Shadow's Edge - Brent Weeks [76]
So Kylar found himself with his sleeves rolled up, trying to figure out arcane cooking terms like blanching and roux and proofing. From Uly’s giggles, he suspected they’d stuck him with the hardest recipe they could find, but he played along.
“What do I do after the jelly, uh, weeps?” he asked.
Uly and Elene giggled. Kylar struck a pose with the spatula, and they laughed out loud.
The door to the smithy opened and Braen walked in, dirty and smelly. He gave Kylar a flat look that made him lower the spatula, deflated, but he refused to wipe the flour from his nose. Braen turned his eyes to Elene and looked her up and down.
“When’s dinner?” he asked her.
“We’ll bring it out to your cave when it’s ready,” Kylar said.
Braen grunted and told Elene, “You ought to find yourself a real man.”
“You know,” Kylar said as Braen shuffled back toward the smithy, “I know a wetboy who’d like to pay that cretin a visit.”
“Kylar,” Elene said.
“I don’t like the way he looks at you,” Kylar said. “Has he tried anything with you?”
“Kylar, not tonight, all right?” Elene said, nodding toward Uly.
He was suddenly aware of the ring box in his pocket. He nodded. Putting a serious look on his face, he attacked Uly, who squealed, and flipped her upside down and draped her over his shoulder. He pretended not to realize she was there as he went back to cooking.
Uly yelped, kicking her legs and holding onto the back of his tunic with a death grip.
Aunt Mea came into the kitchen, clucking. “I can’t believe it, we’re all out of flour and honey.”
“Oh, no,” Kylar said. “How am I going to make the fifth mother sauce?” He set down his spatula and hunched over, extending his hands through his legs. On cue, Uly slid headfirst down his back and grabbed his hands in time for him to pull her through his legs. She landed on her feet, breathless and laughing.
“Isn’t it someone’s birthday?” Kylar asked.
“Mine! Mine!” Uly said.
He pulled silver out of each of Uly’s ears while she giggled. Two silvers—it was a bonus the noble had given him. It left him and Elene with nothing again, but Uly was worth it. When he put them in Uly’s hands, her eyes got big. “For me?” she asked like she couldn’t believe it.
He winked. “Elene will help you find something good, all right?”
“Can we go right now?” Uly asked.
Kylar looked at Elene, who shrugged. “We can go with Aunt Mea,” she said.
“I’ve got to peel the peas anyway,” Kylar said. They snickered. He smiled at Elene and marveled again at how beautiful she was. He was so in love he thought his chest would burst.
Uly pranced to the door and showed Aunt Mea her coins. Elene touched Kylar’s arm. “Are we going to be all right?” she asked.
“After tonight we are,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.” He didn’t smile. He didn’t want to give it away. If he smiled, he’d grin like a fool. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face. He couldn’t wait for other things as well. He shook his head and went back to cooking. Contrary to what he’d said, the meal wasn’t hard to prepare. It was just messy. He slipped off his ring and put it on the counter before he picked up the raw meat—there wasn’t much romantic about smelling like dead cow.
Elene and Uly and Aunt Mea had only been gone for about thirty seconds when there was a knock on the door. Kylar put down the spatula again and walked to the door. “What’d you forget this time, Uly?” he said as he grabbed a hand towel and opened the door.
It was Jarl.
Kylar felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He couldn’t believe his eyes. But there he was, lean, athletic, impeccably dressed, as beautiful a man as you’d ever see, his dazzling white teeth showing an uncertain smile. “Hey-ho, Azo,” he said.
Why that greeting? Was Jarl just being cute, or was he also throwing in an appeal to their history together? Definitely the latter. For a long moment, they just stood there, looking at one another. Jarl