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“I’m not going to the party.”
I stared at my dressing screen, following the dove, winging its way across the panels of roses and wildflowers while Theresa unlaced my dress. Her statement wasn’t entirely unexpected, but I had a feeling there was more to her decision than a simple desire not to overwhelm Licht.
“Is this about what happened yesterday with Jin?” I asked.
Her heavy sigh answered for her.
“That was embarrassing,” she admitted. “I’ve never wasted any time waiting around for him to ask me out, because I know he never will, and Leon already knew I liked Jin when he asked me, but…” She sighed again. “I expected to walk through the door and see you freaking out, not see Jin showing off that gorgeous chest and narrating my favorite fantasy.”
“Too much information,” I said, grimacing.
“I’m normally better at hiding it than that,” she continued unabated. “I just…it’s too weird right now. Leon is the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, but I still have the hots for his older brother. There’s no way I can spend an entire night in the same room with both of them. So Leon and I talked about it, and I’m not going.”
She left me alone behind the dressing screen to give me privacy while I finished undressing. I’d gone about my lessons and studying as usual to keep Licht from finding out about the surprise party, and his brothers had acted normally, too. But now, I needed to change into a simpler dress and start baking.
“At least he and I got a good make-out session out of it,” Theresa called out from the other side of the dressing screen.
I groaned. “I really didn’t want to know that, Theresa.”
“You know how he and his brothers are,” she said dismissively. “They could have a literal hole in their stomach and still say they’re fine. So, I had to check him out. And once I got his shirt off—”
“That’s far enough,” I interrupted, reluctantly stepping around the dressing screen and coming face-to-face with her mischievous smirk.
“You really should check Chevalier out,” she said suggestively. “He left some nasty black and blue marks on Leon, but Leon said he got a few good hits in on Chevalier, too.”
I brushed past her, ignoring the warmth creeping into my cheeks. “Chevalier is fine.”
“So is Leon. Not as built as Jin, but bulkier than Chevalier. A nice in-between.”
An unfamiliar feeling settled in my stomach, something uncomfortable and unhappy that made me accidentally pull my hair when I yanked too hard on a hairpin. I winced and grumbled, “I really wish you wouldn’t include Chevalier in that comparison.”
Theresa’s reflection in the vanity raised an eyebrow at me. “Why, Ivetta, are you jealous?” she asked, a knowing smile curling across her lips.
Was that what it was? This bitter taste in the back of my mouth and this churning sensation in my gut? Whatever it was, I didn’t like it, and I averted my gaze from hers. “I just don’t want you lumping him in with all the men you’ve ever seen shirtless.”
“Because you’re jealous.”
My face flushed redder. “N-no, because—”
“Don’t worry,” she said, laughing. “I’m not interested in stealing Chevalier away from you. I don’t have a death wish, after all. Here, let me do that.”
I dropped the last hairpin into its jar and grabbed my hairbrush before she could get to it first. “I can manage brushing my own hair.”
“Yeah, but it’s my job,” she said, deftly plucking the brush from my hand. “Just a ponytail, right?”
I sighed and nodded, bracing myself for more teasing.
“Anyway, I’ll make sure the lounge is all set for the party, and if you really need me to help with baking or whatever, I’ll be around,” she said. “Hey, if the guys get too crazy, you and Belle can come back here for our own all-nighter. That could be fun.”
I studied her reflection suspiciously. “Sure,” I said slowly. “I have a feeling that things will get rowdy after everybody’s been drinking for a few hours.”
There was that smirk again.
“Careful you don’t drink too much,” she warned me. “Unless you’re up for a make-out session with Chevalier,” she added in a sing-song voice.
“Theresa!” I moaned, clapping my hands to my flaming cheeks.
She laughed and secured my ponytail with a ribbon. “Well, have fun, anyway.”
Maybe her skipping the party was a good thing, I thought, steadfastly avoiding my guards’ eyes when I left my room, red-faced.
At least the kitchen was empty when I arrived. Theresa had seen to stocking the kitchen earlier in the day, so each oven and stove had plenty of kindling, and each cabinet had all the supplies and ingredients I would need. Hopefully. I tied an apron around my waist and set about lighting fires in the brick ovens, cast-iron stoves, and cobblestone fireplace. On a drying rack, away from any heat source and covered in a lightweight, clean cloth, were the échaudés, and the pain perdu sat in a covered shallow pan next to them. Belle could take over the pain perdu when she arrived. It was Rio’s favorite, after all, and I’d only started it the night before because I had to start Nokto’s échaudés early too. The pain perdu was ready for frying, and the échaudés baking, but that required a very hot oven, so I started making Licht’s favorite while the ovens heated.
Darioles. Another complicated dish.
