I landed a little hard, but I was too excited to mind, even with twenty-five guards accompanying me.

And Sven.

After what happened last time, I wasn’t arguing against any level of security.

After I changed and dressed, I went over to where Aaden was waiting for us, along with Siro and River.

“Adara!” Siro called out excitedly, running forward to give me a tight hug.

River simply nodded at me, a greeting I returned. It wasn’t an enthusiastic welcome, but he wasn’t glaring at me.

Progress.

“Oh, I know exactly the place I want to take you to have lunch! It has these amazing burgers and I know how much you love—”

I laughed, waving at a bemused Aaden as I let Siro drag me away, Sven and the guards following in our wake with River sticking close. I didn’t blame him.

When I’d gotten the message from Siro that her parents had finally accepted a visit—a supervised visit, but still a visit—I hadn’t even cared that one of them was going to be there. Not if it meant they’d let me see Siro.

Maybe, with a few visits, they’d relax a little. Even if they didn’t, this was much more than I’d expected. Besides, it wasn’t terrible to have River there.

When we went into the trendy, small restaurant, Sven and our guards were definitely more distracting than River sitting at a nearby table.

“You have to order what I order,” Siro said, opening the menu. “It’s so good I asked for it for my birthday.”

“That is good,” I agreed, sounding suitably impressed. “It smells amazing in here.”

It really did. My mouth was already watering.

“Yeah, it does, doesn’t it? This place used to serve vegan only, but then…”

As Siro chatted on, her face happy and carefree, I felt myself relax, even though I had a ridiculous amount of eyes on me.

Siro was all right.

She was going to be all right.

The kidnapping affected her, but it didn’t break her. I listened to her commentary and couldn’t have been more proud that I knew this, brave, intelligent, strong girl. She was, for all intents and purposes, my sister. It was the right decision to come visit, to brave her parents. I could feel it in my bones.

I glanced over to see Sven talking to Igna, though he smiled at me when I looked over. It actually hadn’t been as hard of a sell as I’d expected.

“Keeping you under guard in the palace is letting Eli win,” Sven had said grimly. “I don’t want you to be a prisoner. I want you to be happy.”

It had about melted my heart.

Even with the amount of people we’d brought with us.

He was right about not staying in the palace. I would go crazy waiting for the other shoe to drop if I was just sequestered there.

And I didn’t doubt it would.

We hadn’t had any luck finding Eli so far, but I was sure we would hear from him soon.

“Adara?”

“Hmm?”

“Food’s here,” Siro prodded, gesturing at the table.

“Oh.” I looked down. “It looks great.”

She grinned. “Take a bite!”

Grabbing the thick burger, I did just that. My eyes widened at the flavor, the texture…

“This is ridiculously good,” I said around my bite.

“I know, right?” Siro remarked, looking just as blissful as I probably did while she took another bite. “Sometimes, it’s the little things in life that are the best,” she added, closing her eyes.

That’s when I knew she was thinking of the plain fare we’d been fed while in the city dome.

“True,” I agreed lightly, my eyes drifting over to Sven again.

He saluted me as he took a bite of his own burger, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly in enjoyment. “There are some good big things too, though.” I grinned back at him.

She saw where I was looking and smirked. “Big things, huh?” she said slyly.

Shocked, I swiveled my head back to look at her.

“Siro!” I exclaimed, choking a little on my burger.

She just laughed, taking another bite.

I shook my head, amusement making my lips curl. Life could be terrible. Painful. But sometimes…

Sometimes, it was just perfect.

I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but I was determined to enjoy this moment while it lasted. So I took another bite of that heavenly burger and soaked in the warm weight of Sven’s regard and Siro’s presence.

Yes, this was just about perfect.