*Vanessa’s POV*
The feast began, and due to the chef’s thorough preparation, the caught animals were skinned, cut cooked all within the span of three hours. The tables that were laid with the food were placed before the podium where the king and his mate sat, side by side as they stared down at the rest of us.
It would’ve been a wonderful ceremony all other things considered. I still had no idea where Erik and Hawke had gone off to. If Erik was even still safe or not worried me beyond measure, and the fact that the king seemed so wholly focused on the feast and the food in front of him more than his obviously very injured son, didn’t bode well for Erik’s continued safety, either.
I sat beside Falcon as we were placed at the table closest to the podium. From here, I could look down and see everyone seated below us, and if I craned my head up just a little, I could see the king and his mate, Hawke and Falcon’s mother, sitting beside him.