I ran through my mental list of recipes while I stood at the stove, stirring the wine mixture in the saucepan occasionally. Beyond those three dishes, I had no specific plans. Yves had to make the cake for Nokto’s public birthday party the next day, but he’d have time to make other things while the individual layers baked and cooled. Probably more cakes to keep his brothers from destroying the work of art Nokto’s cake was sure to be. Belle might have something in mind. Maybe not. I had a feeling most of the evening would be us baking whatever the others requested. Still, I wanted to start something else right away, something quick and easy. Like cookies. I’d never even tasted the ones Mrs. Stotts sent home with Licht and me, passing them off to Licht in the carriage with the excuse that I wasn’t hungry, and while I liked the fancy food that came with being royalty, a little simplicity now and then was nice, too.
“I’ve missed that sound.”
“Oh, hello, Chevalier,” I said, smiling over at him as he strode into the room. “What sound is that?”
“Your humming.” He came up behind me and slid his arms around my stomach, sending the kaleidoscope of butterflies within me into a frenzy.
“Careful,” I warned him, measuring the distance between his hands and the hot stove.
He hugged me back against his chest and kissed my cheek. “You don’t hum as often as you used to.”
“I didn’t even know I was humming,” I replied, feeling a warmth coming to my face that had nothing to do with the stove.
“You only do it when you’re alone and the task at hand doesn’t require much thought, allowing your mind to wander.”
My mind was wandering now. Every puff of his breath across my ear made it harder for me to focus on the boiling mixture in front of me.
Boiling.
Boiling!
“Um, as much as I like this, I need to move,” I said, grabbing an oven mitt. Chevalier released me, and I moved the saucepan to the waiting towel on the counter, then slid it further from the heat source while I moved further from my heat source, the man in white boosting himself onto another section of the counter.
“Theresa isn’t here,” he noted.
“No, she decided not to come.” I checked the nearest oven and straightened up again, satisfied it was hot enough for the échaudés. “Belle and Rio are coming when they finish up at the bookstore. They were hoping to close early, but it looks like they had a late customer,” I continued, removing the cloth from the échaudés and arranging them on a baking sheet. “Yves is going to ‘let slip’ his plan to work on Nokto’s cake tonight when the domestic affairs faction finishes dinner, and that’s how we’ll get Licht here. Are Nokto and Luke back from Benitoite yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Hm.”
They were getting back late. That was strange. I started mincing strawberries and dates for the darioles, wondering why. Maybe they had a morning meeting they needed to attend before they left, or maybe Luke got too caught up in his goodbye to Arianna. The thought of that brought a smile to my face. She and I still hadn’t engaged in a real conversation, although she had apologized to me for her insults at Chevalier’s coronation ball. I’d forgiven her, of course. After seeing the effect she had on Luke, and observing her from a distance, I was certain the cutting remarks her tongue let loose that night were not normal for her. Something had upset her before the ball, and I just happened to be the person on whom she took out her frustrations.
Chevalier was silent while I worked. I glanced over at him, and sure enough, he was reading a book I hadn’t even noticed him bring in earlier. He’d probably set it on the counter before he hugged me. I smiled again and pushed the fruit aside. The pastry was next, and by the time I finished making that, the first batch of échaudés should be done. It would be more efficient to start all the échaudés at the same time, but I didn’t want to risk burning any. When Belle and Yves arrived, they could help me watch the ovens.
Working in silence like this was nice. I knew it wouldn’t last long, though.
“Hey, somethin’ smells good.”
Leon’s booming voice shattered the quiet, followed by four sets of booted feet tromping across the wood floor. I closed the oven on the first batch of darioles and checked the second batch of échaudés in the next-door oven.
“The échaudés over there are ready,” I said, pointing in the direction of the first batch. “Yves, I think I have everything you need for the cake here,” I added, patting that section of counter on my way to the wine mixture.
“Looks like it,” he said, exchanging his jacket and cravat for an apron while Leon and Jin crowded around the échaudés. Licht hung back, his face impassive and his crimson eyes dark.
“I knew it,” he muttered.
I opened my mouth to tell him it wasn’t really a party, hoping he wasn't feeling uncomfortable, but the kitchen door burst open again.
“Sorry we’re late!” Belle exclaimed, snatching an apron from the hook by the door and dashing toward me. “We had a…um…” She stopped, as if she was unsure of how to finish that sentence.
“Late customer?” I supplied for her, cracking eggs into a bowl of cream.
“You could say that.”
I spun in surprise at the sound of that voice, and there he was, standing in the doorway. A single blood-red eye, a black eyepatch, a charming smile and a black military uniform—
“Gilbert?” I asked.
Jin's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed a mouthful of pastry. “What are you doing here?”
“Am I not allowed to visit?” Gilbert responded in a pleasant, conversational tone.
Everybody except Belle, Rio, and Chevalier looked just as stunned as I felt. Chevalier didn’t even look up from his book. It was Rio who broke the silence with an overjoyed exclamation: “Is that pain perdu?”
