I stirred the sugar and cream in my cup. “I haven’t figured that out a hundred percent yet.”
“Compassion during a challenge,” King Zeller murmured, taking a sip from his own coffee, staring. “He must be someone special.” When I only shrugged — I was not about to give away John Smith’s secret to anyone — King Zeller turned his attention to his plate. “So, Queen Ruckler, you were at King Cave?”
“Yes,” I stated, a bit of ice entering my tone, which couldn’t be helped. It was the place where I was mind raped. But I was still conscious enough to keep the conversation rolling. “Have you ever been?”
“Yes, briefly,” he glanced at me then down to Isa. “I think she’s beginning to sweat.”
“Oh!” I placed my coffee cup down carefully and quickly began taking her green knit jacket off, then her knit cap, setting them on the table. Her hair was a mess on her head, smashed down from the cap as it had been, and I quickly ran my fingers through it, feeling it was, indeed, damp with her sweat, the fire Elemental having done their duty. She grinned at me, rocking back and forth and babbling happily with the attention, making me smile at her sweet innocence. She bounced, pressing her cheek to mine, her baby arms around my throat as she glanced around at the table’s occupants, still grinning. I blinked, seeing everyone staring blatantly at us, their eyes darting back and forth between the two of us. “I’m sorry,” not really, “did I miss something?”
King Zeller slowly lowered his coffee cup, his head cocking. Green eyes flittered back and forth in quick succession between Isa and me, taking in each part of our faces. My lips began to pinch, but I quickly adjusted the action, knowing exactly what he was going to say before he did. Slowly, he drawled, “Your adopted daughter looks much like you, Queen Ruckler.” His eyes went to her hair. “Your Vampire daughter.”
Playing it cool, eyebrows raised, I murmured, “Well then, I guess I should feel fortunate since even you’ve said she’s beautiful.” I had actually had this conversation a few times before with others who also had a keen eye, so I knew how to handle it and keep my words truth. “Thank you for the unintended compliment.”
His eyes flittered to mine, narrowing slightly. He didn’t argue the ‘beautiful’ point, which actually surprised me, but he wasn’t to be deterred, his eyes swiftly turning back to Isa. Her hair. His head cocked slightly. “I haven’t seen so few black streaks since Elder Venclaire.”
And…I froze, unprepared for that comment…because in my mind, she did have her grandfather’s hair. Elder Venclaire. Lots of bright red with tiny, sporadic streaks of black. Fortunately, King Zeller was still staring at Isa, and I was able to glance at Antonio for help.
But, the unfortunate part was, he did nothing to assist me.
Licking my lips, I stated, “Well, I guess it is like his.” It came out a smidge shaky, but I was coming up with this on the fly. Really, I should have been prepared for this. King Zeller had been trained by Elder Venclaire. He knew the Elder, so this shouldn’t have caught me so off guard. “Maybe that means she’ll be powerful like him.”
Green eyes slammed to mine. “You’ve met Elder Venclaire?”
“Yes.” My heartbeat and breathing were normal; the only sign of nervousness was the slight flush I could feel burning my cheeks. “He and the other three Kings did my Awakening when I shifted into a wolf.” My lips lifted, and I tried again to distract him. “It was a bit of an ordeal.”
His gaze flicked to my hair. “I bet it was.” And like a fucking hawk, he turned his attention back to Isa, murmuring softly, “It’s remarkable, really, the resemblance between you two.”
I blinked, coming up with shit to say, so I went with that. “I don’t know what to say…other than thank you.” I shrugged a shoulder when he stared at me. “If I’m half as pretty as her, I would be grateful.” Truth.
He stared for a long moment. Grunted. Eyes back to Isa. “Honestly, she even looks a bit like Elder Venclaire in the eyes.” His head cocked. “Not the color, but the way they tilt.” He blinked slowly, glancing back to me, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he was eyeing the shape of my eyes as he asked, “Who was the father?”