Chapter 13 Plans & Platters
Chapter thirteen
Plans & Platters
Mei
My fingers returned to my lips as I relived this morning’s kiss, my other hand idly stirring the stew. I had never felt like this about anyone before, and it scared me a little.
Last night sure had been one roller-coaster of emotions. Going from warm butterflies, to confusion and betrayal, then to an actual fight followed by relief and that steamy kiss… It was more whiplash than I got while flying, and twice as nerve-wracking.
At first, our kisses were meant solely to calm the other down. But now, they felt like so much more. They felt as thrilling as a dive through the clouds, as refreshing as bursting through a waterfall, and as warm as a cozy, crackling hearth.
And I loved every second of it.
Every moment I was with him.
But…
It was inevitable that I was going to have to stand up to my parents when they returned—I had little doubt they would forbid me from seeing Yuri. But I was hoping that once they got to know him a little better, they might come to see all of the good in him, just as I had.
But what was I going to do if they refused to even give him a chance?
Was I willing to give up everything I thought I wanted to be with him if it came down to that?
“Mei-Mei, you’re burning the stew!” cried Pyra.
Startled from my thoughts, I immediately picked up on the faint scent of burnt meat.
After turning down the heat, I began furiously stirring the stew, hoping to avoid catastrophe and save the batch.
If I ladled out anything that was charred, I should be able to compensate with an extra pinch of flavoring and spice.
“Thanks, Pyra,” I said with a heavy sigh, as I turned off the burner and salvaged the stew.
“What has been going on with you lately?” Pyra arched an eyebrow at me without missing a beat on her stir-fry.
“I’ve been—distracted.” I groaned inwardly. “I have a lot on my mind.”
If I was too nervous to even tell Pyra about Yuri, how was I ever going to face my parents? Maybe confiding in her would be a good place to start.
“No kidding!” She rolled her eyes. “But can you afford to be this distracted? The Harvest Feast is in three days!”
“I know,” I groaned, rubbing my temples.
At least all of the food supplies I ordered had arrived on time. I had checked three times just to make sure, but everything was there—I hadn’t forgotten to order any of the ingredients, despite how busy I’d been.
“Have you decided on the new main dish you want to debut this year?” Pyra asked.
“Mostly?” I said sheepishly.
“Mei-Mei, darling, please tell me you did not just end that statement in a question mark.” She rubbed a hand over her face, sending a few errant sparks flying. “Is it a boy? Is that what this is?”
I bit my lip.
“So it IS a boy! Ha! I knew it. Pay up, Nalini.” Pyra held out her hand expectantly.
I gaped as Nalini, who had apparently been eavesdropping this whole time, slithered in with a sour look and handed Pyra twenty bucks.
“You were betting on why I seemed distracted lately?!” My voice came out a little screechier than I intended.
“Sssorry, Mei.” Nalini shrugged. “I’ve run out of good sssoap operasss to watch.”
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t know it was even possible to run out of soap operas.”
“Alright Mei, spill the tea. Who is this boy that has you so out of sorts that even your first solo Harvest Feast can’t hold your attention?” Pyra’s voice was teasing, but not unkind.
I buried my face in my hands, but peeked at them both through my fingers. “Promise you won’t freak out.”
They shared a glance, then said in unison, “We promise.”
“It’s…Yuri.”
Their jaws dropped. If I hadn’t been so worried, I would have laughed.
“Yuri…as in the ice dragon?” Pyra gasped.
“The one that can’t even handle the mild ssssalsssa?” Nalini said at the same time.
“That’s the one.” I laughed mirthlessly. This was going about as well as I expected.
They shared another glance.
“Mei-Mei, sweetie…” Pyra started, reaching out a hand to place on my shoulder.
“Save it.” I shrugged away from her touch. “I know what you’re going to say.”
“Fire and ice, they just don’t mix.” Pyra gave me a pitying look.
“Your parentsss would never approve,” Nalini hissed sadly.
“Don’t you think I know that?!” I moaned, running my hands along my horns in frustration.
“I see why you’re been so distracted.” Pyra fidgeted with a ball of flame. “Even the Harvest Feast doesn’t hold a candle to such Romeo and Juliet levels of forbidden love.”
Nalini nodded sagely.
“And that’s not even the worst of it! On top of all of that, last night I had to chase off his older brother, who was beating Yuri up for the crime of being seen with me—among other things—and who is probably going to come back here with his entire fleet in order to continue the war between our peoples!
” I buried my face in my hands, the weight of all of my problems crashing down at once like an avalanche.
What on earth was I going to do? Yuri said he would handle his family but… The memory of what his brother had done to him kept playing on repeat in my head.
What could one dragon possibly do against an entire fleet?
“I’m disappointed you kept this from us.” Pyra sounded about as upset as I’d ever heard her—until her tone softened. “You shouldn’t be trying to deal with all of this alone.”
“But it’s all my fault.” I finally looked at Pyra, and was relieved to see that she and Nalini didn’t look angry.
Nalini grabbed my shoulders, raising herself up on her tail to my eye level. “Did you asssk the brother to attack Yuri? Or to continue thisss conflict?”
“No,” I admitted, holding back a sniffle.
“Then it isss not your fault.” Nalini sounded so convinced that I almost started to believe her.
“If the ice dragons think they can just saunter on in and start a war in Willowmere, they can think again. We protect our own.” This time, when Pyra put a hand on my shoulder, I didn’t shake it off.
“I would like to sssee them try to get passst an entire town of drakesss, sssylphsss, nagasss, fae, valkyriesss, witchesss, daemonsss, and vampiresss!” Nalini hissed.
I gave them a watery smile. When my family first moved to Willowmere, we had felt like outsiders.
Like we were unwelcome guests, intruding on someone else’s slice of paradise.
We had worked tirelessly ever since, to learn the local customs and culture, and to provide value to the town and everyone in it.
Over time, strangers had become friends, and neighbors had become allies.
And now, we had the entire community ready and willing to have our backs.
A light bulb went on inside my head. “I think I know how Yuri plans to stop the fleet.”
“You do?” Pyra asked. “How?”
I explained what I was thinking, both of them listening intently.
“That jussst might work,” Nalini mused. “But he isss going to need sssome backup.”
“Agreed. Which is why…” I took a deep breath. “I’m going to need your help—and everyone else’s.”
Pyra grinned. “You’ve come to the right pyromaniac for help. Let’s take care of our last few tables and close up early. We have a lot of work to do.”