Frost Bound (Entangled with Trickery #1)

Dahlia

Chapter Thirty-Four

Dahlia

She’d sat around in her gown for hours after the sun set.

The king never showed up.

Loshika had tossed her pitying looks all evening that made her hackles raise. Why was she waiting around for a vallos anyway? It’s not as if she’d made any vows to care for or obey him. A swim across a river and a document with the king’s signature didn’t make her beholden to anyone.

She was done.

Dahlia stood up from the couch and yanked the skirt of her dress out of the way, storming to the door. Enough was enough. She was starving, and she was sure the healer was as well.

Loshika glanced up from her book, a thin pair of spectacles balanced on the tip of her slim nose. “My lady?”

Lia yanked open the door, surprising the guards stationed outside. “It’s time for dinner, Loshika.” She unclipped the choker and tossed it onto the bed.

The healer closed her book and set it gently on the arm of the chair before joining Dahlia. “Where are you going?”

“We’re going to rustle up some dinner. I know Jaessa gave a tour today. Surely you can show me to the kitchens, where we can find something to eat.”

“I’m starving.” A pause. “And you can call me Lo, if you wish my lady.”

Lia grinned. Her healer was warming up to her. “Lo it is.”

She stepped into the hallway, Loshika closing the door behind her.

One of the guards offered, “We can send for a plate for you, reilleve .”

“No thank you,” she murmured, stalking down the corridor. “I intend to meet the staff. No better way to do it than now.” The guards started to follow at a distance, but she spun around and shook her head. “I don’t need you. Please stay here where the reillov stationed you.”

The warriors obeyed, with only a glance sliding between the two of them.

At least she knew she had some power here. She would never be able to do anything or discover any secrets if they were following her around.

Lo looped her arm through Lia’s and directed her to a hidden servants’ staircase. “This is the only way I know,” the healer apologized.

“Don’t apologize. I’m happy you showed me this. Sometimes I prefer to move unseen.”

They entered the simple but clean space and descended the stairs. Eight staircases later, they branched off to the left and entered the main palace once again. A footman stumbled at the sight of her and bowed. She smiled, and they kept moving.

“You’re going to have the whole place astir by the time the night is over,” Loshika muttered out of the side of her mouth.

Dahlia’s mouth watered as she sniffed fresh bread, savory herbs, and roasted meat.

Lo slowed and pointed to the double doors to her left. “The kitchen is in there.”

“You don’t want to go first?” Lia teased.

“It isn’t right for someone of my station to precede royalty. In fact, I should not even be here.”

Dahlia glanced up at her friend and squeezed her hand. “Just because we’re surrounded by all this grandeur and in jewels does not negate the fact that you have been kind and honest with me since we met. I do not leave my friends behind for treasure or position.”

Loshika’s lips curled. “You’re something else, reilleve .”

“So I’ve heard.” She looped her arm through the healer’s once again and pushed through the large doors.

It was almost comical how large the kitchen was. Sinks lined the parallel wall with a fireplace that she could fit her whole bed into at the end of the room. Four square iron stoves lined the same wall as the doors, with copper pots hanging from the ceiling. An immense rectangular butcher block—more like a table that could’ve sat eight people on each side—stood in the center with fruits and veggies hanging from the ceiling above it. Simple wooden benches sat under each side.

A maid spotted them first, squeaking and dropping a bowl. It clanged against the floor.

The head cook had his back to them, stirring something in a pot hanging from the hearth. He shouted something in Loriian but didn’t turn away from his task. The maid curtsied and scrambled to pick up the empty copper bowl. More eyes fell upon Lia, and all productivity halted as they bowed. The cook growled something and spun around, his eyes widening a fraction.

“The first time that someone is gaping at you and not at my scars,” Lo muttered, humor in her voice.

“My lady,” he said in heavily accented common tongue. He sketched a low bow. “What do we owe this…” He trailed off, brow furrowing in thought. “…honor?”

She grinned at the cook and the rest of the staff. “The honor is all mine, master cook. I know the heart of every home or palace is the kitchen.”

He blushed and pulled a towel from his pocket, dabbing his forehead. He waved it at the rest of the staff, who jumped back to work. The cook bustled from the far end of the room, his hands wringing the towel. “What can I assist you with, reilleve ?”

“My healer and I have come for some dinner.”

“I can send a plate to your room.”

“That is kind, but I would prefer to eat my meal here and see your fine people at work, if it won’t be too much of a bother.”

His jaw dropped, and then he snapped it closed. “It’s not a problem, my lady.”

He pulled out a bench and dusted it off with his towel. Dahlia wrangled her skirt underneath the butcher block, and Loshika sat next to her. The cook started shouting directions in Loriian.

