The only ones at our table now were the main pack, all their hangers-on having disappeared back to their worlds. Which left just the seven of us to be involved in this dessert taste test.
Humans adore these?Galleli asked.
I nodded. “Oh, yes, chocolate is well loved. We have it in many different strengths and styles, but it’s always a hit.”
I leaned in and breathed deeply, savoring the scents from the closest plates and sighing at the rich cocoa that invaded my nostrils. “Looks like we have cake, mousse, dipping sauce, ice cream, and dark, milk, and white chocolate in an array of styles.” I lifted my head to see more. “Cookies, dough, crumble, and… oh my freaking god, they have doughnuts with chocolate sauce and Nutella filling.”
Since my arrival here, more and more human food had appeared on the menu. Shadow’s doing, of course, since he was the one controlling this space, and I couldn’t help but feel completely touched by all the little extras he gave without asking for thanks or acknowledgement.
Ordering one of everything had no doubt been for me as well, and I needed to do better in letting him know how much it meant to me.
“Thank you,” I whispered, turning my head to meet his gaze. “I see what you do. I appreciate it. I appreciate you.”
For a split second, he looked completely taken aback. Not just taken aback, but… lost.
The Shadow Beast had no idea how to handle gratitude.
No one had ever noticed the good in him, and granted, they’d have had to look closely since he so effortlessly embraced the darkness. But these slivers of light that filtered through the cracks in his shadowy soul were so blindingly beautiful that they took my breath away.
“There’s nothing I won’t do to make you happy, Sunshine,” he told me, his eyes holding flickers of fire. “You only have to ask.”
I was going to be seriously spoiled if he kept this shit up, which would only make me all the more insufferable. Maybe I should do some charity work to even it out; I was fairly certain it worked like that.
“What should I try?” Angel asked, distracting us as she leaned over to sniff at a few of the dishes. “Give me the absolute best.”
I leaned over with her, weighing them up before I started to rearrange the plates into one long line down the middle of our table. “This is my favorite,” I said, pointing to the rich devil’s food chocolate cake. The sort with thick, creamy frosting, and a cake so moist, you could see it glisten before you had a taste. People could hate on the wordmoistall they wanted, but when it came to cakes, there was no better descriptor. “And I’ve lined the rest in my basic order of preference, but to make myself very clear, there are no bad choices here.”
Next to the cake was the chewy cookie sandwich, with smooth vanilla frosting in the center, then a chocolate crumble cake, with a gooey mousse filling, followed by a triple deck chocolate block, showcasing the best of dark, milk, and white chocolate.
Angel lifted one of the utensils provided and scraped off the smallest sliver of the first cake. She cleverly knew to take an even distribution of frosting, cake and cream. Overloading on one aspect destroyed the full experience, in my expert opinion.
When she lifted the sliver to her lips, she smelled it first, her face crinkling. “It’s an odd scent,” she said. “Almost earthy.” Her tongue darted out, and why the fuck I was holding my breath, I’d never know, but this felt like a pivotal moment in our relationship.
She licked at it first, and I saw her nose flare.
Leaning back in case she was going to hurl, I waited for her next move. The whole piece went into her mouth and she swirled it around for a beat before letting it settle on her tongue. Then she swallowed it.
A moment’s silence followed.
She was the only one brave enough to taste anything yet, and I knew more than one at this table was waiting for her opinion. Angel was the guinea pig in this experiment.
“Wow,” she finally said, her eyes meeting mine. She smiled broadly. “I can taste some of the undertones that I imagine most wouldn’t, but… it’s good. It’s really, really good.” She clapped her hands together. “I finally found my thing, thank you!”
Her hug was immediate and enthusiastic, and I wondered if maybe the chocolate was going to affect her in another way. It did have a calming, somewhat euphoric effect on humans… Maybe it would do the same for Angel.
Before I could run away with those thoughts, everyone went into action, reaching for plates of food. “Dig in,” Len said loudly, drawing attention as he grabbed some cookies.
Even Shadow chuckled as they started to experiment with the dishes. My heart was so damn full as I watched them laugh and screw up their noses when they found dishes they didn’t enjoy.
It was pure fun escapism. One last moment together.
Whatever happened tomorrow, this night meant everything to me.
I would never forget it.
41
It was later than expected when we finally made it back into the lair. If we weren’t literally going into battle in the next few hours, I had a feeling we’d have talked with our friends all night.
