Page 24 of Royal Bite
Cici and Desmond moved away from her, but Stormey called out to them.
“Why don’t you take your meal with us? There’s plenty of room.” She motioned to the two other empty chairs at the island.
Desmond’s gaze flicked to Bijou’s.
“Your future princess would like to have a meal with you. Take a seat,” Bijou said.
They took their seats. A young female dropped off Bijou’s goblet. The copper scent that floated through the air alluded that it was blood for the vampire.
“Ayah, Cici and Desmond will be dining with us.”
“Yes, General.” She smiled and scurried away.
“And for Miss Jaymes, as promised.” Val returned and set a platter in front of Stormey with a silver top hiding what was underneath.
“Oh, my. The presentation is wonderful.” Stormey laughed. She was curious as to what was underneath. She excitedly lifted the top and gasped, her eyes widening at the dish. There were thick noodles, a red sauce with some kind of black shells. It was garnished with fresh basil leaves. “It smells so good. What is it?”
“It is mussel fettuccine with a Napoli sauce.” Val straightened to his full height. He took the top from her and set it aside.
“I’ve never eaten mussels before.” She tore her gaze away from the beautiful plate. This was fancier than anything she’d ever been served.
“Then you are in for a treat.” He laughed. He held up a block of cheese and a grater. “Parmesan, my lady?”
“Please,” she gushed.
She watched him shave the cheese on top of her food. The aromas had her stomach announcing it was starving. He stopped once she waved her hand. She was a little skeptical on the mussels, but she was willing to try them.
“Here goes nothing.”
She lifted the first shell and ensured she had a little sauce with it. She slid the meat into her mouth and chewed. The flavors burst out on her tongue. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh, my goodness,” she groaned. She reached for her fork and dove into the noodles and sauce. She brought it to her mouth and closed her eyes, truly enjoying the food.
“I almost want to try it.” Cici giggled.
Ayah, the kitchen assistant, brought over her and Desmond’s goblets. She stared down at her cup before eyeing Stormey’s plate. “It looks much better than what we have here.”
Stormey chuckled. She prayed she never would have to give up food. She knew that vampires could turn humans and hoped she wouldn’t have to be turned in order to live as Hegna’s mate.
“Have you ever had food?” Stormey asked the vampires seated with her.
They all shook their heads.
“Aw, I’m sorry.”
“Food can be a love language for humans,” Val said.
“It can be,” Stormey agreed. She loved cooking, and if she couldn’t feed Hegna, then she’d have to find another way to show her appreciation for her. It was weird that they hadn’t even met yet and she was already thinking of ways she could please her vampire mate. “Val, you will have to let me cook. I make a mean fried chicken and macaroni and cheese.”
“Of course. Anytime you want to come down here to cook, you are welcome. There is plenty of space.” Val grinned.
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” Stormey beamed.
He gave her a slight bow then went and joined the staff who were bustling around cooking and baking. She finished her food while asking little questions of the vampires. She wanted to get to know them and was surprised about the things she had learned. Outside of working for the princess, they all had normal-sounding lives that if they weren’t vampires, she would assume they were human.
Bijou was single, loved being out in nature, and loved drawing in her spare time. It helped her unwind from the stress of being a general in an army. Cici was dating a young vampire and loved horse riding. Desmond was mated to his destined mate. He and his mate loved traveling and journaling about all of the cities they’d seen. He even compared cities from the different time periods which she found really interesting.
“Would you mind if I read your journals? That is a fascinating take on it. I would have loved to visit Paris in the eighteen hundreds, in the nineteen hundreds, and now just to compare.”
