With wooded, untouched land few and far between, no piece of land within the Pillars of Atlantia went unused.

Whether it was the fields plowed for crops or the land used for housing and commerce, Atlantia was running out of space…

Or already had.

Still, the land was beautiful—the homes, shops, and farms. It was all open, from village to city, with no walls separating them nor keeping monstrous creatures at bay. It was how I imagined Solis had once been.

Casteel had once again handed over control of Setti to me, and we continued on that way until we were halfway to Evaemon. We stopped in Tadous for the night, a town that reminded me very much of New Haven. Near the inn, young Atlantian children waved from the windows of a building I learned was similar to that of the schools in Carsodonia, where they learned their history, letters, and numbers in groups according to their age. The difference here was that all children attended, no matter what their parents did for a living. Whereas in Solis, only the children of means could afford to attend.

The temperatures were cooler here. Nothing that required a heavy cloak, but the faint trace of woodsmoke was in the air. We gathered that evening for dinner, ordering from a menu the friendly innkeeper and his wife provided.

Sitting in between Casteel and Kieran at a long banquet table, I scanned the menu while Vonetta sat across from me, laughing at something Delano said to her.

“Would you like to try a casserole?” Kieran offered as he looked over my shoulder. “That’s something we can share.”

“What’s a…casserole?”

Casteel looked over at me, a slow grin spreading across his lips. “Poppy…”

“What?”

“You’ve never had a casserole before?”

My eyes narrowed. “Obviously, not.”

“It’s good,” Kieran explained. “I think you’ll like it.”

“It is,” Vonetta chimed in.

Casteel tugged on a loose strand of my hair. “Especially if there’s a lot of…meat in it.”

I stared at him, immediately suspicious. “Why are you saying it that way?”

“Like what?” he asked.

“Don’t try to play innocent.”

“Me?” He pressed his hand to his heart. “I’m always innocent. I’m just saying I think you will enjoy a meat casserole.”

I didn’t trust him for one second. I twisted toward Kieran. “What is he talking about?”

Kieran frowned. “A meat casserole.”

I looked over at Vonetta and Delano. “Is that true?”

Dark brows lifted as Vonetta glanced at Casteel. “I honestly don’t know what this one is referring to, but I was thinking about a green bean casserole.”

“Oh, man, I haven’t had one of those in forever,” Naill murmured.

Sitting back, I folded my arms across my chest. “I don’t want it.”

“Shame,” Casteel murmured.

“I have a feeling I’m going to want to stab you by the end of the night.”

Kieran snorted. “And how is that different from any other night?”

I sighed. “True.”

Leaning over, Casteel kissed my cheek and then looked at the menu. We ended up settling on roasted vegetables and duck. With my stomach happily full, I moved closer to the empty fireplace and one of the overstuffed chairs with a tall back while Casteel argued with Vonetta about…well, I wasn’t sure what they were arguing about now. Earlier, it had been whether or not yams could be considered sweet potatoes, which was a strange argument, but I had a feeling it wasn’t the most bizarre one they’d had.