ALICE POV
The oppressive silence in the private dining room weighed on everyone like a heavy cloud, impossible to shake off. The final decision would come tomorrow, after King Vaden’s test—a so-called “trial” to determine the authenticity of our mate bond. I rolled my eyes just thinking about it. Like I didn’t know he’d only proposed it to get a preview of what we could actually do with our magic. He could pretend all he wanted that it was about our bond, but I knew better. Still, there was a chance I was wrong—though it didn’t feel that way.
I glanced down at the beautiful plate in front of me: salmon en croûte with asparagus and hollandaise. It looked and smelled amazing, but my appetite was nonexistent. I kept pushing the asparagus around, moving it from one side of the plate to the