“Um, yes, it is, and it’s ready to fry,” I told him and Belle. “We weren’t expecting you, Gilbert, but it’s nice to see you, although…I guess I need to make a lot more food than I thought.”
He chuckled as I turned away, and the sound of chaos resumed: princes vying for food, the first slice of pain perdu sizzling on the stove, Yves mixing a bowl of cake batter. I picked up a whisk and the bowl of eggs and cream.
“Sorry we’re late!” Luke shouted as the door flew open again. “I have the coffee!”
“Thanks, we’ll—”
I stopped as soon as I glanced back at the door. Arianna had followed Luke into the kitchen, her hazel eyes uncertain as she surveyed the room. Nokto came in behind her, and behind him was Silvio.
“Why didn’t I get an invite?” he snapped. Suddenly, his sea-blue eyes shot wide open. He froze for a second, long enough for me to follow his gaze toward Rio, who was practically drooling as he watched Belle fry the pain perdu.
I held the bowl to my stomach while I whisked and watched, certain the look in Silvio's eyes meant trouble
“What is that mutt doing here?” he shouted, enraged. He stormed over to Rio and grabbed him by his shoulder, yanking him around so they were face-to-face.
“Hey!” Rio complained. “What’d you do that for?”
“What the—”
“I’m here!” Clavis announced over Silvio’s expletive, bouncing into the room in a plain white shirt and white pants. “Your entertainment has arrived!”
“I don’t know who you think you are,” Rio said, shoving Silvio’s hand away. “Or who you think I am, but—”
Silvio was livid. “Of all the stunts—”
“Um, hello. Why are you in your pajamas?”
It didn't even surprise me to see Keith standing in the doorway at this point. Despite his tall frame filling the space completely, he looked so shy, standing there behind a wide-eyed Clavis.
“I’m beginning to think I’m glad I don’t remember you,” Rio said, his voice laced with a venom I’d never heard from him before. His sky-blue eyes were almost as narrow and angry as Silvio’s. It was clear the two were close to blows.
“Everybody, stop!” I shouted.
The room fell silent.
“First of all, let me explain why we are here,” I said sternly. “This is Licht’s birthday party. It was supposed to be a small, informal affair, with absolutely no fighting.” I met and held Silvio’s steely glare for a moment. “So, whatever is going on between you two, take it outside.”
“There’s nothing going on, because I don’t know him,” Rio said coolly.
“I’m gonna—”
“Then get out of here and talk about nothing until you can both behave like adults,” I interrupted Silvio’s angry growl. “For the rest of the uninvited guests,” I continued, emphasizing ‘uninvited,’ “this is how tonight is going to go. Yves, Belle, and I are going to bake food, and you’re going to eat it. Then, when everybody’s full—or we’re tired of baking,” I added, looking pointedly at Gilbert, “we’re going to the lounge just off the hall of the royal family’s bedrooms for a pajama party. Yes, a pajama party,” I said, meeting Nokto’s curious eyes when he opened his mouth in question. “As Clavis is demonstrating now.”
Clavis grinned and bowed with a flourish.
“The party ends at breakfast tomorrow. Anybody who can’t stay up is welcome to leave, but Luke has brought coffee to help with that.”
“Ya want me to get it started?” he asked brightly.
“No, not yet, but thank you for offering. Let’s wait until people start getting tired. Now, are there any questions?”
Arianna raised a timid hand.
“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” I told her. “I know they’re a lot.”
“Hey!” Yves interjected, scowling at me.
“No, I was wondering if we could move to a bigger kitchen,” Arianna said hesitantly. “It’s…really crowded.”
It was really crowded when it was just me, Chevalier, his brothers, and the foreign princes. Now, with the addition of Belle, Rio, and Arianna, there was barely any room to breathe.
“Unfortunately, we already have all the ovens going here, so no. But the lounge is ready if you’d rather go there now. Or if anybody else wants to go there now,” I said, including the whole room with a sweeping gaze. “I’ll make sure food gets there.”
Silvio seized Rio by the collar and dragged him to the door. Everybody stepped aside without question.
“Hey! Let go!” Rio protested.
“Shut up.”
"One last thing," I said sharply, stopping them in their tracks. When I had eye contact from both of them, I continued, "This is Licht's party, so if he says you need to leave, you need to leave."
"Is that it?" Silvio asked.
"Yes."
He turned away and yanked Rio after him, both of them yelling at each other again before the door slammed shut behind them. Belle’s worried eyes followed them even as she flipped the next slice of pain perdu onto a growing stack. I wasn’t sure how she’d kept up with it during all that, but a glance in Yves’ direction confirmed he was still at it, too, closing the oven on the first layer of cake batter. I turned back to the counter, pouring the well-whisked cream and eggs into the wine mixture.
“So…anybody want a drink?” Jin asked.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tUeVEwpEX
