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The scent was amazing. Olivia felt her entire mouth flood with saliva. When the steam cleared, she studied her plate with no small amount of amazement.

“An Italian beef sandwich?” she asked, not believing her eyes.

She leaned closer and breathed in its aroma. It was exactly like she recalled from her life in Chicago. It had been weeks since she mentioned the foods she missed to James, but he had clearly remembered, just like he had remembered that she had collected unicorns as a child. When she turned her gaze to him and saw him watching her with an expectant smile, she had to swallow against the emotion in her throat.

Of all the things, she thought ruefully, being careful to keep the realization to herself, it would be a sandwich that prompted her to realize how very much she loved him.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Gabriel had ordered up a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens and fresh biscuits for his wife. Olivia thought that Amber might actually start crying right there at the table, especially when an assortment of condiments from butter and fresh jam to salt, pepper and vinegar were set on the table before her. The look she exchanged with Gabriel spoke volumes.

Skye, on the other hand, gasped and brought her hands to her face at the sight of her cheeseburger and fries.

“Oh, Caleb, this is perfect! The only way it could possibly be better is if it came with—”

She stopped when another Lekwuesti set a frosty glass filled with something pink topped with whipped cream and a cherry in front of her. Then her face registered astonishment.

“…a strawberry milkshake,” she finished. She caught Caleb’s gaze. “You remembered. Right down to the cherry.”

When Caleb saw the tears fill her eyes, he blinked in surprise, his gaze lighting with alarm. James evidently conveyed a thought to him to ease his worry, as they exchanged a look and Caleb nodded.

“You are happy,” he said when he looked back at Skye.

“I am,” she replied, giving him a bright smile as she dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “Truly beyond words, Caleb. Thank you.”

The hall then filled with the noise of Lekwuesti placing platters of food on all of the tables. Brenna was among the Lekwuesti serving the first tier of Estilorians. Olivia noticed her getting many curious glances and imagined some of the beings around her didn’t even recognize her. When the Lekwuesti female caught Olivia’s gaze, she nodded with a twinkle in her eye.

“I’m looking forward to trying this sandwich,” James said, drawing her attention.

She realized then that he had been served the same meal as she had. Similarly, Caleb and Gabriel each had the meals that they had ordered for Skye and Amber. And then she thought about what he had just said. More specifically, how he had said it.

“You just said ‘I’m,’” she pointed out in a low voice.

He nodded. “Yes, I did. I’ve found that contractions are a convenience. See? I did it again.”

Her mouth opened, but she couldn’t think of a thing to say. So she grinned. “There are a few ways to eat a traditional Italian beef sandwich,” she said. “Let’s start with ‘hot.’”

She spent some time explaining the different toppings that the Lekwuesti had brought out: Giardiniera (a spicy pickled relish of mixed vegetables), provolone cheese and some sweet roasted Italian peppers. They sampled each of them. She got tremendous enjoyment out of watching him experiment until he found a combination of flavors that appealed to him. In the end, he finished every bite of his sandwich and the thin, crispy potato chips that had been served with it.

“I like these, too,” he said around a crunch. “I don’t know if they match your Jay’s chips, but they seem good to me.”

She laughed. He had even remembered the name of her preferred brand of chips. “Yes, well, I wouldn’t recommend getting used to them. They’re really not all that good for you.”

Have you realized how quiet it is in here?
Skye thought toward her from across the table.

Olivia tuned into the atmosphere around her for the first time in at least fifteen minutes and realized what Skye meant. She fought her discomfiture when she noticed that nearly everyone was still looking down at them. She wondered if she had said anything loud enough to be overheard and figured she probably had, it was so quiet. Now that all of the food had been delivered to the tables, the noise was barely above a slight murmur. Several Lekwuesti circulated with pitchers of water, refilling glasses as needed. Other than that, it didn’t even appear that many of the guests were eating.

