Page 37 of The Chef

Chapter Twenty-One

“WHERE ARE WE?” Char asked. He sat up in bed, the covers pooled in his lap, as he stared around the room. He hadn’t been coherent enough last night to notice, plus it had been dark, but the place was very, very nice. The four-poster bed they had slept in was massive, with a deep, extremely comfortable mattress and velvet curtains they hadn’t bothered to close. The walls had cloth wallpaper in wide stripes of blue and cream and along the walls the furniture was all beautifully carved dark-stained wood.

Fen let out a low groan as he rolled over, and he buried his nose into Char’s side and threw one arm around Char’s waist.

“My bedroom,” Fen explained, the words slightly muffled but clear enough to send a jolt of adrenaline through Char’s body.

“In the palace?” he squeaked out.

Fen chuckled and squeezed Char in a gentle hug. “If just being in my room in the palace is scary, wait until you see who we’re about to have breakfast with.”

Char let out a whimper. “Can’t I just go back to the military compound? I should be there anyway, making breakfast for your troops.” This was the first time in Char’s memory that he had slept right through his normal waking hour. He felt rested, and after yesterday that was a surprisingly good feeling, but at thesame time he felt antsy as if he was supposed to be somewhere else and doing something else.

“They’ll survive another morning without you,” Fen said. He sighed and finally sat up. “Besides. If I let you run off now when I know how much my mother has been dying to meet you, she’ll hunt you down. It’ll be easier today since we can distract her with reports of everything that happened last night, anyway. So, let’s get dressed and get it over with, and maybe you’ll be back in your kitchen with enough time to throw something together for dinner.”

Char bit his lip, worried, but he nodded. If he wanted to continue his relationship with Fen, he would need to meet Fen’s parents eventually. And Fen was right; with everything that had happened yesterday as a distraction, meeting them today would be easier.

Fen found him clean clothing. Once they were both dressed, Fen led the way out of the bedroom, through a grand sitting room Char had taken no notice of the previous evening, and out into a lushly appointed hallway. They didn’t go too far—Char’s steps sinking into the luxurious carpet as they walked only about a minute—stopping in front of another door in the same hall. Fen held the door open for Char, who walked into a small dining room where almost every seat at the table was already taken.

“Oh? Did my dear baby brother sleep well last night, while the rest of us were busy cleaning up his mess?” one of the people sitting at the table jeered. He appeared to be in his midtwenties and looked similar to Fen, so Char thought this was one of Fen’s brothers. There were two younger men and one older—the king, and Char was mentally hyperventilating about being in the same room as the king—plus two women and a handful of children.

“Shut it, Braxton,” Fen replied, heading to one of the two empty seats around the table. He pulled one out and held it for Char to sit before taking his own. “Fill me in.”

“While you were getting your beauty rest, some of us spent the night going through Baron Whistfield’s estate,” Braxton paused to take a pointed gulp of his black tea before continuing. “The man was a slob and didn’t know the first thing about organization, but what we did find had Namin stamped all over it.”

“You’ll be glad to know he was apprehended attempting to flee the city and has been singing like a songbird ever since,” the other brother—who had to be Crown Prince Ayer—said.

“What that means, since my sons appear to think it’s a game to string you along like this,” the queen cut in, speaking directly to Char, “is the threat against you has been neutralized. I am certain the enemy will continue to place spies and potential assassins in the royal guard, but the plan to coerce Fen’s new chef into participating in Namin’s plot was purely Whistfield’s idea. Now that the plot has failed so spectacularly, they will be forced to find a new target.”

Char swallowed down his nerves. He glanced at Fen, who smiled, and then looked back at the queen. “Thank you, Your Majesty. Um, that’s good to know they won’t be targeting me because I’m Fen’s chef. But what about if I’m…” He glanced at Fen again as his words trailed off.

Queen Trina laughed. “Oh, they most definitely won’t target you now you’re in a relationship with Fen. You’ve proven your loyalty to him quite admirably, to the point you helped take down a baron. They won’t waste time trying to flip you again.”

What she wasn’t saying was Char was a bigger target for assassination than before, that hurting him would in turn hurtFen, but that was something Char already knew. Fen’s role as prince and commander always meant anyone he fell in love with would have to face that threat, something Char had completely understood before he walked up that staircase those few short weeks ago. With Baron Whistfield neutralized, Char hoped even that threat was reduced.

Before he could think of how to respond, someone knocked on the door and then Zain let herself into the room. She bowed quickly and then went over to Ayer and Braxton, handing them each large sheaves of paper.

“Completed reports from last night,” she explained, bowing again. “We’ve rounded up the last of the fighters Whistfield brought in, all two hundred. I’ll have the reports of their interviews this afternoon.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Ayer said, nodding in reply. “Give your report to your commander and then take a few hours for yourself to rest.”

“Your Majesties,” she said with yet another bow, before turning and making her way over to where Fen and Char were sitting.

“I checked up on the things you asked me,” she said to Fen after nodding hello to them both. “The guard taking those convenient nighttime breaks was being bribed by three different people to be away from the gate at that time. He didn’t know who snuck in or out, just that he was making a lot of money. We’ve narrowed one of the payments to Whistfield, but the other two are going to take a bit more time to figure out.”

“Good work,” Fen replied. “Have Captain Wong and Jensen work with Commander Tenisen on the rest of that case. You’re doing enough cleaning up after Whistfield. What about the rest?”

Zain nodded. “Sherri is still in the palace healers’ wing, but the healers believe she should be safe to move to the military compound’s wing later this week. All indications are she’ll make a full recovery.” Char let out a relieved breath at those words. He had been wondering where Sherri was after that terrible battle but hadn’t found a chance to ask. Hearing she was going to be okay was amazing. “All three kids were returned to the compound safely last night,” Zain continued. “I gave them the day off from school so they have today to recuperate. That said, I’m going to arrange for them to have regular training with the troops after school. They did well in the fighting, but with a little training I think they could really become something. Er, with your permission, of course,” she tacked on awkwardly, no doubt remembering the last time she had blithely accepted one of the kids without first consulting with Fen.

Fen chuckled. “Permission granted, although if the two boys are going to be helping Char in the kitchen too, you can’t keep them at drill all afternoon.”

“Understood. I have a feeling Karl and Shan would object if I kept them out of the kitchen anyway.” She chuckled. “The girl—Emily—will be commander someday. I swear it.”

“That could very well be true,” Fen replied, grinning. “Thank you for checking up on them. Anything else to report?”

Zain smirked and looked at Char. “Only that I was asked to tell Chef his donkey was recovered from the city. Someone located the shopping list and what appears to be a thousand canning jars are taking up half the kitchen. Someone asked if you would be canning figs, since they’re in season right now.”

It was Char’s turn to smile. “I’m glad Wise One made it home safe too. My fruit and vegetable supplier sends me whatever is in season, so if I get some figs I’ll definitely preserve them. Please tell Jensen to authorize reimbursement to whomever purchasedmy jars,” Char added. He really wanted to be back in his kitchen now, boiling fruits for jams and vinegar for pickling. He had a lot still to put away in preparation for winter.

---