I get the sudden feeling that she invited him tonight solely so she could tell him what to do.
“Since when were you in charge of me?” he protests with a little smirk.
“Since I’m making a cake for ourmutualgood friend,” she says and takes hold of his shoulders to shove him towards the counter. “Get cracking.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says and picks up the first egg.
“Our father always used to bake this cake when there was good news,” Izabel explains, turning to me. “I thought it would be perfect.”
It shouldn’t surprise me that perfectionist, best-in-class student Izabel also loves the precision of baking. “Thank you,” I say, touched by the effort.
“Unless there’s a particular cakeyourfamily always liked?” Venna offers.
Izabel points at her. “What she said. I could do that, instead.”
No one back in the Eastern Quarter would’ve ever had enough extra coin for all the eggs, butter, and sugar required to make a cake. But I don’t want to bring the mood down with poverty talk, so I say,“No. I’d love to try whatever’s special for your family.”
“You won’t regret it,” Venna says and nudges my arm.
“Wait, what are we celebrating?” Tomison asks, looking over his shoulder at us as he continues to crack eggs.
Izabel groans. “You are denser than the cake we’re making.”
“Rude,” Tomison says. “And how am I supposed to guess at something that no one’s told me?”
Nevah grabs my arm, lifting it up and shaking it so that the engagement bracelet catches the light.
“Whoa, Cooper!” Tomison exclaims, setting down the eggs and turning towards us. Then he catches my wrist and examines it. “You’re engaged?”
My face heats at the attention. I guess I’m going to have to get used to this, although I really hope the news will spread quickly and quietly. “It appears so,” I say.
He laughs and then grabs the cup of emberwine that Nevah had poured for him. “Well, I’ll drink to that!”
We all take a sip, but Nevah chugs her drink, then slams the empty cup down. She’s starting to refill it when Izabel says, “Not so fast, you need to work. You three—” She points to me, Venna and Nevah. “Go get supplies for frosting.”
Nevah and Tomison exchange beleaguered looks and Nevah grumbles, “She’s being bossier than Alpha Stark.”
Izabel clicks her tongue. “We’re on a schedule here, cake goes in the oven in five!”
I follow Nevah and Venna to the pantry but hang to the side while the two of them look for powdered sugar and flavorings. I have no idea what goes into a frosting, let alone where I’d find it.
When we reemerge from the pantry a few minutes later, Tomison and Izabel are playfully arguing.
“Sheesh, just fuck already,” Nevah says to me and Venna, slurring slightly. We watch Tomison lean too close to Izabel, who shoves him with a floury hand and a fake-looking frown.
“Ew,” Venna grumbles. “He’s like an annoying brother.”
“Not to her,” I tease into my cup.
Venna groans. “I don’t want to think about this. Nevah, distract me.”
“Thought you’d have plenty of distractions already, as the notoriousKryptos Killer,” Nevah replies.
Venna immediately blushes. “Don’t call me that. It’s stupid.”
“Killer?” I ask.
“She’s been working her way through—” Nevah starts, but then Izabel turns around and waves a whisk at her.
