"I think that's obvious."She pours herself a new cup of tea."Maybe you should ask Mama to have a masquerade."
"I hate masquerade balls," I murmur.
"You're more likely to go unnoticed at one," she says.
"I doubt that's true."
"Just ask, Evie?"
I frown."I don't think you're going to be able to help me sneak out of this one."
"No, probably not," she agrees."But I would have fun."
"I suppose you have been rather helpful lately," I say."I can ask Mama.One of us should enjoy the event."
"I think both of us will," she says.
I don't for a moment understand what she's suggesting, but Veronica does seem to know me well, so I'm just going to trust her even if I don't believe her.
Chapter5
I dangle a poker with a piece of meat on it in front of Ember and she gives me an impatient look.
"If I've got to learn to wait for things to be ready, then you do too," I tell her.
She lets out a sound that's a bit like a huff.
"All right, you can have it," I tell her.
She doesn't waste any time and lets out a stream of flames, charring the meat on the end of my poker.The metal warms a little in my hand, and I wonder about whether I should ask the blacksmith for a new one with a wooden handle to protect myself better from Ember's flames.
A knock sounds on my door, and I get to my feet before calling for the servant to enter with my tea tray.I glance down at Ember, but she's still busy making her way through the meat she's just cooked and won't cause any trouble.
The door opens, and a smile spreads over my face as I realise it's Nate holding the tray.
Ember looks up from her meal and gives him a small squeak of approval before going back to her food.
"I didn't realise you were free," I say.
He smiles."I've got half an hour or so before I need to be back in the kitchen," he says."When I realised they were preparing a tea tray for you, I offered to bring it up."
"And no one questioned that?"
He chuckles and sets the tray down on the low table between my chairs."It's a bit late for us to pretend not to spend time together in the kitchens," he points out.
"Right, yes."I pause when I get to him."Hello."I lean in and press a kiss against his cheek, not really sure how we're supposed to be greeting each other yet.
"Hi."He smiles at me in a way that makes my heart flutter.
I glance over at the chair I usually sit in, but realise that I don't want to be so far away from him and sit down so that we can be on the same seat.I rearrange the skirt of my dress so that it doesn't annoy me.The last thing I want is to be distracted by it when I'm getting surprise time with Nate.
Ember finishes with her food and stretches out her wings.For a moment, I think she's going to head over to us, but she toddles over to the fire and makes herself comfortable.Her wings stretch out far enough that she's blocking heat from the rest of the room, but I know she'll settle down soon enough, and we'll be graced with the fire again.
"Tea?"Nate asks, bringing my attention back to him.
I nod."Thank you."
"I didn't think you'd have the time to take tea alone today," he says as he pours himself a cup as well.
