144: Feast

The pungent scent of roast meats, herbs, and spices filled the room. It was impossible to pick out one meal from them all, and the food kept coming—familiar meats that I knew, like a platter full of rabbits, grumfels, and large buvul roasts with a rich aroma of herbs, mixed with the musky scent of fats.

There were also meats I’d never seen before, with an almost earthy smell mixed with spices that tingled the nose. What followed were the poultry options—so many types of birds. Again, I recognised a few, with various chicken dishes, and a platter of small, fist-sized birds that appeared to be stuffed with herbs, garlic grass, and butter.

Then came the seafood. I couldn’t help but chuckle as the first dish through the door was a whole cooked thunar. What surprised me, though, was that there weren’t really any vegetables. It was all very meat-heavy, and I couldn’t lie—it smelt absolutely divine. Even Lily watched the food coming out.

Although nothing seemed to take her interest for long. She just stared at me instead, and I knew what she wanted… I just didn’t know if I could pull anything out in front of the people at the table.

“Let’s feast!” the king announced happily from the head of the table as he reached forward and started to take food.

I noticed everyone waited for him to fill his plate first, but Lily had other ideas. She got to her feet, placing a paw on my arm, then nudging me with her head.

That drew a lot of attention away from the food, and I knew if I didn’t do something she’d get grumpy—or more insistent.

“It’s fine, lad. She can have whatever she wants!” Marcus said.

I gestured to the table, but after looking at the king and then back at me, she nudged me again.

Jen chuckled. “Just give her some food, Trev. She knows you’ve got the good stuff in your storage ring.”

I saw the clear out Jen gave me with that one, and with a sigh I pulled out a fairly large piece of cooked drake and placed it next to my chair. It vanished almost instantly.

But not quickly enough.

“That smelt amazing. What was it?” Marcus asked.

I must have looked stunned, because Milo came to my rescue. “Wyvern. We came across some storm wyvern in Boltron before we were forced out. It turns out Lily quite likes it.”

There was a look from Lily that might have given us away, but Marcus either didn’t notice, or didn’t want to push it.

“I’d love to try some someday! But for now—dig in!” he said, still cheerful.

Once the king had a full plate, everyone else reached in and started grabbing food for themselves. I just watched in awe, not sure what I wanted to try. In the end, I went with one of the small stuffed birds, along with another poultry dish I hadn’t seen before that appeared to be covered in a creamy white sauce.

Relying on the fact my skill would ask me to confirm, I attempted to store the two items. The small bird was an Uncommon Rockfer, while the other was an Uncommon Crystal Cockatrice. I’d heard of cockatrice before—never tried it, though.

I took a bite of the rockfer first. What I tasted first were the sweet, earthy herbs it was stuffed with, followed by garlic butter, but the meat itself was incredibly juicy and soft.

The cockatrice had an almost metallic tang to it that was balanced out by the creamy sauce. The meat itself was tougher than the rockfer—almost like eating buvul in texture.

Once I’d finished those two, I inspected the dishes on the table. There were some I couldn’t reach, and no one else was getting up, but there was something that both interested me and scared me.

An eel.

It wasn’t the same as the one I cooked. This one had flaky white flesh, but what struck me most was the head. The teeth were massive—at least finger-sized.

“Ah, you’ve spotted the strike eel, I see!” Marcus said, noticing me staring.

“When you get juvenile ones like that one, the flesh is very sweet and delicate, but you don’t want to run into a full-grown one. They’ll bite you in half,” he said, laughing.

I reached out, took a little onto my plate, and tried it. Sure enough, it was sweet and juicy, with a hint of saltiness to it. There were no strong herbs or spices competing for taste on this one—it was just the eel by itself.

“Nice, right?” Marcus asked, grinning.

I just nodded.

For the first time, Luis spoke up. “It’s my favourite, but you can’t find it anywhere outside of the palace. Everyone says it’s too dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” I asked.

“Yeah—well, for two reasons. It’s dangerous to hunt, as they live in deep ocean water, but the juveniles occasionally get caught closer to shore.” Marcus leaned back a little. “The main concern is preparation. There are two large venom sacks that are very easy to burst, and they need to be removed.”

“Only two of our chefs will make it!” Luis added, reaching over and taking more eel.

“You’re a chef yourself, right? We can have them teach you if you’d like,” Marcus said.

It shouldn’t have surprised me that they knew. My lack of concern about keeping things hidden was biting me now.

I waved it off. “It’s okay. It’s likely too complicated for me.”

“Nonsense,” Marcus said with a chuckle. “It wouldn’t come as a surprise to you that I have done some research on you before you arrived, and I know you have an interesting class. I’m not prying for details, by the way, but I would be remiss not to offer you lessons from the royal chefs.”

Kathrine, who had been silent throughout the entire affair, spoke up. “I think they could learn from him. Lily was completely uninterested in anything on the table, and only wanted what Trevor had already cooked,” she said, with a small giggle.

I felt uncomfortable with all the talk about my class—especially since I didn’t know what they knew.

“Lessons would be good, but they’d need to happen at the house,” Jen said.

“That could be arranged. I’m sure,” Marcus said. “I’ve heard the inner markets have a wide variety of amazing produce. I’ve not been out there myself—it causes too much chaos.” He chuckled again.

“I’ve been,” Luis said excitedly. “They have really nice food.”

Then he went silent, clearly realising he’d said something he wasn’t meant to.

I caught the smirk on Kathrine’s face as she hid it behind her napkin.

“You’ve been to the market? When?” the queen asked.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“No, no—I meant I wish I had been,” Luis said quickly, then grabbed for safety. “This eel is great, right?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his attempt to change the subject.

“I agree,” I said, nodding. “It really is good.”

Amber looked unimpressed that she’d gotten no answer, but didn’t push. Luis gave me a quick smile and kept his head down.

“I’m sure we were all troublesome in our youth and up to mischief,” Hari said.

“Some more than others. Have you spoken to your father since, Hari? I’m sure he’d like to see you after all these years,” Reginald said, speaking up for the first time.

Hari’s face dropped almost immediately. “I don’t believe he’ll want anything to do with me, and I think it’s best he doesn’t know I’m here,” he said quietly.

“Nonsense. You know he’s been keeping tabs on you since you left, right? He was very concerned when he heard you were in Boltron during the attack,” Reginald persisted.

Hari didn’t respond, just looking down at his plate.

The main meal wrapped up quickly after that, as the servants began taking away the food.

“Hope you kept room for the next course!” Marcus said happily, leaning back in his chair.

Beside me, Liane muttered, “The best course.”

Moments later, cakes and pastries streamed into the room—servants carrying trays and setting them across the table. There were so many options I didn’t know where to start.

This wasn’t a dilemma for Liane, Jen, and Kathrine. All three dove in immediately. Clearly, there was no waiting for the king now.

“So much food,” I said, still staring. “What do you do with all the leftovers?”

“Well, normally we’d not have anywhere near this much—usually just a single meal,” Marcus said, taking only two small pastries for himself. “However, on a night like tonight where we hold a special feast, all leftovers are eaten by the servants and then taken home to their families.”