Gabriel was sitting next to Zayna on Sebastian’s end of the table. Amber sat beside him and across from Caleb, who sat next to Uriel. Skye sat between Caleb and Malukali. James sat beside Amber, and Olivia was on his other side next to Ini-herit. She leaned forward and caught Amber’s gaze.

Yeah. Not awkward at all
, her sister thought sarcastically. She had put her fork down and was pulling a biscuit apart.

Olivia took a sip of her water and looked around again. It wasn’t even so much the stares as the lack of expression in those stares that she found disconcerting. The silence was eerie.

And then Skye started humming the
Jeopardy!
theme song. It was so unexpected that Olivia choked on her water. James reached over to pound her on her back as she issued a cross between a cough and a laugh. Then Amber started laughing and the three girls were soon giggling like loons.

They’re going to think we’re absolutely nuts
, Amber thought as she wiped a tear from her eye.

They already do
, Skye rejoined.

Their fit of laughter lasted for several minutes. It was compounded by James and Caleb exchanging shrugs that conveyed bewilderment and resignation. They looked at Gabriel, who was smiling. He silently conveyed the general idea of what had cracked the girls up. They didn’t seem to understand it any better.

“So, does everyone speak telepathically here, or what?” Skye asked Caleb in a quiet voice after their humor had abated. “I mean, why isn’t anyone speaking? Is this normal?”

Olivia watched Caleb for an answer, as well, since she was wondering the same thing.

“No, it is not normal,” he said in a slightly raised voice, and he looked around them with a glower. “They’re too busy staring to talk.”

“Oh.”

Jabari heard the comment. He had been conversing with Knorbis and Ini-herit and finally clued into the conversation. He looked around and realized what was causing the girls’ concern.

“Perhaps some music is in order, Sebastian,” the Elphresti suggested.

All of the sisters perked up at that. They exchanged interested gazes as Sebastian nodded and waved his hands toward the far end of the ground floor. A collection of instruments appeared in the corner, floating and playing themselves. Olivia felt the amazement on her face, but couldn’t help it. She noted several stringed instruments that looked very similar to a traditional human string quartet, if not exactly like one. There were some instruments she didn’t even recognize.

Is that a Pan flute?
Amber thought with a raised eyebrow.

I have no idea
, Olivia responded.
But I think that’s some kind of bongo drum over there.

I guess expecting an electric guitar and keyboard was a bit of a stretch
, Skye mused.

But it was still an improvement, no matter how different it was from what they were used to. The sisters gave their thanks to Jabari and Sebastian and finished their dinner in relative peace.

When the dishes were cleared, everyone got to their feet. Sebastian waved his hand again and the elders’ table disappeared. Their chairs were all moved to one end of the room. The girls walked over to stand near their seats, joined by Gabriel, James and Caleb.

“Please feel free to interact socially,” Jabari called out to the crowd. “If you would like to dance,
archigos
Sebastian is open to taking requests.”

There was a flurry of movement as everyone rose from their seats.

“What kind of dancing?” Skye asked curiously.

Her question was drowned out by the sound of rising voices and movement throughout the hall. It wasn’t long before the floor began filling with Estilorians. They paired up and began a dance that made Olivia think of the movie
A Knight’s Tale
. She imagined it was something from the period where courtly dancing was the fashion. She noticed Skye watching with an observant eye.

Olivia stood awkwardly, seeing that some of the guests had gathered along the railing leading down to the dance floor. She couldn’t determine whether they wanted to speak with them or were simply staring out of their continued curiosity. She wasn’t sure if she should approach them on her own to break the ice, or whether that was some kind of breach of propriety. Deciding to follow everyone else’s lead, she took hold of James’ arm and watched as the dance morphed into a waltz.

She had seen some competitive ballroom dancing before, and, of course,
Dancing with the Stars
. This group seemed to have the mechanics down like pros, she thought. But it seemed like there was something stilted about it.

“Well?” Caleb asked then, holding a hand out to Skye.

Her eyes lit up and she flashed a brilliant smile. “Yay!” She reached out and took his hand.

