Sylvie opened her mouth.
“Save the excuses. Now, I suggest you get yourself another bowl of porridge. Once you’re done eating breakfast and contemplating your future, Flora will take you to orientation.”
“Great.” Sylvie tucked her shirt into her pants and tried to make herself look more presentable. “Brindille’s library houses over one hundred thousand books. It’s one of the world’s largest cookbook collections. I’m looking forward to finally seeing it in person.”
Flora raised a brow. “Right. Well, I’ll come back in a bit,” she said stiffly.
Sylvie deflated. She really needed to make a good impression, but Flora was understandably unimpressed.
Like donkeys fighting over a turnip.Sylvie headed back toward the buffet.
“Not so fast.” Kitty reeled her in. “You and Georgia need to learn to work as a team. Therefore, you’ll be on cleanup duty every day after Pip class until I’m satisfied that there’s been an improvement in your behavior.”
“You can’t be serious,” Georgia wailed. “But—”
Kitty held up a hand. “I expect you two to take this seriously. Remember the school motto? We are stronger when we work together.”
Georgia just nodded. She looked like she was going to cry for real this time.
“Yes,” said Sylvie.
“Good.” Kitty slid the carrier off her back and pulled a bottle of Mayhem Managing Serum out of a side pocket.
Secret and Sauce peered out. One of them gave Sylvie a disapproving hiss.
It really wasn’t my fault,Sylvie wanted to say. Maybe she’d try to pick some catnip in the garden, smooth things over with them?
Kitty sprinkled the serum onto the ground. Sylvie’s broken bowl and the plates of overturned eggs vanished. She gave a satisfied nod. “You two may return to breakfast.”
Sylvie fell a few paces behind Georgia as she sulked back over to the buffet line.
“It’s not right,” said Georgia. “Why am I being punished too?”
Sylvie decided not to respond. The last thing she needed was for Kitty to find them fighting, again.She’ll probably want us to hold hands and brush each other’s hair.
Sylvie ducked past Georgia and headed toward the double doors at the back of the cafeteria. If her hunch was right, behind them was the cafeteria’s kitchen. She’d noticed trays floating out, loaded with mugs of hot chocolate and flaky croissants, with layers stacked like pages in a book. Sylvie needed a quiet spot to regroup before heading to the library, where shehadto make a good impression.
She let the double doors close, shutting out the whispers and curious stares. Inside, clouds of flour hovered overhead. A spoon in a mixing bowl seemed to be stirring itself. On a nearby workbench, piping bags oozed chocolate, and rings of freshly cut butter floated over a cutting board. The whole place sparkled with the essence of magic.
Sylvie didn’t want to spend the next six weeks here; she wanted to spend the next four years.I have to get my Blade.
“Hello?” She carefully made her way past a stack of copper baking molds, teetering like a tower of Jenga blocks.
A voice with a heavy French accent floated toward her. “Come in. Come in.”
Sylvie moved toward the bodiless voice and froze.
Resting on a sheet pan were several bits of what looked like chopped filigree and a beautiful Blade. The steel was thin and sparkled brilliantly, as if it were made of crushed diamonds. The handle was equally peculiar, pearl and onyx, twisted together like a tight spider’s web. Sylvie stretched out a hand, wanting to touch it, but knew she shouldn’t. Dark smudges that looked like fingerprints were charred into the curves of the grip. There was something different about it. She moved closer.
“Careful,” said the same voice. “You should never touch another chef’s knife.”
The One and Only Madame Blaise
ATOWERING WOMAN STOOD NEAR THE STOVE. ATANGLE OF COLORFULscarves twisted its way through her wild red hair.
“S-sorry,” said Sylvie. She knew chefs could be territorial with their tools, but a Blade was more than a beloved kitchen gadget. Using another Sage’s Blade was dangerous.
“I wasn’t going to touch it,” said Sylvie. “I just wanted a closer look.”
