I wave her off and she leaves with the genie. A tempo later, the knights flood my room with their strong bodies, each clutching a tray of goodies.
“I have things I must attend to,” Eron says. “Erik, not now. Fine. I shall return shortly, fair Daphne.” He huffs. “I always get her name correct. You don’t need to micromanage me. I am the king.” And with that, he disappears.
Theo snaps open a large blanket and lays it on the rug by the floor-to-ceiling window while the others spread out a delicious array of edible delights on it. I sink to my knees and pluck a slice of sausage from the silver plate. Damn, that’s good sausage. Unusual taste though. I wonder...
“Rabbit,” Hart answers my unspoken question.
I swallow, the meat like lead going down my throat. “They eat the creatures that talk? Isn’t that an unspoken rule? If it talks, don’t cook it.”
“Perhaps they have two versions of animals, talking ones and not,” Malachi suggests.
“Perhaps,” I agree as I glance around. “Where’s Hamish and Eugene?” I can’t be held responsible for my actions if they’ve met a fatal end in the kitchens.
“Snuggled under the bed Hart claimed,” Nash says. My shoulders drop. Thank the Idols.
After devouring the picnic, I collapse on the floor and stare at the domed ceiling, rubbing my very full stomach.
“Have you decided on a game?” Theo asks.
I scowl. “I hardly know any, and this place bends the rules, anyway.”
“We need to find our way through here,” Hart says. “And we need to buy some time to figure out the right path. We’ve been told it’s in this palace, so we’ll have to search.”
Why can’t this be easy? Like pointed arrows sayingfollow these to find the Grimm brothers.A color-coded path would be awesome.
“I think we should avoid card games,” Nash says. “Perhaps something with less opportunity for cheating?”
They fall silent for a tempo, then two. I jerk my head up. “What?”
Theo shakes his head and laughs. “It’s got chaos written all over it,” he muses.
Who is he calling chaos? Rude.
“But it’s a physical game. She seemed to do well at croquet,” Malachi adds.
Nash nods. “Let’s practice.”
“What are we practicing?” I snap.
Hart smirks as they clear the empty plates and blanket, before rolling the rug to the side of the room.
“Call the genie,” Theo demands.
I fold my arms. “He’s watching Charming and his wandering hands.”
“It will take less than a tempo.”
“Genie,” I shout.
He poofs into the room. “You rang?”
Nash nods at the floor. “Can you conjure up a Twister board for us to practice on? We’re testing to see if it’s a game Daphne could win.”
The genie snaps his fingers, and a large board with colored circles appears before he disappears again.
Hart flicks a dial. “The rules are simple. You spin, and it instructs you where to put a limb. All you have to do is stay on those circles until your opponent falls.”
I climb to my feet. “Your solution is to pit me against the queen in a game of balance?” This seems ill advised. It’s like they don’t even know me.
