CHAPTER 18: FIERY ENCOUNTERS
Maya’s POV
I looked at my burning cooking station in dismay.
“Fabulous cooking by our top contestant here. Even the smoke alarms are cheering for her!” The royal princess, Hannah, mocked me and the spectators outside the main hall howled with laughter. “Looks like she can only wield a knife in a war and not in the kitchen,” she ridiculed and everyone hooted, applauses blazing higher than the flames burning my station.
Leading the mocking squad were the Callahan twins – Quinn and Rose. Even my ex, Leo, seemed to derive pleasure from my deplorable state. He had joined the love of his life in the Golden Lycan pack this morning.
I clenched my fists. Someone had deliberately tampered with my cooking pot and burnt the dish when I went to soothe my crying baby during our break.
I looked towards the main hall. I could feel the heat of his gaze behind the delicate curtain of pearls covering his face. He wore robes of the lightest shade of blue, almost flirting with the color white. They blew lightly along with the gentle breeze yet his robes whispered power and grace with every movement like moonlight. He shone like the radiant Blue Moon himself with white flowing hair. He was a picture of grace and ethereal. His posture screamed royalty and power. The mere act of resting his long fingers on his knee held the weight of quiet command. A slight raise of a finger could bring chaos.
The flowy robes, though regal, did little to hide the body carved beneath. They fell open just enough to reveal the chiselled architecture of his chest. The expanse of sculpted muscle that looked more like marble brought to life, each ridge of his abdomen defined with maddening precision. A hint of ink curved along the side of his ribs, the edge of a circular tattoo, ancient and intricate, teasing from beneath the fabric, like a secret only the bold would dare to uncover.
His skin, kissed by sunlight, seemed almost unreal in its perfection, smooth and taut over strength that simmered just beneath the surface. He didn’t need to move to tempt. He was temptation embodied, every breath, every slight shift a siren call. He was mouthwatering, maddening and utterly untouchable.
His crown was not just a symbol. It was a declaration. The sapphires glinted with a light that rivaled the stars, yet bowed before the raw presence of the man beneath. Every inch of him radiated power, restraint, and a beauty not made for mortals. He was a paradox. An untouchable flame, a king sculpted by gods, a legend wrapped in silk and silence.
He was a treasure. Not meant to be possessed but worshipped. He was a man shaped by pain and polished by power.
Now that I knew his heart-rendering past and the storm of his present, I was ready to make it a legendary future. One worthy of the king he was, and the man he could become.
And I was not going to let him down.
As if sensing my thoughts, his lips curved up slightly. He knew I would go to the ends of heaven and hell for him.
I shifted my gaze when Rose demanded my suspension from the Luna Trials.
“I demand Maya’s elimination!” Rose shouted. “She burnt her dish and almost tried to burn us all down! She could have harmed the King,” she polarized the crowd.
I raised my head, tuning out Rose’s shouts. I looked at the clock. I still had an hour to prepare something else. However, my station only had a handful of ingredients left. Everything was either ruined or charred.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to clear my mind. Everyone’s shouts turned into white noise. I quickly scanned through the recesses of my mind, going through recipes like a knife through hot butter.
Suddenly, everything clicked and I opened my eyes. A gasp rang out through the crowd when I thumped the table hard with my palm. The sound went thundering through their ears while the raw vegetables went flying up in the air. I took out the carved dagger my father had gifted me and sliced the veggies in the thinnest of slices possible, effectively shutting the crowd as their eyes stayed glued on me. I collected the flying pieces in an empty bowl and rested it on the table.
Everyone forgot to breathe before whispers started, “Did you see that?! She cut them better than our royal chef!”
“Yes, yes. And that too in the air!”
“I can’t wait to see what does she do next.”
“Me too.”
“Us too!”
“I don’t know about her culinary skills but she is a great source of entertainment. Isn’t she?” The royal princess commented and the people cheered. “I am interested now,” her voice carried infinite curiosity. “I want to see what happens next. Is she still doomed to fail or will she come back in the game with less than an hour left.”
