Page 24 of A Dark Prophecy's Heir

The quick reply to her question had Sapphire peering at Belly, who looked ready to answer even more with the same unbridled enthusiasm. To be fair, everything about the young castle servant radiated enthusiasm, from the glow on her face to the way she smiled at Sapphire.

“Is there a…non-fancy kitchen that’s mostly unused? Somewhere private?”

Belly’s smile turned puzzled, and she hesitated. “There’s an unused one on the fourth floor.”

“A ninth kitchen?” Sapphire blurted out.

“Yes, but we only have seven official ones. No one uses the fourth floor since most of us sleep in the wing beside the staff kitchen.”

“And which fourth-floor wing is it on?”

Twenty minutes later, she managed to convince the woman to give her directions and keep it between them, not wanting her sister to follow her and reprimand her for skipping meals too often. It couldn’t be helped, not now that the crystals had improved so many of her old formulas. Sapphire knew her time here was limited, and she was greedy to take advantage of those crystals as much as she could—and if being late to a meal or two was the consequence, then so be it.

Tonight, though, she had hit her quota and her body could no longer produce the energy required to complete her potions. Her stomach was grumbling too. It was a good thing that Belly gave clear directions. When she found the place, Sapphire breezed in without turning on any lights. The moonlight streaming from the window gave her enough. She scanned the clean counters and organized utensils, then opened the cabinet and peeked inside.

“Oh, my heavens.”

Delight slithered in when she found rows upon rows of food, most of which were stored in airtight bags and labeled properly. A cool section had her digging further until she found tubs of frozen cream and fruits. She took one out and leaned against the counter, closing her eyes at the first melt on her tongue. Her stomach rumbled harder, so she took out some candied fruits and bit into them enthusiastically.

Not bad for a grouchy creature who’s supposed to be stuck in medieval times.

She finished two and bit into her third. She froze when her spine tingled moments before Klaus walked into the room wearing only a pair of trousers. His hide was gone, exposing a broad chest and muscles that danced at his every step. Everything about him was hard, almost brutal-looking, and she could only gape. Then she willed herself to only look at his face.

“What are you doing here?”

Perhaps that wasn’t the friendliest greeting. Although he didn’t seem to mind as he raised a brow.

“It’s my kitchen.”

“You have your tower kitchen. And the one with the biggest food cabinet.”

The brow raised further and she clamped her big mouth shut. Again, he replied with ease.

“This is the most unused one. People don’t look for me here…and Lydia won’t reprimand me for eating too much meat.”

“Oh.”

She hadn’t thought about that. She was used to him showing off and just being…lord of the castle. It was evident in the way the castle staff obeyed all his orders and that everything was run with a tight, disciplined hand. Like this kitchen. She had only met Lydia once and had got the impression that she was quiet. The idea of her reprimanding him didn’t fit in.

“I suppose Belly told you about this place. She would know the ins and outs of kitchen life considering her mother’s the main cook.”

At that, her back went up. “Don’t hurt her.”

There was a long pause as he surveyed the food cabinet and shot her a challenging look.

“What makes you think I would?”

“You almost burned down an island because their leader refused to marry you.”

“She refused to pay her father’s debt the way it was supposed to be paid. It’s not my fault he made an ironclad will and involved her.”

“It’s not her fault, either. She didn’t know. She loved my brother.”

Silence.

“I was in a bad place at that time. Let’s just say it wasn’t my finest hour.”

She expected excuses, not an admission along with a broody expression. Sapphire inspected him, the questions tickling her throat. But instinct told her it would be like trying to move a mountain and she stayed quiet.

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