Ferich was not as tall as Aliana had thought from a distance, Cosmas topped him by a good inch or two. And he stank; sour sweat and the metallic tang of blood. But he was broad across the shoulders, muscular and terrifying as he glowered at the tables in the dining hall where they were laden with food for the evening meal.
"What is this?" he said, turning his scowl on Aliana.
Aliana glanced at the tables. "It is a meal." She thought that was fairly evident but perhaps he meant that the fare was too plain?
"You think to poison us when we have already conquered you?"
Aliana gaped, even as her heart raced. "No, it is just a meal."
"No man offers to feed his enemy."
Aliana's mind twisted around that, trying to think how to answer. "I had the kitchen start preparing meals again days ago," she said, because Ferich did not seem to want to wait for her to gather her thoughts. "We... Isarius is dead. But we remain. Tavarin remains. And everyone must eat."
"You expect me to believe there is nothing wrong with this food? That it is freely given to the men who slayed your king."
God, Aliana wanted to correct, but there seemed little point. Instead, she shrugged. "You're early. We didn't know when to expect you, and you're ahead of our best guesses. We wouldn't have had time to arrange so much poison even had we wanted to."
That seemed to be a more plausible explanation to Ferich's mind. But he remained suspicious. "You will sample each of these dishes."
Aliana nodded. She had skipped the morning meal, and she did not actually have anything better to do than to allay the barbarians' suspicions.
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