Chapter 28 The Woman at the Feast
"Invitations to a feast in the middle of famine," Darius said as they approached the massive estate gates. "This should be interesting."
Veth grinned. "Finally. Real food. None of that ash-tasting garbage from the last town."
Mara stayed close, her voice low. "This place feels wrong. The hunger here is different."
Servants in fine livery bowed deeply as the gates opened. "Lord Darius Valeborn and his... companions. You are most welcome. The feast is already underway."
They were led through marble halls into a grand dining hall filled with nobles and merchants. Long tables groaned under mountains of food. Roasted meats, fresh breads, fruits, wines, and delicacies covered every surface. Laughter echoed, but it came a second too late, as if everyone had to remember how to laugh.
Darius took his seat at a central table without protest. "Thank you for the invitation."
A portly noble to his left raised a goblet. "The man who ended the Great War! We had to have you. Tell us, how does it feel to command such power?"
Darius picked up a piece of bread and broke it slowly. "It feels heavy."
Veth tore into a massive leg of lamb with her hands. "This is better than the road slop. Finally."
Mara barely touched her plate, watching everything with narrowed eyes.
The laughter around them sounded hollow. A woman across the table giggled at a joke, but her eyes stayed empty. A man stuffed his mouth with pastries, chewing mechanically, sweat on his brow as if the act exhausted him.
Darius observed quietly. "You have quite the spread here. The surrounding lands are suffering. Yet your tables overflow."
The noble laughed too loudly. "We are fortunate! The gods favor us. Eat! Drink! The famine is for lesser men."
Veth slammed her mug down. "This meat tastes like everything else in this cursed region. Filling my stomach but not my hunger."
Mara leaned toward Darius. "She is here. I can feel it. The emptiness is strongest near the center table."
Darius continued eating slowly, listening to the conversations around him. Nobles boasted about their stores while their hands shook holding utensils. Servants refilled plates instantly, yet no one looked satisfied.
A lord to his right clapped him on the shoulder. "You must tell us your secret! How did you tame the Calamities? Teach us your ways and we will make you richer than kings."
"I did not tame them," Darius replied. "I spoke with them."
Laughter erupted again, delayed and forced. The noble wiped tears from his eyes. "Spoke with them! Marvelous! You are too modest."
Darius kept watching the center of the long table. A woman sat there, extraordinarily beautiful, with dark hair cascading like midnight and eyes that seemed to hold entire empty horizons. Plates of untouched food surrounded her. She had not taken a single bite.
Veth noticed her too. "That one. She is not eating. Not even pretending."
Mara’s voice was barely a whisper. "Solis."
Darius rose slowly and walked toward the center table. Conversations quieted as he approached. He stopped beside the woman. She did not look up.
"You have not eaten," he said quietly.
She finally turned her head. Her beauty was almost painful to look at. Perfect features, yet something in her expression made the heart ache.
"Neither have you," she replied softly. "Not really."
The entire hall seemed to hold its breath.
Darius sat down in the empty chair beside her. "The food here is abundant. Yet no one seems satisfied."
Solis looked at the untouched feast before her. "They eat because they must. But the hunger remains. It always remains."
Veth called from across the room. "This entire place tastes wrong. Like eating shadows."
Mara stayed silent, watching intently.
Darius studied Solis carefully. "You are not taking pleasure in their suffering."
Solis’s voice was gentle, almost sad. "I do not cause suffering. I reveal what was already missing."
Around them, nobles continued forcing laughter and forcing food down their throats. Their movements were sluggish, their joy delayed, their hunger visible beneath every polished smile.
Darius picked up a piece of fruit from her plate and held it out. "Try it."
Solis looked at the fruit, then at him. For the first time, something like curiosity flickered in her eyes.
Without looking directly at him, she said softly, "You’re the first person here who arrived hungry for something real."
The hall fell completely silent.
Veth stopped eating. Mara tensed. Every noble in the room stared at them.
Solis finally met Darius’s eyes. The sorrow in her gaze was deeper than any famine.