Chapter 5
I paused at the corner of the hallway when I heard someone following me out. It was my mom, holding a glass of wine. She offered it to me without a word, her eyes teary.
I took the glass, set it aside, and gave her hand a gentle, reassuring pat. "Don't worry, Mom. I'm really okay."
"They went too far..."
"It's okay."
"You're not upset?"
I thought for a moment, then said seriously, "No, I'm not upset. Sure, I'm useless, but honestly, I'm pretty happy being useless."
Mom froze for a second.
I turned and headed for the basement, my mind already on something else entirely.
There was a rack of lamb on the menu tonight. As I passed by the kitchen, I saw the chef prepping some garlic.
He actually threw it away.
It was because vampires didn't eat garlic.
I felt that he was such an idiot.
I swiped some garlic from the kitchen.
Then I headed back to the basement and started what would be the most epic project of my life.
There was no kitchen, so I rigged up a makeshift stove right in front of the vent.
There was no pot, so I swiped a metal basin.
There was no knife, so I just grabbed a scrap of metal from the corner and sharpened it into a blade.
I spent the whole night making a plate of steamed scallops with garlic.
The scallops had been tossed out by the kitchen. The vampire chef just drained the blood and threw away the rest.
I took them, washed them clean, and topped it all with a sauce made from freshly chopped garlic.
The whole basement was thick with the smell of garlic. My eyes were watering from the fumes, but I couldn't stop grinning.
It smelled amazing.
As soon as I took my first bite, tears just started streaming down my face.
The mouthwatering aroma wafted up through the vents, drifting along the basement ducts and into the heart of the castle.
It slipped through the cracks of the first-floor hall, seeped into the second-floor study, and even snuck under the doors of the third-floor bedrooms.
My dad was in the study, discussing the cancellation of the engagement with the Bloodfang elder.