A Court of Snow and Storms

36. Taste Testing

"I should go with the children," Elodie murmured, her words slurred with drowsiness. "They need someone familiar there."

"Colette and Cyrus are going with them. You need to rest," Wynter replied. He sat beside her, as he had all night. Elodie knew he hadn't broken his vigil even to sleep.

She didn't know how he'd managed to stay awake for so long. Elodie had slept for hours and was still exhausted. Although, it could've had something to do with her lack of sleep before everything that had happened, accompanied by the stress of her injuries and her escape from Ebner and Julian. She was still sore, despite the healer having mended her wounds.

"I don't know if I can sleep again," Elodie admitted.

Her dreams earlier had been awful. They were of her uncle, Julian, her dead aunt, and even her parents, whose faces she could hardly remember. If Wynter picked up on the nature of her dreams, he said nothing. He bent over her, pressing soft kisses to her jaw and neck.

"All right, but you're still not going with them. You told me you'd only go to that house once more. That's done now. Your cousins will be fine with Colette and Cyrus. They'll come right back here afterwards and stay with us until they're ready to move in with Cyrus and Colette." Wynter knit his brows. "You might talk to them about that later. Colette and Cyrus haven't said anything about it to them yet. That is something they need to hear from someone they're familiar with."

"All right," Elodie sighed. "But I have to get up. I don't want to lay here any longer."

"Let's do something that will distract and relax you," Wynter suggested.

Elodie smiled. "Don't we have other things to talk about?"

"Yes, but they can wait. Our priorities are making sure you and your cousins feel safe and comfortable. So, what do you want to do?"

Elodie's smile grew. "I want to bake vanilla cookies." Wynter grinned, touching her arm gently. Wind roared in her ears and they arrived in the kitchen. "We could've walked, you know."

"I know," Wynter chuckled, "but I also know you're still sore. You're going to hate stairs for the next day or two." He tucked an arm around her waist, hugging her close. Elodie rested her hands against his chest as he brought his lips to her ear. "And you're not just sore from yesterday, are you?"

"Ugh, males," she scoffed, smacking his chest. Wynter just laughed. Elodie breezed over to a counter and began rooting through the cupboards.

"You could ask the house to give you what you need."

"Snooping is more fun."

"It's not snooping if it's your own house."

"It hasn't been my house for very long, so I'm still going to call it snooping."

"All right," Wynter conceded.

He dug up a mixing bowl and a few utensils while Elodie retrieved the necessary ingredients. Elodie returned to the counter and set to work. Wynter left her side briefly to make sure one of the ovens was ready. She was vigorously whipping together butter and sugar when he returned.

"Here." Elodie passed him a smaller bowl and a whisk. "Mix those dry ingredients together." She pointed to two canisters. One contained flour and the other, salt. "Two and three-fourths cups of flour, and half a teaspoon of salt."

"Why would you mix them separately when they're just going into one bowl anyway?" Wynter asked, even as he obeyed.

Elodie cracked an egg into her bowl, then added a splash of vanilla. "To get it thoroughly mixed together, so when you sift it into the wet ingredients, everything gets evenly dispersed. Spices, raising agents, and so on."