To Kill a Wizard: Rose's Story (The Protectors of Tarak Book 1) by Lisa Morrow Page B

foods I recognized.
    Their sweet and spicy scents sang through the air, enticing me to keep moving toward them. Blair strode to the seat at the head of the table and indicated for us to sit. We spread out to stand behind the chairs.
    A massive fireplace warmed the room, so we happily shed our cloaks. Yara and Bethenny exchanged grins as silent servants handed them goblets of red wine. I took one as well, and then we all settled into our seats as half a dozen servants came, placing golden plates overflowing with food in front of us.
    The servants were all women of varying ages, with hair pulled back in simple braids, and dull brownish-gold dresses trimmed with crisp white. They moved with a surprising efficiency, as if they were different arms of a single creature.
    Did all the wealthy live like this? Were their needs simply seen to before they could even imagine what they could be?
    Wonder blossomed inside of me. This was my life now.
    Taking a sip of my drink, my mouth sung with pleasure as the wine, a tantalizing sweet one, with a lingering taste of apricots and an unexpected herb, warmed my body. The shard of rock at my neck was tingling between my breasts, no doubt reminding me of the dangers of drinking too much. I wanted more, but I placed the goblet down and shifted in my finely carved chair.
    “Is the wine not to your liking?” Blair asked, watching me closely.
    “I think your wine would be to anyone’s liking,” I responded, meaning every word.
    “And yet, you don’t drink it as your companions do.” She took a sip of her own wine, the movement drawing my gaze to the mark on her wrist.
    Did she wear The Protectors’ symbol there? It could’ve been a knot with an eye in the center, but there was no way to be sure.
    “You don’t need to worry about impressing us,” Blair continued, drawing my attention away from her wrist. “You‘re here, so you already have. This is now your home.”
    Behind her, a door opened and the blonde from earlier entered in an outfit made of pink leather.
    My jaw dropped. I’d never seen an animal with such a color. And what was more, this was not the fragile creature in the woods with eyes as wide as a baby’s, this woman was as a dangerous as an unsheathed blade. The change was shocking to the point I suspected magic was involved. An idea that made me stiffen in my chair, eyeing the woman with suspicion.
    “It seems you’re all becoming settled,” she purred, sauntering in an inappropriately sexy way to the chair across from me. “May I sit?” she asked, her gaze trained on me.
    I looked at Blair, who sat at the head of the table, and noticed she watched me. I felt it was her place to address such a question, but I nodded.
    The blonde sat down across from me. “My name’s Clarissa.”
    A servant brought her a plate overflowing with food.
    She took a few small bites, before turning back to study me, her fork playing with the food on her plate. “Have you had any dinner yet?”
    “No.”
    “You should,” Sirena pressed, around a mouthful of half-chewed food. “It’s amazing!”
    Sirena always had a good appetite, but now she was shoving food in her mouth faster than she could chew, in an uncharacteristic display of poor manners.
    I picked up my fork too, but in truth, I wasn’t entirely hungry, even for the assortments of food laid before me. Something in the prickling of my necklace made me feel as agitated as a cat on the hunt. But I didn’t want to stand out more than I already had, so I placed my fork into a small piece of tender meat.
    I took one bite, but it was more than enough. I finally understood the moans of pleasure from my companions, as my own voice added to the sounds.
    The meat tasted like food from the goddesses themselves. It was a burst of flavor so intense that if I added up every enjoyable meal I’d ever had in my life, they still wouldn’t have brought me as much pleasure as that one bite.
    Forgetting all caution, I dug into my food,