After our introduction to the twins, Yandar turned to us and spoke more words than I’d heard him say since meeting him. “I’m going to be working on preparing the big equinox dinner. Do either of you know how to cook? Valissa usually helps me, though I don’t actually trust the boys with our food—they’d probably sabotage it somehow.”

  “Hey!” the both called out, followed shortly after by, “Fair.”

  Their father rolled his eyes, a surprising show of emotion. “Anyway, have you cooked before?”

  We both shook our heads.

  “Would either of you like to learn?”

  I paused, thinking about it. A fleet officer didn’t need to know how to cook, but it was possible that I’d be found out with enough warning to escape, and if I were on my own, cooking anything more than roasting plain meat over a fire could be handy. Plus, I didn’t have much else to do.

  So, when Kolo said “sure,” I agreed as well, and we joined the other two in the kitchen.

  Yandar proved to be much more animated and loquacious while in the kitchen.

  “I already have the bird brining. You see, by soaking it in a salt solution, the concentration of salt is much higher in the surrounding mixture, causing diffusion to carry the minerals into the flesh, infusing it and helping to season it throughout the meat.”

  I nodded, the explanation making sense. I did at least know that salt helped flavor food, though that was nearing the extent of my culinary knowledge.

  “Kolo, grab that stool so you can reach the counter more easily. For now, we need to prepare the root vegetables. I have an assortment. For now, we’ll be chopping them into pieces about the size of your first two knuckles.” He demonstrated the appropriate size and shape with his fingers. “Be warned—my knives are sharp, so it’s important to use the proper technique.”

  He then showed us how to chop the vegetables by curving our fingers and sliding the knife along them, ensuring we didn’t cut ourselves. It took some practice to get right, but soon I was chopping the cuiloh root at a steady pace. In between two pieces, I glanced over at Kolo. She had thin gloves on, probably to prevent her from shedding in the food, but she seemed to be getting the hang of things as well.

  Once we finished chopping vegetables, Yandar explained the next step.

  “We’ll be making a sort of thick stew with these vegetables, then letting it simmer on low heat for a few hours. This is a variation on a traditional Oquetano dish called estralt using local ingredients. First, we need a base for the stew. We’ll start with a roux.”

  He explained how to cook the fat and flour to form the roux before adding the liquid and then the vegetables. He then tossed some spices in without measuring.

  “We’ll adjust the spices later, but I have enough experience to get pretty close. We want these spices to cook for a while before we taste test it to determine what adjustments need to be made.”

  From there, we moved on to a variety of other dishes, most of which I had never had since they were inspired by traditional Oquetano cuisine. I learned a lot, mostly about how little I knew about cooking. It was surprisingly fun, though, and Yandar was an excellent teacher, his soft-spoken manner even when he got excited about food kept us from getting frustrated at our mistakes.

  We took breaks throughout the process while food cooked, snacking on extras and dishes specifically prepared for during the day. The boys came and went, mostly sticking around when there was food to be eaten, while Vaeli spent most of the day in the back garden.

  Eventually, the meal was ready, and everyone gathered around the dining table. Yandar spoke for a brief period in Oquetano, and everyone except Kolo and I responded with “svi, tospoda.” When I gave Valissa a curious look, she leaned toward Kolo and I and whispered, “It was a traditional blessing and thanks to the gods. While we don’t actually believe, it’s tradition, so it doesn’t hurt to remind ourselves that we have a good life.”

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  I nodded, a little confused. I didn’t really understand the importance, but like she said, it didn’t hurt anything. With that, we dished up and ate. While I had tasted more exquisite food at the palace on occasion, the food was excellent, and there was something about it that made it more satisfying. I didn’t know if it was the environment, the lack of stress I was under at the moment, or the fact that I had helped make it myself, but it was the best meal I had ever had.

  At the palace, the equinox meant a large dinner filled with politics and powerful people. For most people, though, it was a time to gather with family or friends and have a nice meal. It wasn’t a particularly important holiday, but most places were closed to give people that family time. I greatly enjoyed my first time getting to experience that, and I hoped that I’d have more opportunities in the future to do so.

