My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 246

Mina

"You're taking the whole slab of cured venison, Mina? The head cook is going to have your head if the count is short for the midday stew."

Marta was standing by the large wooden prep table, her arms dusted in flour up to her elbows. She didn't stop kneading the dough, but her eyes were pinned to my hands. I was currently shoving three large links of sausage and a heavy wedge of sharp yellow cheese into a piece of greased parchment.

"Marta, I haven't eaten since yesterday. I’m starving," I said. My voice came out too fast. I didn't stop packing. I reached for a handful of dried apples, my fingers fumbling with the wooden bowl.

"Starving? You ate enough for three men at the feast last night. I saw you with that flagon of ale. You were practically wearing it." Marta stopped kneading. She wiped a smudge of flour from her nose with the back of her hand. "Who are you taking all that to? Is there a guard you’ve finally decided to feed? Or is it for the Luna?"

I gripped the edge of the table. The wood was cold and greasy. My stomach gave a sharp, violent twist that had nothing to do with the ale.

"The Luna is busy with my brother, Marta. She doesn't need snacks from me right now," I snapped. I felt the heat rising in my neck. "And I don't see why my appetite is any of your concern. Are we forgetting who I am in this keep? Or do I need to remind the kitchen staff that I don't answer to the people who peel the potatoes?"

Marta flinched. She stepped back, her hands dropping to her sides, leaving white, dusty prints on her apron. The other two girls near the ovens went silent. The rhythmic thud-thud-thud of the meat cleavers in the corner stopped.

The air in the kitchen turned thick. Stagnant. I stood there, clutching my bundle of stolen food, and the shame hit me so hard I thought I might actually vomit. I wasn't that person. I was the girl who helped them carry the heavy water buckets. I was the one who listened to their stories about their children. I had never used my status as Fenris’s sister as a weapon. Not once.

He’d given it to me ten years ago, right before he left for the human world. A small, black brick of technology that wasn't supposed to exist inside Ironmaw borders. "One day," he’d said, his voice cracking even then. "When I’m back, I’ll call you. Keep it hidden, okay?"

And he had called. A week ago, the screen had lit up in the dark of my closet, and I’d almost screamed. His voice was different now. Deeper. It carried a raspy edge that made my skin itch in a way I didn't understand. He told me he was close. He told me he was coming for me.

I shoved the last of the bread into my bag and turned away from the prep table. I didn't say another word to Marta. I couldn't. I ran out of the kitchen, the smell of roasting meat and silent judgment following me into the hall.

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