“My son needs you even if he’s hurt right now. Or maybe especially because he’s hurt.”
I would make it up to all of them. So, I hadn’t been a very productive fake member of the family and this was my chance to rectify that. “I’ll do my best for everyone. You’ve taught me so much control. I’m better. You all helped with your patience and kindness.”
Anise bowed her head, folding her hands in front of her, but she nodded. “Then I will be your sous chef. Put me to work.”
Now that was what I wanted to hear. I grabbed a wheel of hard cheese and left the pantry. Time to use her lessons. Concentrating on the rennet, on the nuts and grasses the Bakh Bull had eaten to make this, I called them out, my magic easy for the first time in forever. The cheese dragon had taught me the process of cheese, but I never quite connected it fully to my power. Anise had shown me how it might move through the food in my hand, like my magic cooked, shaped, used time and my will to make it something else.
My mind felt so clear and my nerves sizzled. The second stage of Hollow Fever had brought life into sharp relief. My greatest fear had occurred and I was still standing. Without that fear taking up half of my attention, I grasped my power like a tool, pushing it further than ever before.
I plunked the cheese wheel onto the work-table and cut a slice.
“Briggs,” I said and tossed it to the wolf.
Ned jumped like a pike in a lake, snappingthe cheese out of the air, which burst the gaggle of siblings into shouts and laughter. Briggs shifted and lined up toe to toe with Ned. A sharp nod said she was ready and I tossed the next sliver as high as I could. Even though the wolf was easily three times his size, Ned had no fear and snatched it just before it hit Briggs’ razor-sharp teeth. I back-handed Briggs some cheese while fending off Ned with the other hand so she got a bite.
Her immediate shift should have spooked me.
“This is so amazing. I’ve never eaten anything like this. If a steak was cheese, this would be it.”
I stared at her happily munching away and took in all of her, from her bare feet to her grinning face. Something loosened inside me. If she wasn’t embarrassed, why was I? It’s not like her body was shameful.Just like mine isn’t.
“Why is everyone yelling?” Declan mussed his hair into a tangle as he scratched his head.
“Fallon’s handing out magic cheese.”
Declan’s eyes grew large and he shifted in a blink. Then it was Briggs, Declan and Ned all snapping cheese out of the air until Eilie pushed in and Cosomo tried to pile on top. Anise had to whistle to stop a wolf fight and made them all take turns until even their wolfish appetites stood sated.
Cheese put everyone in a better mood and when Anise finally got her bite, she looked me straight in the eye and said, “Excellent.”
A rush of warmth surrounded my heart. That she hadbeen so hard on me only made my bite of cheese all the more toothsome.
Already, the mood lifted in the kitchen. I set to work in the hopes of making a feast I would be proud of. We would cram as many pack members into the dining room as possible. Hells. Eating on the floor was always an option with this crew.
Anise gave me permission to take or make anything the pack had in their stores and her cluttered kitchen offered a trove of valuable items I never would have noticed. Everything from exotic spices to orc-made knives forced me to see her space in a new way.
I slaughtered a few brace of chickens, without the biting. A pig went next. The pack gossip spread faster than my requests and suddenly I realized there was no not inviting everyone. So a dozen pigs packed into the hearths of each house. I sensed the threads of them with my magic and cooked them off in moments. Everyone’s kitchen became my kitchen as I coordinated bread, mead, and cheeses, to come to their full potential. Anise took desserts after chopping a horde of turnips with one stroke. She roasted them with a look of concentration that tingled under my skin.
Declan came to kiss me on the cheek. “This is exactly what they needed. Can I have some bread?”
He took it to our room and I heard him murmuring prayers. The entire pack moved into the town square. Snow swept clean from the flagstones. Chairs clutteredin alleys until tables hit the cobbles. The cold was manageable as people gathered braziers alongside the long table they covered with their home tablecloths. Children crisscrossed strings of pine boughs, red berries, and white poinsettia from awning to awning. Ned galloped around to bark and encourage everyone.
By the time the sun cast a fiery glow at the edge of the horizon and candelabras graced the tables for the feast, Anise and I had a mountain of food ready. “Effortless” wasn’t a word I usually applied to my magic but even though I sagged with fatigue, that fit.
My food pulsed in readiness to bring comfort and joy. The sparkle returning to every wolf said they were ready for their souls to be nourished. The heavy air held the potential for snow, but Old Magic kept it at bay.
I turned to Anise. “Together?” I asked.
She nodded and took my hand.
We didn’t need words to join our magic together. I was aware enough to revel in the fact that this was probably the only time in my life I would ever get to work with another feastweaver. We blanketed everything we prepared with one last burst of power to make it the perfect temperature and texture and, of course, to infuse it with love.
Then the pack sat down to eat and, after I changed into something not covered in soup, I dropped into a chair beside Declan. Satisfaction accompanied a wave of dizziness. I had never used so much magic at once but it wasworth it. Flickering firelight lit the smiles on everyone’s faces. Each one said I had done it. The moans of ecstasy up and down the table were so different from the last state dinner I had botched, it was hard not to compare. The wolves tucked in without grace, but with infinite pleasure.
My heart swelled with pride. Things would get back to normal now. I had proved I was in control and no one needed to know what other magic I was capable of working. Declan and I would return to Evie’s and everything would be fine.
Declan fed me a slice of pork but I didn’t really taste it. I wasn’t sure if it was the buzz of magic still under my skin, or the deeper ache starting in my bones. I checked my wrists. No crust. No shards. But my lower back and my feet throbbed.
Noreen raised a glass in toast to me and I barely made out the words.
