The moment I finish drying my hands on a linen towel, Kazh pushes a knife into my hands and points a finger at the chopping board. Next to it is a basket full of ripe mangalos. Even without peeling them, I can smell the juicy flesh.
“Peel them all, and de-stone them. If after that you still have all of your fingers intact, I’ll need you to cut them into bite-sized pieces.”
I shoot her a sharp glance. “I don’t know how to cook, but I do know how to handle a blade.”
Kazh snorts, eyes focused on the pot she’s stirring. “A blade in the kitchen is very different from a blade in the battlefield. Watch where you cut.”
This time around, I roll my eyes at her. It’s dark enough, and she’s not looking at me, so I don’t expect her to see it. Yet a piece of carrot flies at me. I manage to dodge it.
“At least I can see your skills are still sharp,” she says. “Not all of my efforts were wasted.”
I grin, but say nothing. Instead, I focus on peeling the thick deep purple skin of the first mangalo. My mouth waters when the first peel is off, revealing the ripe bloodred flesh of the fruit. Thick, aromatic juices run down my fingers and drip on the cutting board. Fruits in Ekios are definitely in my top three reasons why I love it here.
“How about you tell me why you’re here, huh?” Kazh shoots me a sideways glance. “You didn’t risk your safety and disrespect the rules just to come see the old crone in her kitchen.”
I shrug. “And what if I did come see you for you? Would that be so bad?”
“Cut the bullshit, you shithead, and stop wasting my time. What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be busy leading the damn country and making sure all of your ducks are in a row?”
I sigh. For a while, I remain silent while I drive the knife into the ripe fruit and slice it open. Carefully, I cut around the big black stone inside and push it out of the fruit. On to the next one.
“You better move that filthy mouth of yours and speak before I die of old age.”
“I’m not the one with a filthy mouth,” I murmur.
Another piece of carrot flies my way, and I see it too late. It hits the middle of my temple and tumbles down onto the floor. I chuckle.
“I came to see you because I need your help,” I say. “To be a powerful Ezkai General, I need to master what you call the blessed trinity, right? Help me do that.”
“Is being the head of the country not enough power for you?”
Kazh blows out the fire under the large pot of porridge she has been stirring all this time and moves to cut a huge basket of vegetables. She holds the kitchen knife naturally, chopping through carrots fast and precise.
“You know about the blood debt I’m owed. I don’t feel ready to collect it yet,” I say. “I want to master killing with emotional manipulation. I want to be the most lethal General in the history of Ekios. Otherwise, I can’t accomplish what I want to accomplish.”
Kazh looks up from her chopping board. “And what is it that you want to accomplish, General?”
I press my lips into a thin line. “I have a blood debt to claim, an important law to pass, and then I must end the Talbots’ reign once and for all.”
A familiar chuckle echoes at the back of my mind. I’m so tired of Lorca always lurking in my brain.
How about some privacy?I snap at the trickster god.
It only caresses my mind with its fluffy tail and vanishes.
“And what’s after that, shithead?”
I purse my lips. I haven’t thought so far yet.
“Let’s see if I survive to see the end of that before I make any further plans,” I say grimly.
Kazh says nothing.
I pick up another fruit and get to work. After a pause, I say, “Will you help?”
“Your question offends me.”
I put the fruit and the knife down and turn to Kazh.
