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I smiled at him, my anger melting away as I saw the genuine emotion on his face.
“Well, I’m glad you like it,” I replied softly.
Jacob nodded, his eyes still watering as he wiped them with the back of his hand. “Me too.”
One of the other judges chimed in, saying, “You used hell peppers? Well, that explains it. I knew I smelled underworld spices. A courageous choice. I’d love to see more monster-inspired dishes like this one.”
“Thank you,” I said, still completely in disbelief as I took my dish away for the next contestant to be judged.
Five minutes later, all dishes had been tasted, and the announcer called for the contestants to gather on stage. As I stood there, I looked toward the stands to see Lucian smiling proudly at me.
The announcer took center stage and said, “And this year’s winner is… Zoe Dupont of Miss Gumbo, with her Hell Pepper Gumbo!”
The crowd erupted into applause, and I stood in complete shock as the trophy was handed to me.
I didn’t break out of my dumbfounded stupor until Lucian ran up from the audience and swept me up in his arms, spinning me around. He kissed me deeply, and the crowd went wild. I finally held up my trophy in triumph, beaming with pride as I leaned against him.
It was truly a moment I would never forget.
The rest of the day was a blur of interviews, and celebrations as the festival wound down. It seemed I was the only chef in the contest to infuse monster-inspired ingredients in my dish, and it had caused quite a stir in the culinary world.
Many questioned how a human like me even procured such an ingredient, and each time, I explained how my hellhound mate accompanied me to the underworld, and how I wouldn’t have been able to do it without his support.
It felt good to be an example of how humans and monsters could succeed by helping and trusting each other.
On the way home, I took a quick peek at social media, seeing that my recipe was being described as “The dish so good it made a judge cry.” All my accounts were blowing up with people wanting to know where I’d be serving up gumbo next.
I tugged at my shirt collar and glanced over at Lucian. “I think I’m going to need to hire some help.”
“It’s a good problem to have,” he said with a grin.
As the sun began to set, we finally made it back home, exhausted, elated, and, more than anything, hungry.
When Lucian heard my stomach growl as we stepped out of his truck, he decided, “I’m going to order takeout. I’m sure you’d like a break from cooking.”
I nodded as I pulled my massive steel pot out of the back. “I want a ginormous pizza with all the toppings.”
Lucian whipped out his phone. “As you wish.”
I waved him off, saying, “I’m just going to pack this back into my food truck. See you in a second.”
He nodded and headed inside, the dark windows brightening as he turned on the interior lights.
I took a moment to look over the house. I hadn’t been staying there long, but it already felt like home. And with Lucian by my side, I knew it always would be.
With a sigh of contentment, I lugged the big pot over to my food truck, fumbling with it as I searched my pocket for my keys. The street was empty, and the longer it took for me to pick out the right key, the more an odd feeling came over me, like I was being watched.
I shook off the strange sensation and finally unlocked the back of the truck. After wrestling with the heavy pot, I was able to lift it inside and set it on the stove. With a sigh of relief, I turned to step back out.
That was when I saw him.
A tiny red creature with a wicked little grin, and fire swirling around his clawed hands.
Somehow I knew: It was him. This little demon was the imp who had been after Lucian for years, and the bastard who had burned down my apartment.
And he had me cornered.
“You,” I breathed, my fists tightening.
