Page 91 of Hybrid Heroics

“I didn’t cook it, but I did pick that meat myself. I hope you enjoy it.”

He nodded amicably. “It is delicious. What is it?”

“Well.” I bit the inside of my cheek and shrugged. “It’s a delicacy.”

“And what kind of delicacy is it?” he inquired, wiping his mouth with his napkin, interest piqued. “There’s a distinct taste to it I can’t quite place. My compliments to your chief, though.”

“Actually…” I fought the twisted smile from forming on my face, my cheeks burning with the effort. “To be fair, it’s summer fae. I haven’t tasted her because I’m a vegetarian, but I’ve heard they’re delicious.”

“Slaughtering people is okay, but not animals?” Alric chuckled, then furrowed his brows. “Wait. What did you say this was?”

I took another sip of my wine, peeking over the rim as I grinned. “I’m shocked you don’t recognize the taste of your mate.”

Alric glanced down at his nearly empty plate, the color draining from his cheeks. He swallowed thickly, his shoulder twitching as if a sudden chilly blew through the air.

“I assure you, she was dead when I cut that chunk out of her thigh. Sadly, she didn’t feel a thing.”

“You. Fed me. Alania?” He blinked at a snail’s pace, as if he were dreaming.

I nodded, admitting, “I really put thought into your last meal. My best china. Locally grown vegetables to complement the fresh herbs from our garden. Vintage wine to lift the notes of—”

“This is Alania?” he bellowed.

“Was,” I corrected before continuing. “Hazelnut. We debated about what nut it was while cooking, but ultimately, she was just a mixed bag of nuts. Anyway, I thought a lighter—”

“I knew you killed her,” he whispered, his anger clear, even as he gagged. “But cooking her?”

I popped a grape into my mouth, unbothered. “Not all of her. It’s not every day us peasants get to sit around sipping wine and eating royalty. I mean, I’ve got one who probably wouldn’t mind me taking a bite out of him, but—”

“Shut up,” Alric shouted, standing so quickly his chair flew backward.

I frowned as the heavy wood left deep scratches across my floor.

“Fighting is one thing, but feeding me my dead mate?”

“I wanted to hang her body from my flagpole, half staff.” I moved my hand back and forth like said flag blowing in the wind. “But I don’t have one, so—”

Alric roared, flipping my dining table over. I brought my wineglass to my lips again, swallowing the last sip before carelessly tossing the glass over my shoulder with a devious smirk.

“What were you expecting?” I inquired, watching him pant through his fury. “A one-hour truce? Then we’d meet up in a field somewhere and go blow-for-blow? I’m just not that girl.”

“You’re an abomination that shouldn’t exist.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” I shrugged. “One could argue that I wouldn’t exist if you didn’t.”

He charged, lunging across the destroyed dining room to reach me. And I met him halfway, grabbing him by his throat and upper arm to shove him out the wall of windows. He tumbled over the shrubs and grass until he could right himself.

I stepped up to the hole, cursing myself for not walking him out the front door. As I crossed through the broken glass and thin metal frames dangling from the trim, a thought had me trading my pumps for my favorite combat boots. My pencil skirt transformed into my short, pleated skirt, chains of spelled daggers hanging from the belt at my waist.

“Do you know how much it’s going to cost me to fix this?” I called as Alric dusted himself off. “You made me fuck up my wall. And my grass. I don’t like that.”

“This is a fucking joke,” he muttered to himself, slapping his right hand over his left forearm. “I was expecting more.”

That was rude.

I took pride in my home. It might have been gifted to me, but it was empty when I moved in. I did the renovations, the painting, and paid for everything within those walls.

But this wasn’t the time to get sentimental.