“What is he saying?” she whispered to Lo.

“To not disappoint the queen. I think he’s going to bring the entire larder out for you.”

That wouldn’t do. “Master cook?”

He smiled at her. “Yes, reilleve ?”

“It is late. We do not need anything fancy. You and your people have worked hard and deserve your rest. Some bread and stew will be sufficient.”

“It shall be done.”

In no time at all, a hearty stew was before each of them, with thick crusty bread and creamy butter.

“Thank you. And please don’t pay any attention to us.”

He nodded, and slowly went back to his pot in the fire.

Lia felt all the glances of the kitchen staff, but it didn’t bother her. They were just curious. It was nothing malicious. They weren’t looking for flaws. She drained her bowl of stew in no time and stared at the bottom in longing.

“Would you like more?” a boy of maybe fifteen asked, his voice cracking.

She grinned at him. “Yes, I would.”

He refilled her bowl and placed it before her quickly. This time, Lia savored the soup, taking her time to observe the staff. There were only eight in the room, plus the cook. A skeleton crew, really. All were cleaning up for the night.

A maid scrubbed the other side of the butcher block, tossing furtive glances their way. Lia put her spoon back in the bowl. “What is your name?” she asked the girl.

The young giantess glanced around to make sure Dahlia was speaking to her. “Zadieve, but my friends call me Zadi.”

“Zadi!” the cook admonished.

“—my lady,” the girl tacked on.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Zadi. Do you normally work in the evenings?”

The giantess tucked a lavender braid behind her ear. “Mostly. I have school during the day.”

“Really? What is your favorite subject?” Lia asked, taking another bite.

“I like to draw and to read.”

“I love reading as well. That’s something we share in common. What kind of books do you like to read?”

That opened Zadi right up. She spoke about all the books she liked while cleaning. Others chimed in as they went about their chores. By the time Lia had finished her second bowl of stew, the anxious energy in the room had disappeared altogether.

She sopped up the broth with her last piece of bread and moaned when she popped it into her mouth. It was delicious.

“Would you like tea and something sweet to end your evening?” the cook asked, excitement on his face.

“As you would have it, I have a bit of a sweet tooth. Tell me, master cook, just what you have in store for us.”

“I’ve been working on something new. I don’t like wasting food,” he said. “So I’ve been experimenting with ways to use vegetables in cake.”

“Truly?” She grinned at him. “It would be a marvelous invention to get children to eat their vegetables to be sure.”

He hustled away from the butcher block and disappeared into the larder. He returned with a little bounce to his step and set two mini cakes on the table. They looked like ordinary spice cakes with swirling creamy frosting on top.

He handed both her and Loshika a fork. “Enjoy.”

Lia stared at the cake. Even though it was a mini cake, it was still enough for at least four people. She glanced up at the cook and wiggled her brow. “I think you overestimate the size of my stomach. I couldn’t eat all of this if I tried. Would you and your good people join us?”

The cook blinked repeatedly at her like he didn’t understand her words. “You wish for us to eat with you, reilleve ?”

“I wish to share cake amongst friends and compatriots of this palace. Would you do me the honor?”

The cook bowed low. “It would be our honor.”

The kitchen turned into a flurry of movement as everyone got seated at the table. She scooped a morsel of cake onto her spoon and then pushed the cake to Zadi. Once everyone got a bit on their forks, she wiggled her brows. “Shall we all try it on the count of three?”

The cook translated for her, and smiles blossomed on everyone’s faces.

“One, two, three!”

Dahlia shoved the cake into her mouth and her eyes rolled back into her head. The cake was spicy and moist, with a hint of texture from the nuts. The sweet yet tangy frosting coated her palate. Lia wiggled her fork at the cook.

“You, sir, are a genius.”

He beamed from ear to ear, crooked teeth displayed. “You like it, sei ?”

“I do. Well done.”

Lo nudge Lia’s shoulder with elbow. “I think you just made that vallos ’ dreams come true.”

Lia went in for another scoop as the kitchen staff continued to snack too. A fork war broke out between Zadi and the younger boy named Xides. The cook broke it up with a sharp word and a waved hand.

Leaning her chin in her hand, she soaked it all in. There was something so comforting to see the familiar in the unfamiliar. She’d traveled extensively with the troupe and her brother. It was a lesson she’d learned. No matter where you were, you could always find a bit of home if you searched.

The door swished open behind her and all color drained from the cook’s face. The servants scrambled to their feet. Dahlia didn’t even have to turn around to know who was there.

The king.

Too bad he’d missed dinner.