I helped the larderer set up and prepare the food for the cooks on the island in the middle of the large kitchen while everyone else moved in a flurry of activity around us. It was exhilarating to be in the middle of so much confident movement while Gloria caught me up on everything that had been happening over the past week while I was in Seattle. I’d stayed in my apartment with my best friend ever since I learned that Daath and Syrion hid the fact that Daath and Minerva used to date from me. Was date the right term? Did immortal beings date? Either way, they had been involved, and after learning that she was trying to kill me, they didn’t feel like it was necessary information. It was a little obnoxious that it had taken them a week to apologize, but they’d more than made up for it last night.
There wasn’t much that I had missed aside from the fact that the Kings had been spotty and in sour moods all week, regularly snapping at anyone that didn’t anticipate their complex needs, which was just about everyone. That wasn’t surprising, as no one knew them the way I did. This gave me a slightly smug smile. I’d forgiven the Kings for all the secrets they’d kept from me about Minerva, but knowing their week without me had been just as shitty as mine was satisfying.
“But I think,” Gloria mused as she whipped a bowl of eggs, “that’s all going to change now.” A knowing smile graced her motherly face. “I think they missed you.” I smiled as my cheeks warmed up. I knew they’d missed me but began to blush, anyway. I was about to say something when Gloria interjected one last time.
“But not at much as I did,” the spirit winked.
I giggled and leaned over to hug the wraith from the side, not interrupting her work. “I missed you too, Gloria.”
The cooks, butlers, and everyone else filled me in on the gossip from the rest of the castle for the past week until it was time to start preparing the main hall for breakfast. Gloria had me help carry plates, and I tried to tell myself it wasn’t because I had almost cut myself slicing bacon, and now she was afraid of who or what I could hurt. The castle residents babbled when they saw me helping the staff set up breakfast, and I began to feel an annoying buzz in the back of my mind as they gossiped away. I’d always felt annoyed at the sense of superiority the Kings seemed to have regarding everyone around them, but as hypocritical as it felt, I believed I was developing one of my own. I began to wonder what everyone knew and how much they had been told about what had happened. Did any of them know who I was, or did they still think I was the Kings’ mistress?
As I set the plates out around the large dining table, the hubbub of voices quieted quite suddenly. I turned to grab another plate and realized the sudden silence had come from the entrance of Daath and Syrion in all their royal splendor. No wonder the chattering creatures had all fallen silent. The Kings looked fiercely intimidating in their perfectly tailored suits and cloaks. Daath, the pale-skinned, onyx-eyed King of the Underworld with hair the color of midnight that fell just above his shoulders, walked into the room with an expression that could kill. Syrion, his brother, contrasted him in every way: his hair was snow white, his eyes liquid silver, and his skin the color of dark caramel. His face held an expression that was ice cold and unreadable. The two of them were each surrounded by a cloud of color. Daath emanated darkness of black tendrils while Syrion glowed with an Angelic white light. I beamed and ran over to them, throwing my arms around their necks, kissing each of their cheeks, my own purple cloud of hellfire enveloping theirs. Their expressions faded from sheer murderous aggression to mere worry and confusion.
“Good morning, sourpusses,” I greeted. “What’s the matter?”
“Little owl,” Daath brushed my hair and rested his palm on my cheek. I leaned into his soft skin and smiled. “We awoke, and you were nowhere to be found, not in the room, not even in the realm.” His black aura reached out to me, mixing with the purple air of my own. Though he was silent, Syrion’s did the same, and I knew the two of them must have felt terrified.
“I’m sorry,” I sighed. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I just couldn’t sleep, and I… suppose I let my mind wander too much. I world jumped here, so I decided to help Gloria with breakfast. It won’t happen again.” I squeezed both of their hands. “I promise.”
“As long as you’re alright,” Daath exhaled in relief.
“While we’re here,” Syrion spoke with a ghost of a smile that only Daath and I could recognize, “there’s something we haven’t had the opportunity to do.”
“What?” I cocked my head. The brothers shared a look as they examined the room. Daath gestured for me to follow them, and I felt a twinge of annoyance at them leaving me out of the loop on something so soon after we’d resolved that as a major issue. I crossed my arms as I followed them up the dais overlooking the table where a flurry of activity and hunger propelled the supernatural creatures like ants.
Syrion raised a hand, and Daath cleared his throat, immediately silencing the room. Everyone stopped what