They moved onto the dance floor and Caleb turned her so they were facing each other. And when he pulled Skye so close that there was barely a sliver of light visible between them, Olivia instantly realized what all of the other couples were missing. Emotion. From the moment Caleb stepped them into the first beat of the dance, the floor belonged to just to him and Skye. Their gazes never parted. It was about the most romantic thing Olivia had ever seen.

“Might as well work off some of that fried chicken,” Gabriel said, taking Amber’s arm and leading her onto the floor. Although Amber protested, he completely ignored her. He simply grasped her around the waist, pulled her up so that her feet were barely touching the ground, and twirled onto the dance floor. Amber’s breathless laughter floated across the hall.

“Do you dance?” James asked Olivia.

“I’m afraid not,” she admitted. “I only took the most basic lessons in school.”

“I can teach you.”

She smiled up at him. “Well, I am an avid student.”

Returning her smile, he led her to the edge of the dance floor and showed her how to position her arms. He explained the steps and the beat as the song transitioned to another waltz. Some of it she already knew from the televised dance competitions. The trick would be to actually try and implement the knowledge. She lacked Skye’s natural grace and Amber’s precision of movement.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

She nodded, praying she wouldn’t make a fool of herself.

And then he pulled her against him. Suddenly, it didn’t matter to her whether she tripped over her own two feet, as long as he continued to hold her. They moved into the first twirl and she was no longer thinking about what beat it was or how she was supposed to hold herself.

She simply looked at James and allowed herself to enjoy the experience of being in his arms.

They danced for hours. By the end of the evening, as the Lekwuesti circulated with water and a stronger beverage that Gabriel informed them was off-limits, they had participated in dozens of different kinds of dances. Skye had even taken it upon herself to demonstrate what humans called line dancing. It was something the Estilorians enjoyed tremendously.

James, however, preferred the waltz. He was sure there was no better feeling in the world than holding Olivia so close.

He was relieved that the guests became more cordial as the event wore on. He, Caleb and Gabriel had all grown extremely concerned during the dinner about the strange behavior of their peers. At one point, Gabriel had even begun conveying plans to them about how to get the sisters away without causing an uproar. But things leveled out and opened up when the dancing began.

Of all the classes, the Gloresti, Corgloresti and Lekwuesti were the friendliest and most accepting of the sisters. He supposed that was logical seeing that each of the sisters was in some way attached to a Gloresti, had a Corgloresti father and the Lekwuesti were the Estilorian equivalent of hospitality ambassadors. Still, none of them treated the girls poorly. He suspected they all had a multitude of questions, but no one broached them. It would have been rude and unacceptable by the elders. He didn’t even perceive any attempts by Orculesti to access his thoughts.

Gabriel dictated when it was time to leave. Well, James thought, perhaps it was more accurate to say that Amber dictated it. She fell asleep in her chair.

They all departed in the early hours of the morning, Amber having been roused enough to walk out on her own. As soon as they were out of the room and away from public view, Gabriel lifted her into his arms so she could go back to sleep.

“That was so much more fun that I thought it would be!” Skye declared. Her eyes were bright with excitement.

“It certainly ended better than it started,” Olivia allowed, yawning behind her hand.

“Now that you’ve all been introduced to the classes, we can start a more normal routine tomorrow,” Gabriel said in a quiet voice out of deference for Amber. “We need to get back to training. Sebastian has an area reserved for us.”

“Yay,” Skye and Olivia said in the same unenthused tone.

The males all smiled at them.

When they reached their rooms, it was to find the same Lekwuesti who had assisted the girls in dressing once again standing outside their doors.

“I hope you had a nice time tonight,” said the female who had stayed with Olivia until she left for the dinner.

“We did, Brenna, thank you so much for everything,” Olivia said with a smile.

James stepped forward and opened the door to Olivia’s room as Gabriel and Caleb did the same on their ends of the hall. He tossed a couple of balls of light into the room and opened his senses. Seeing nothing of concern, he allowed Olivia and Brenna to enter.