Chapter 56: Party
>>Aelin
By the time Uriel and Ariston returned, Reagan was long gone, and the heavy silence he left in his wake was suffocating. I barely registered the sound of the door opening. My body felt heavy, weighed down by the invisible chains of his words. My hands trembled slightly, clasped tightly in my lap as I tried to steady my breathing.
Uriel’s cheerful voice broke through the fog. "The prince already left? That was fast." They both entered the room, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Ariston frowned slightly but didn’t press further. Instead, his gaze landed on me, his expression softening almost instantly. "You look pale... Did something happen?"
I shook my head quickly, forcing a weak smile to mask the churning sickness inside me. "I’m fine," I whispered, though my voice wavered.
They exchanged a look but didn’t push. Instead, Uriel set a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of water on the small table beside the bed. "We brought you something to eat. You didn’t have dinner last night, so you must be starving by now."
Starving? If only they knew...
My stomach churned violently at the mere sight of the food. Reagan’s words still echoed in my mind, his disdain carving deeper into my heart with every passing second. "You can’t even keep a man." The thought alone made my appetite shrivel into nothing.
"Here, try this." Ariston picked up one of the sandwiches and held it out to me, his tone gentle, almost coaxing.
I hesitated, my hands gripping the edge of the blanket tightly. "I’m not hungry," I muttered.
Uriel raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "You didn’t eat last night either. You need your strength, Princess."