Chapter 61 What You Are 1

Chapter 61 What You Are 1
 It felt good to finally be at a place, indoors, away from the sun and not have to ride on the same horse with Ryder. He was seemingly protective of her. Maybe a bit too protective, and that worried her because she never could tell when he would switch and return to his normal self of not caring about anyone but himself.
She sighed and took in as much air as her lungs could allow, and she smiled. It was the first time she had been in Rocheveron, she had never gone too far from Dragonsbane. Heck, she had never gone too far from the castle in Dragonsbane, so a part of her was actually happy that she could be free in a way and go on adventures, but she had been kidnapped and even her kidnappers protected her as her family had done but they did not restrict her as much.
There was a sudden light knock on the door and Lyra turned away from the balcony and stepped back into the room. “Who is it? She asked. “Come in.”
The door was opened and a servant girl walked inside, holding a tray of food. On sighting the food tray, Lyra’s stomach grumbled and she looked at the girl in embarrassment and then chuckled nervously.
“Please set it down on the table.” She said and the girl did as she was told, she bowed slightly to Lyra, and then as quietly as she had stepped in, she stepped back out, closing the door behind her.
Lyra clapped her hands together and rubbed them in glee, her eyes already devouring the food set before her on the table as she made herself comfortable on the chair in front of the table, ready to eat. Although the dishes set before her were somewhat different from the cuisine of Dragonsbane she had been used to all her life, and also not too different from the food she had grown used to from Astaroth, she was eager to try out something different. She let out a breath of satisfaction and went straight for the drumstick.
Just as she let her teeth sink into the soft and well-cooked flesh of the animal, the door was thrown open forcefully, startling her. She turned towards the door with the drumstick still in her mouth to meet the angry glare of Ryder, she swallowed and her body went stiff. What now?
“What are you doing?” He asked as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. Lyra frowned and tore off the part of the meat she had bitten. She placed the rest back on the plate and chewed what she had in her mouth. She kept her attention on Ryder but did not reply to him. He walked up to her and looked down at the food she was about to eat, then he looked at her, his face softened but she could tell he was still angry, but why?
“Do you just eat whatever is presented to you?”
She frowned but continued chewing, she had no intention of replying to him but just at that moment, her stomach grumbled and she looked away from him in embarrassment.
“Curse my luck.” She grumbled under her breath and reached out for the drumstick again, holding it firmly in her hand.
“You don’t just throw whatever is given to you into your mouth, Lyra.” He said to her, there was no hint of anger in his voice but his face was portrayed differently. “This is a different kingdom and we don’t know if they are enemies or allies yet. You don’t eat food from strange places.”
“Strange places like Astaroth?” She replied looking up at him, angry that he had just interrupted the feast she was supposed to have. He shot her a look and sighed then walked away from her. She frowned and turned away from him, bringing her attention back to the food on the table and she sighed. He was not wrong though, she should not just eat what she was given in a strange place and then he said he wasn’t sure if they were enemies or allies, then why were they still here?
She turned back to him to ask, but her words caught in her throat when she saw him and she gasped and stood up abruptly from her seat, her cheeks turning red. He had his back to her and he was shirtless, his body was magnificent and somehow she had the urge to run her fingers across his back. His back, was full of scars, battle scars no doubt but they were not disfiguring, rather they added to his masculinity and Lyra found the scars to be sexy, her breath hooked in her throat when he turned to her slightly but he wasn’t looking at her.