Page 36 of Enchanted Heir
He pulled back and smirked. “Kind of. Think of it as making my magic like a large slide.”
I shook my head. “Stop flying places before you get hurt, Your Grace.”
He whispered softly, “But I’m trying to save you, too.”
“Prince Krewan,” Owen interrupted. The fact that he used Krew’s princely title alerted me to the fact that there were lots of watching eyes and listening ears.
“Yes?”
Owen stepped closer to us, and though we separated, Krew’s hand stayed on my lower back. “The fire was started by an Enchanted.”
Krew gave him a nod. “I assumed as much.”
Owen’s eyes bounced to mine. “Can I get Jorah out of here while you run damage control?”
Before Krew could say yes on my behalf, I butted in. “No. We have to help the staff.”
Krew gave me a sympathetic look. “Jorah, love, it’s likely the oven is burnt to a crisp given the report I was given. It will take all afternoon to get a replacement in and working.”
My panic was rising. “But if the staff cannot deliver a lunch meal, won’t they be in trouble or possibly even dismissed?” I added at a deadly whisper, “Possibly because of me?”
Krew used the hand on the small of my back to gently lead me aside, Owen following. Once we were away from the others, Krew let go of me to use a small blast of magic to give us a barrier to speak freely.
Owen said immediately, “I think your father doesn’t like that he hasn’t been able to catch the two of you not together. Someone probably blabbed that she helped in the kitchens yesterday morning, so he thought he’d send her a message about that.”
Krew had just used magic, but I still saw the burst of magic in his eyes. He was angry. “Makes sense.”
I swallowed down a shaky breath. “But they will be punished somehow. Possibly even dismissed from their jobs because I decided to help them?” I shook my head, the tears not falling over, but just staying there. “That’s not fair.”
“No, it isn’t,” Krew agreed.
“So how can we fix this? I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Or lose their jobs either,” I pleaded. “We have to help them.”
Krew took a deep breath and ran a hand down his face. “I’m not sure we can. There are only a few hours until my father usually takes his lunch. And though I don’t think he’d truly just dismiss the entire kitchen staff, I wouldn’t put it past him to punish them somehow either. Whether that’s docking their already miniscule pay or something... physical.”
Thephysicalhad me again wanting to vomit, remembering the bruises he left on my wrist. “Isn’t there another kitchen in this monstrosity of a castle?”
Krew cocked his head. “Yes. There are three more big ones and a few smaller ones, but they’re not close and aren’t stocked to prepare a meal.” He went to open his mouth but shut it, as if remembering something. “All right. We can try, Jorah. But only if you stay by my side, okay? I need to send Owen to Keir and make sure Father is distracted.”
Without thinking, I hugged him hard. Afraid I had brushed up against the sound barrier when I moved and made it fall, I pulled back to find it still standing.
Krew’s eyes were on mine. “Now listen. Jorah, I need you to gather everyone and tell them we are moving to another kitchen. Find Maurice and tell him. The staff knows where the wheelbarrows are. Have them load up everything they need for a meal. I don’t care what was scheduled. Have them figure out something, anything that can be prepared quickly. Give me a few minutes to speak with Owen and then we will help them move everything to a different kitchen, all right? And we are going to have to move fast if we have half a chance of pulling this off.”
I gave him a nod. “All right. And thank you.”
Krew let out a sigh. “Thank me if we get it done in time.”
* * *
I foundMaurice coughing and barking orders inside the hazy kitchen. “Tiny!” he coughed. “Get out of here.”
I gestured toward the door. “I require a word. From the Prince.” Plus, I had been in the kitchen for only a few seconds and my lungs were already burning from all the smoke.
One of Maurice’s eyebrows lifted as he began moving forward. “Which Prince?”
“Prince Krewan.”
Just outside the door, I quietly and quickly relayed my message about moving to another kitchen. “So we need to be able to make a full meal in under two hours. What can you scrounge up?”
