Page 106 of A Queen's Game
“A pleasure to see you again, Chef Emynuel. Do you mind if I take over one of your workspaces?”
The chef gestured for her to go ahead before returning to his work. With a quick smile to Amryth, Marietta went to the pantry for the ingredients.
“Are you going to explain or will I have to guess?” Amryth said at the door, her arms crossed.
Marietta thrust a bag of almond flour at her and turned back, gathering other supplies. “This is just something I need to do.”
Amryth shrugged her shoulders, looking annoyed to hold the bag, but carried it back to the station.
A plume of flour rose as Marietta added her dry ingredients to a bowl. In another, she whisked together softened butter with sugars. The kitchen workers used a magical item that mixed ingredients with no effort. Marietta heard of the device, but she was baking for the familiarity of her methods.
She folded the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture before adding the eggs, mixing the batter until smooth. Once added to a round pan, she slid it into the oven and patted the flour off her dress.
“Well, that was surprising—I haven’t seen you smile like that ever,” Amryth said with a softness in her eyes.
“Baking brings me joy. That’s why I stopped helping businesses and opened a bakery. That and the long hours of traveling were taxing for Tilan and I.” Marietta cupped her chin, leaning on the counter.
“I’m glad I got to witness a genuine part of you. You’ve seemed empty of a person since you’ve been here.”
“Because I have been. Losing Tilan, even with his lies,” Marietta said, emotions choking her words, “hurts. It hurts so much.” She bit the inside of her cheek, eyes blinking so tears wouldn’t fall. “I miss him. I miss the life we had built. Being here, in this kitchen baking, reminds me that I had that life. That I could make my own decisions—that I had freedom.”
Amryth considered her words. “You mentioned before that Tilan was a fraud. What did he lie about?”
With a glance around the room, ensuring no one paid attention to their conversation, Marietta dropped her voice. “Iknew less about my late husband than I thought. According to Queen Valeriya and Keyain, Tilan was a leader of the Exisotis—Keyain even had documented proof.”
Amryth let out a long sigh. “That part I was aware of, unfortunately. When Keyain briefed us on the mission, he shared that a leader of the Exisotis captured his wife. I thought you knew he was in the Exisotis.”
“I didn’t,” Marietta said quietly, dragging her finger through the loose flour that remained on the counter. “And I also learned Tilan knew Keyain. That the Exisotis planned for Tilan to marry me to use against him.” A shaky breath exhaled from her. “Our relationship started with a lie.”
Amryth placed a hand on Marietta’s arm. “Did you ever once feel like he didn’t love you?”
“No. Never.”
“Then perhaps, even given the circumstances, he really did love you.”
The sounds of the kitchen filled their silence, Marietta remembering her days at the bakery. “When I decided to open the bakery, I was most excited to sleep next to Tilan at night. To see him every day, to not be away from him.”
As another swell of emotion tightened her throat, Marietta focused on slicing almonds for the cake. When Marietta had needed help prepping, Tilan closed his smithy for two weeks to help her. And she loved it—two weeks of just them and the excitement of a new business.
The day the bakery opened, friends and old clients lined the street. Tilan was with her, helping her, supporting her. There were so many people to be thankful for, tears coming to her eyes as their faces flooded her memory.
“All the people I cared about in Olkia—I don’t know if they’re okay. I don’t know who’s alive.” Tears dropped asMarietta stilled, her hand gripping the knife as she stared at the countertop.
“You lost more than your husband that night. You lost a family, a community.” Amryth patted Marietta’s back. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
Marietta took a deep breath, slowing her tears. “The temple helped. It reminded me that people care, that life goes on, and I have to keep trying to survive.” She peeked into the oven, seeing the browning of the cake, and pulled it out.
“That’s what it did for me,” Amryth said after a moment. “Helped guide me on my journey to heal.”
On a stovetop, Marietta brought honey and water to a boil into a sweet, sticky syrup while the cake cooled.
“I can’t thank you enough, Amryth,” Marietta said, looking up. “You saved me, and I’m forever grateful.”
“I only wish I never left.”
Turning to the cooled cake, Marietta shrugged and drew a knife around the edge of the cake pan to loosen the edges, then flipped it over onto a plate. She added the almonds to the honey syrup and then spooned the mixture over top of the cake.
That was her favorite cake recipe, reminding her of sunny summer afternoons. The sweetness of the honey and the nuttiness of the almonds made the perfect combination. It was her go-to recipe because she could always get the ingredients in Olkia.
