Liam remembered he was hungry the moment the first plate reached the table.
Apparently spending half the afternoon inspecting Edrava's collapsing infrastructure, arguing with engineers, and then walking directly into a royal family reunion had been enough to distract his stomach until warm bread appeared beside a platter of roasted vegetables and thinly sliced meat.
He reached for the bread immediately.
Arik noticed.
"You did eat earlier?"
Liam tore off a piece.
"I had coffee."
"That was not the question."
"Kamal bought me something."
"What?"
Liam paused.
Across the table, Cecil watched the exchange with increasing interest.
"A pastry."
Arik's expression flattened.
"It had cheese."
"That does not improve it."
"It was large."
Cecil leaned toward Frederik.
"He does this to you too?"
Frederik, who had spoken perhaps twenty words since they sat down, calmly placed another portion of meat onto Cecil's plate before answering.
