Unwilling Bonds

[ POV: KAELIA BRYNN HALLOWAY ]

Silver platters covered every inch of the low table in the center of the sitting room. Servants had wheeled the heavy brass cart in twenty minutes ago, carrying bowls of roasted winter vegetables, glazed meats, crusty breads, and a towering tier of delicate pastries glazed in berry preserves and spun chocolate.

Liora had skipped the meat entirely. She sat cross-le