Chef Fenris POV
The sun hit the stone floor. I woke up. My chest felt heavy.
The palace was loud. I heard silver plates clatter. I heard heavy footsteps in the hallway.
Today the competition begins. Two kingdoms wait for the result. I stood by the window. I looked at the courtyard. Servants carried long tables. They draped them in silk.
The air smelled like cold stone. It smelled like nervous sweat. I thought about the night before. I thought about the message. I gave it to Silas and Martha. I do not know if they reached the Beta in time.
I do not know if the Chief Royal Chef is alive. I washed my face with cold water. I needed to move. I needed to check if she was back.
I left my room. I moved through the servant's stairs. I stayed in the shadows.
I saw the Great Hall. It was busy. Workers polished chairs. They set thrones for the judges.
I moved toward the royal kitchen. I reached the heavy doors. I did not enter. I pressed my ear to the wood. I heard copper clanging. I heard sharp voices.
"Silas, the Chief Royal Chef is not back." Martha said.
"I know." Silas replied.
"We have no poultry." Martha said.
"Chef Sophie has not return. She has the supply list."
"She is not here, Martha." Silas said.
"The sun is up." Martha cried.
"The competition is hours away. Where is she?"
"We must prepare the ingredients and wait." Silas said.
"I believe she would return before the competition starts."
"Are you sure?" Martha asked.
"We cannot compete against the Northern Chefs without her." Martha said.
"She has the recipes. She has the plan. We are just hands without a head."
"I'm worried too. Where did she go?" Elspeth asked. Her voice was thin.
"She left to get supplies." Silas answered.
"We are doomed." Elspeth said.
"The Northern Chefs brings fire. We can't stand them."
"I am scared, Silas." Young Chef Pip said.
I heard him sniffle.
"What if the Alpha gets angry?"
"The Alpha is not here to be angry, Pip." Silas said.
"That makes me more scared." Pip whispered.
"If the King is gone, who will protect us?"
"We have to protect each other." Martha said.
"Let's get everything ready. We do not stop until the mark is hit."
"I will" Pip answered.
Silas tapped his shoulders. Martha sobbed silently.
I pulled back from the door. My stomach twisted.
Sophie was not in the palace. The Chief Royal Chef was gone. The kitchen was a ship without a captain.
I turned. I walked toward the guest quarters. I turned a corner. I heard voices. I stopped.
I heard Grand Prince Magnus. He spoke to some people. His voice was loud.
"It is a tragedy." Magnus said.
"The Alpha has disappeared."
"He is not in his chambers." Someone said.
"He took his Beta." Magnus said.
"He took the chef. Why would he leave on the day of his defense?"
"It looks like cowardice, Grand Prince." The man replied.
"Perhaps he is not fit for the crown." Magnus said.
"A leader stays with his people. He does not flee when the North arrives. We must consider the succession. He is not here for the match."
"The laws are clear." A second voice spoke.
"A King who abandons his people, abandons the throne."
"I do not wish to believe it." Magnus lied.
"But the evidence is before us. The throne sits empty. The people are confused. We need a steady hand."
"We will wait for the fifteenth hour." A third man said.
"After that, we discuss the crown."
"You are wise, Elders." Magnus said.
"The kingdom needs your wisdom now."
Magnus was building his throne on Alaric's absence. I moved past them. I did not want them to see me.
I felt like a ghost in a trapped house. The hours moved. The sun climbed. Everyone gathered in the great hall.
The Northern chefs were there. Skade sat on a stool. She sharpened her silver knife. The sound was a scream.
Shhh-tack. Shhh-tack. Shhh-tack. Shhh-tack.
I looked at the platform. The hall was full of Elders. They looked at the sundial. I looked at the Alpha's empty seat. I looked at the empty space for Sophie. I looked at the empty spot for Cassian. The silence was loud.
I saw Silas and Martha. They stood by their station. Their faces were pale. They looked at the gate every ten seconds. They wanted a miracle.
Chef Damien stood behind them. He looked angry.
"Maybe it is better she is not back." Damien said.
"Quiet, Damien." Silas firedback.
