can promote healthy growth. But if you do it incorrectly, you can kill the plant. Cut a tree branch too close to its trunk or too close to the main branch it”s growing from, and the tree won”t be able to seal the wound, leaving it open to parasites and pathogens. This is called a flush cut. It removes the branch collar which is needed to form the seal over the cut. The opposite is a stub cut. That leaves the length of the branch too long, too far from the branch collar. So, again, the collar cannot grow over the wound. Both flush and stub cuts can kill a tree.

I may have cut the King too flush.

I thought I”d been playing it safe by backing off when I had and keeping him wanting. But that night at dinner, I was not invited back to the King”s table.

Luckily, I arrived early enough that I snagged a table. I was feeling sassy and wanted to taunt the Dragon Court. So I sat on a couch near the end of the table, leaving plenty of space for others to join me. They did not. In fact, they gave me a wider berth than they had before. Not that I blamed them after the scene they”d witnessed. Sitting beside me could have been seen as a betrayal of their King. They didn”t know he had apologized to me. I was looking forward to them finding out.

But the King seemed to have forgotten it as well.

When the Dragon King entered the dining hall, he went straight to his table. After he was seated, he did his little nod, and dinner service began. He didn”t wave me over, didn”t even look at me. No one did. Well, one of the servants had to when she brought me a plate of food. Yes, a plate. They didn”t want to waste full platters on a table of one. But she gave me a nice selection and a sympathetic smile. She was human.

My heart sank. I ate without tasting. I just needed to fill my belly so I could leave. After our talk in the garden, I thought tonight would be another step forward, that I could tell the King about my life, and maybe he would open up to me about his. But, cut flush, he had retreated.

Change is scary. He may have been lonely, but that loneliness was familiar territory. I represented the wilderness.

And I was in it alone.

My throat constricted suddenly. I felt even more rejected than I had my first night in Latur. Tears welled. I hung my head and blinked rapidly to hold them back. From feeling victorious, I crashed into depression. I was done. Giving up. This was too hard. Too embarrassing. From that night forward, I”d dine in my room alone. I just had to make it a few more minutes. I”d finish my meal and then leave. I wouldn”t give anyone the pleasure of seeing me run away.

“I made this for you, Master Sebastian,” someone said.

I looked up. It was a man. A human. Handsome too, with dark brown hair and even darker eyes. His skin was bronzed from the sun, and his body was solid. He wore an apron and held a plate. On the plate was a small cake.

He set the plate before me. “It”s banana cake. My mother”s recipe. It always makes me smile.”

“Uh.” I looked from the cake to the man. “Thank you.”

“You are not alone, Master Sebastian,” he said. “We all stand with you. Below you, granted, but with you. Remember that, and let us hold you aloft when others seek to pull you down. You are up there for all of us.”

Holy fuck.

“What”s your name?” I asked.

“I”m Aadesh, Second Baker.” He grinned. “But I”m working my way up. There has never been a human head baker in the Dragon King”s household, but one day, maybe there will be.”

“Earlier today, the Dragon King told me that anyone can achieve anything. We are only limited by ourselves. If he believes that, then your path will be easier than mine was. You will be Head Baker here. I don”t doubt it.”

Aadesh, Second Baker, grinned brighter. “Thank you, Master Sebastian. And keep your chin lifted, Sir. It will get better.”

“Yes, it will. Thank you for the cake and the support. You have no idea how much I needed them both.”

“My pleasure, Sir.” He inclined his head to me and left.

I looked down at the cake and smiled. Fuck all the fucking immortals. Dragons and the rest of them. My people supported me. They were unnoticeable. The ones who worked beneath the great men and women who changed our world. But without them, that world would crumble. And they were with me. Their invisible presence filled my dining table. And my heart.

I lifted my chin and smiled at every human who passed by. And they smiled back. What a difference that made. I took a bite of cake and chewed. It was delicious. I grinned broader. Then I glanced at the Dragon King. He was staring at me. It was an odd stare. My smile faded. He had the support of an entire kingdom, but he didn”t feel it. All he felt was alone. The way I”d been feeling a few minutes earlier. I”d felt alone for a few minutes, but he had felt that way for over a hundred years.

I hoped King Shaleros could see the understanding in my eyes. I may not be immortal, and I certainly hadn”t lived as long as he had. A hundred years was beyond what I”d ever experience. But I knew what it was to be alone in a room full of people. And I knew how hard it was to lift your chin and smile.

The King”s throat worked. His lips pressed together. Then he looked away.

Yup. I cut him too close.