“You and your chocolate cake,” I mutter as I hand her a plate. She sticks her tongue out at me, and the expression is so adorable I can’t help myself as I lean across the table into her space, then whisper in a husky voice, “And will you be sharing this cake with me?”

“Not if you continue to underappreciate it,” she retorts. She licks her lips, and the motion ties me in knots. I reach for her hand, wanting to thread her fingers through mine, but she pulls away.

Fuck, stop hitting on her when she doesn’t want it. I reprimand myself for the millionth time, vowing to keep our relationship friendly. It’s not like I need a romantic complication in my life right now anyway. Or ever, for that matter. I fill my plate with the steaming rice dish, then groan at the delicious Thayarian food.

She nods at the food I just ate. “It’s one of my favorites. Can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” I tell her absentmindedly, and I mean it. I would confess any secret to her, tell her any information, even if it meant exposing myself and risking my safety. I’m not sure when that switch flipped on in my brain, if it was ever off at all.

“Why is Fionn so affected by yesterday’s attack? Not that we all aren’t, but he seems to be taking it harder, or more personally, than us.” Her question surprises me. I pause for a moment. Of course she noticed Fionn’s struggles. Nothing slips by her watchful gaze.

“Fionn wasn’t born noble or wealthy. He’s a commoner. His parents owned a fishing business. His mother was a powerful water channeler, who would sail out and catch fish for his father to sell at the Floating Market. Because of his upbringing, he cares deeply for everyday folk.”

“You mention his parents in the past tense. Did something happen to them?”

I nod as I meet her penetrating gaze. “The specifics are his story to tell, but they died in a terrible accident around the same time his power manifested. Since he was orphaned and possessed the most powerful metal channeling ability in a millennium, my father brought him to live in the palace as a companion of sorts for me. He said I needed someone who matched my power to train with, and that the death of our mothers would help us bond. But it wasn’t Fionn’s choice. He had family, an aunt and uncle, who had taken him in. They were forced to give him over to the palace.”

“That’s terrible,” she says, and I see genuine empathy in her eyes.

“It is. And we hated each other at first. He hated me for what I represented, and I hated him for his resentment of the only life I’d ever known. I found him arrogant, and I’m sure I was unbearable.”