"She is the cause of this." Damien said.
"She brought the challenge. She took our King away. She has ruined us."
"Stop talking rudely about Sophie." Silas said.
"She is the Chief Royal Chef. She is our leader. You will show respect."
"Respect for a ghost?" Damien asked.
"She left us to face the Northern Chefs alone. We will lose the harvest rights."
"She would not leave us." Pip said.
His voice was shaking.
"She already did, boy." Damien snapped.
"Look around. Do you see her?"
"She is coming." Martha insisted.
"The King is with her."
"The King is probably dead in a ditch." Damien said.
"Shut your mouth." Silas growled.
"You do not speak of the Alpha that way."
Skade heard them. She stopped sharpening her knife. She looked at Silas. She laughed.
"You cannot stay still without your Chief Royal Chef." Skade said.
"We are ready." Silas said.
"How do you plan to win?" Skade asked.
"You look like frightened children. Give us the rights to the harvest now. It saves us the work of cooking. It saves you the shame."
"A true chef is known in their attitude." I said.
I stepped toward Skade.
"It is not just about the meal. You lack the grace of a master."
"Grace does not fill bellies, Fenris." Skade sneered.
"Speed does. Skill does. Look at them. They are shaking. They are already beaten."
"You talk like a butcher." I replied.
"A chef respects the craft. You only respect the win."
"The win is everything." Skade said.
"The win brings the harvest. The win brings the power. Your grace is for losers."
"We shall see." I said.
"A meal made with hate tastes like ash."
"Then I will serve them the best ash they have ever eaten." Skade laughed.
I felt anger. I am a Northern chef. This was not a fair fight.
The crowd grew restless. The heat was heavy. The shadow reached the fourteenth mark on the stone.
Alpha Stone stood up. He looked at the empty throne.
"The time has come." Alpha Stone shouted.
"The chairs are empty."
"We should wait." I said.
"The King has fled." Alpha Stone said.
"The Beta has vanished. The Chef is gone. They know they lost. We should begin the competition now. Why wait for them?"
"It is only the fourteenth hour, Alpha." I said.
"We agreed to start at the fifteenth hour."
"Look at them, Fenris." Alpha Stone pointed at Silas.
"They have nothing. They are shaking. They are waiting for a savior who is not coming."
"We all agreed on the fifteenth hour." I insisted.
"We are guests. We must follow the law."
"The law serves the strong." Alpha Stone said.
"And I am strong. Magnus, what say you?"
Magnus smiled.
"The people are tired of waiting. But we must be fair. One more hour will not change the outcome."
"Fine." Alpha Stone grumbled.
"One hour. Then we light the fires and take what is ours."
I went to my station. I did not look at Skade. I watched the gate. I watched the sundial.
The minutes felt like years. The shadow moved. It crawled across the stone. It approached the fifteenth hour.
I looked at the empty spaces. I looked at the stoves. I looked at the gate. My heart hammered. I felt a cold truth.
"They are not coming." Skade whispered.
"They have five minutes." I said.
"They are dead, Fenris." Skade said.
"My blades are sharper than their luck."
"You did something." I whispered.
"I did what was needed." Skade said.
"The Moon Crescent Pack needs that harvest rights. Sophie was an obstacle. Obstacles get removed."
"That is not cooking." I said.
"That is murder."
"It is the same thing in the end." Skade replied.
I looked at Silas. He held a cold pan. I looked at Martha. She gripped a towel. They had no fire. They had no hope. Pip was crying silently now. Elspeth looked like a statue.
"It is time." Alpha Stone said.
He stood up again. He looked at the Elders.
"The shadow is on the mark." Alpha Stone said.
"Light the fires. The Blackwood Kingdom has no champion."
I looked at the gate. It stayed closed. I looked at the empty chair of the King. The Elders stood up.
They prepared to speak the words of forfeit. Magnus stood up. He adjusted his rings. He was ready to take the palace.
"Wait." I whispered.
But no one heard me. The shadow touched is about to touch the line.
Then it dawn on me that The Chief Royal Chef is dead.
