Table of Kings

[KAELIA BRYNN HALLOWAY]

I can barely breathe.

I risk a low glance in the direction of my mother, searching for any kind of emotion other than fear to feel. I notice her hand shakes as she sets her knife down, and the open palm she rests on the table curls into fists.

For a moment, I think she's nervous. She holds my gaze, and I hold hers. I cannot read her.

I am unsure of her part in all this.

I