Chapter 119

Sarah POV

The entire time I had known Chef Rachel, she had demonstrated enthusiasm for her job, kindness toward the children, and conscientiousness about her job. I had barely seen her frown, let alone glare at a mixing bowl while furiously whipping at her batter and looking like she wanted to spit fire.

“Rachel?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen.

“Hello, Sarah,” she muttered before going still, closing her eyes, and taking in a deep breath.

“Food not cooperating this morning?”

She shrugged, went back to stirring, and despite all her attempts still looked angry.

“I don’t want to intrude on your kitchen,” I said, “but I have to ask if this might involve the children.”

She stopped stirring again and looked at me. “Indirectly.”

“Then I have to ask you to share, please.”

Rachel looked around and then lowered her tone. “It’s that Ella woman and that poor boy.”

Goddess, what now? “Jordan?”

“Whenever I have children to feed, I always get a detailed report from their parents about allegories, sensitivities, and favorites.”

“Sounds good.”

Rachel scowled. “Well, I spoke at length with Jordan’s mother, and he hasn’t got an allergy to his name and loves to eat new things. A cook’s dream.”

“Right.”

“So, Miss Ella comes in here and starts going on about how she thinks he’s intolerant to gluten. I explain he isn’t. She tells me to take such things seriously, and I assure her that I do, that I’m a chef, that food is my job, and that I have checked. He doesn’t have celiac disease, and he’s just fine with gluten.”

I saw Rachel was gritting her teeth now.

“What did Ella accuse you of?”

“Lying. As if I have any reason to!” She was hissing now and whacked her wooden spoon on the rim of the mixing bowl so hard I thought the ceramic might crack.

“Chef Rachel,” I said. “I know for a fact and would swear before the Luna Oracles that you made sure your food would be safe and delicious for Jordan. I love your cooking, and so do Zane and the girls.”

She looked slightly mollified, but her lips were still pursed.

“Moreover, I have evidence that Ella is using Jordan to sew discord in Alpha Zane’s household for reasons that I confess are beyond me. I think this is just the latest in her little plot, and you’ve been caught in the crosshairs.”

Rachel looked more puzzled than angry, but then her chin went up and she raised a hand before turning back to her batter, which she stirred with much less wrath.

“There you are, Sarah,” Ella said as she glided into the kitchen. Seriously, looking at her, I half-expected little animated birds to chirp around her head.

“Ella,” I said as pleasantly as I could.

“Perhaps you can help me with Chef Rachel. I simply raised the issue that kids Jordan’s age may start to show early signs of gluten intolerance, and I thought she might be careful.”

“Jordan wolfed down gluten-laden food at the mine yesterday, and he asked for seconds. I’m sure it’s fine.”

Ella gave me a slightly tight but still dazzling smile.

“Did you bring Jordan with you today?” I asked. “The three girls would love to play with him.”

“Three girls?”

“Well, including Selene, who adores him.”

“Selene?”

“The puppy, you remember.” I laughed, though it was mostly at the satisfied curl of Rachel’s lip. “So? Jordan?”

“No, I wasn’t sure about his diet here, so I didn’t bring him.”

Rachel snorted. Ella pretended she didn’t hear it.

“Are you here to see Zane then?” I asked.

“I did, in his study. He was telling me about your adventures at the Abrigan Mine. I must say, it seems like you can’t go anywhere without finding some sort of drama.

Look who’s talking. “The state of the mine is quite dilapidated, but it’s almost perfect for conversion to geothermal.”

“How excellent.” She looked at her watch and then back at me. “Well, it’s clear you are the one to watch. And to think your talents were so wasted when you were just my maid, scrubbing my toilet when you should have been out there saving the world!”

She laughed and looked around. “Where did I leave my bag? Oh, in Zane’s study. I’ll just–”

“Miss Ella?” Hans said from the doorway. I knew whenever I would think of Hans years from now, I would see him standing in a doorway. He held up a baguette-style purse.

“Alpha Zane sent me to return this to you,” the butler said.

“Perfect! Zane is so thoughtful.” She took the purse and glided out of the kitchen just the way she had glided in. “Ta!”

Hans nodded and walked out. I looked over at Rachel.

“Ta,” she said.

“Ta.”

Later, after dinner and pajamas and teeth brushing and reading from The Mummy Market, I went to bed feeling tired, but in a good way. Ella’s little ploys were just tiresome after the horrors of the charity masquerade and the coal mine workers, and I knew I would be working on those projects for a long time to come.

Grace and Chloe were continuing to adapt well to level one, and while my relationship with Zane was far from settled, being around him and the rest of my family left me happier than I had ever been before. Were some things stressful? Of course. But they were also worth it.

I wound up in the forest again, trotting along on all fours.

The scent of a fox reached my snout, much better chasing than a rabbit. My heart quickened, and I enjoyed the jolt of adrenaline through my body. I took a few careful paces forward, following the tiny sound of a heartbeat. It was quick, but not racing. It didn’t know yet I was coming for it.

Something moved to my right, the tiny heartbeat exploded, and I was rushing after the flashes of red fur and blurred legs of my prey. It ran left, and I followed, then slightly right, then left again, and I was closer now.

I could see so well in the bright moonlight, and the trees seemed to be pointing the way of the fox’s path. I surged ahead, and it put on a last, desperate burst of speed.

I leapt and caught it between my front paws. I clamped my jaws around its head and whipped my body back and forth, giving it a quick death. It had run well, and my mouth filled with saliva as the scent of its fresh blood filled my nostrils.

The moon seemed to brighten, and I threw my head back to howl.