  Once dinner finished, Vaeli and the boys cleaned up while the rest of us relaxed in the living room. We were offered wine, but I had turned it down, opting to drink water instead. I didn’t want to risk losing my inhibitions and letting something slip that I shouldn’t.

  I ended up asking Yandar about his work, and he was nearly as animated talking about that as he was cooking. Apparently, he was a well-placed civil engineer specializing in large-scale construction projects. Once he started going, he was detailing a wide variety of projects he had worked on and the various technical, social, and political challenges involved. I was surprised to find the discussion fascinating, though Valissa and Kolo ended up splitting off into their own quiet conversation.

  When the others finished cleaning up, Vaeli invited everyone to play some party games. We played “Detectives of Ice” first, a collaborative board game where we worked together to identify a killer from clues before they managed to kill again or escape. Then, we played a game that involved ink splatters where everyone would play a card to match the shape of the ink splatter and the rotating “judge” would determine whose choice was the best match.

  After a few rounds of each game, it was getting late, and we all retired to bed. Noting the lock on my door, I realized I could shift for the first time in half a cycle, so I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep as a dragon, thankful that unlike the wild wyverns, dragons were relatively small—after all, our shapeshifting preserved our mass.

  The next day was for relaxing. Oh, sure, the three of us cadets still woke up early, went for a run, and did our calisthenics, but after that, we each kind of found our own place to spend some time alone. I ended up reading a novel for the first time since the previous break—a historical mystery novel, to be specific. It was decent, but the real joy was enjoying the back garden while I read.

  While I was reading though, I heard quiet footsteps approaching me. I also detected a slight slosh of water. Pasting an unimpressed look on my face, I turned around and stared at one of the twins, who adopted a sheepish look.

  “Really?” I asked. “You’re what, seventeen, eighteen cycles old? Don’t you think dumping a bucket of water on me is a bit juvenile?”

  He grimaced, and I shook my head. As he left, I started to turn to my book, then immediately turned back, suspicious. Sure enough, he was heading back for me with the bucket again. I rolled my eyes and got up, glaring at him. This time, he seemed actually nervous, and left for real. I knew it wasn’t the last I’d see of him or his brother, but I’d do my best to be prepared.

  The next few days passed similarly, the other two clearly enjoying some time off as much as I was, though by that Masday, we were all getting a little antsy, unused to so much downtime. Valissa ended up being the one to suggest our next activity, and we finally headed out to the gardens she had been so subtly excited about.

  The gardens were gorgeous. While everything was arranged for ease of access, it also incorporated an artistic flair with a natural flow. The bresse flowers were impressive with their abundance of petals. Some of the varietals even managed to have multiple different colors of petals on a single flower, which impressed me. The breeders were clearly excellent at their work.

  After spending the afternoon in the gardens, we stopped at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant for dinner, which turned out to be unexpectedly delicious. I had never been to a place like that before—I had never done a lot of things we were doing on this trip—but I would gladly do it again if the food was that tasty. I still enjoyed the equinox meal more overall, but that restaurant had its own charm.

  That evening, I struggled to sleep, and when I did, I had a nightmare. I found myself flying away from something large looming in the distance, though I couldn’t make sense of it. I felt its presence getting closer, though I couldn’t look back to see it. Suddenly, it was like I was swatted out of the sky, and as I fell, I transformed into my elf form and landed in a forest. I started running, but soon I was certain I had seen the same gnarled tree before. Turning, I tried running a different way, but it didn’t take long before the same tree appeared. All the while, the presence kept getting more and more intense.

  Right when it felt like the presence would reach me, I tripped and fell, waking up disoriented and on the floor. As I tried to shake off the dream, the door to the bathroom opened up.

  “I thought I heard something,” Kolo said as the door swung open. “Are you… o… kay?”

  It took a moment for me to realize that Kolo was staring at me, lying on the floor, tangled in blankets, in my dragon form.