The crowd cheered and agreed.
“No! That is against the rules. She should be punished for putting us all, especially His Highness, in jeopardy,” Rose wailed.
However, no one paid heed to her and she was forced to retreat to her corner and complete her dish. She had wasted a lot of time already while everyone seemed to be mesmerized by the ugly mute.
“Keep the extinguishers ready, people or seek cover. Our favorite entertainer is about to light the gas!” Hannah commented amidst jeering howls of laughter and mocking claps.
I smirked. We were going to see who would have the last laugh soon.
I removed the tampered pot and made a makeshift barbecue with skewers directly over the flame. I manually fanned the flames and let the marinated vegetables smoke over it while I kneaded the dough and made the sauce from scratch.
“ONLY 30 MINUTES LEFT!” Hannah reminded and got down from the main hall’s top stairs to take rounds. With covered dishes, I sat patiently, fanning the flames while everyone lost interest in me and started gaping and awing at other’s fancy dishes.
“ONLY 10 MINUTES LEFT!”
Sometime later.
“ONLY 5 MINUTES LEFT!”
“What is she doing?” Everyone seemed to be interested in my business again. “Why is she still fanning the flames? Everyone is almost done,” they whispered.
“ONLY 2 MINUTES LEFT!” Came the last call.
I gently got up and decided to let the covered curry pot simmer in its own heat till the last second while I arranged all the elements of my 3-course meal on the plate, only fit for royalty.
I plated the king of all snacks, Raj Kachori, lavishly adorned with a myriad of spices and sauces, sweet beaten curd and the royal fruit of pomegranate. Next I set two large piping-hot, butter-dripping Garlic Naan on the plate along with a heavy cottage cheese curry, Paneer Tikka Masala, along with mint and coriander dip, green chutney. For dessert, I took out my secret weapon from hiding. Even the conspirators were shocked at missing the dish I had slipped in the cooler. Unlike other contestants, I had made the dessert first and let it cool till the end instead of racing against time to make a sub-par dessert.
“What is that conical yellow ice-cream in weird scented noodle water? I have never seen this before,” the royal chef asked when I presented my tray for submission. He was labelling everyone’s dishes and checking for violations of the culinary contest’s rules. Only 10 contestants would go to the next round before the finale where the King of Kings would choose his Luna.
“This is a special dessert I mastered from my grandmother, Sir. It is called Kulfi-Falooda,” I replied with a respectful bow.
“Hmph,” he harrumphed, not pleased with my reply. “Looks so yellow and yucky,” he made a face. “Who eats ice-cream with noodle soup?”
He looked disgusted but still placed it in the cooler with the labelling before the taste-testing event started. The King would be blindfolded and presented with all cuisines before he made a choice. Of course, all dishes would be checked for poison before he consumed the same.
“No meat allowed,” the royal chef shook his head at the contestant behind me. “Take her away. She is disqualified,” he ruled, showing evidence to everyone as his pair of chopsticks held the incriminating piece of evidence. The poor girl looked equally shocked as us. She seemed genuinely upset. Someone was playing dirty. That girl was a close third to Rose.
Quinn smugly looked at the weeping girl as she was taken away by the royal guards like a dishonored prisoner of war. When I walked past her, she stuck out her leg.
Unfortunately for her, I had fallen for that trick earlier at Leo’s pack but this time I was prepared. I stuck out my foot at the same time and kicked the back of her leg, sending her flying backwards. She fell with an embarrassing splash in the mud while I quickly passed to the other side.
“YOU!” Quinn hollered. “You pushed me,” she shrieked, her extravagant clothes getting dirtier as she sent her fists slapping against the ground and dollops of mud went flying over her again.
I looked around innocently and then pointed a finger at myself as if saying, “Are you talking to me, Miss?”
“YES! YOU! Who the fvck else?” She screamed, making a fool of herself in front of the royal family, her Alpha and the who’s who in the crowd.
I quickly gestured using my hands, Valerie translating the sign language for the furious woman in the middle of the mud puddle. “I am sorry for your fall but I didn’t cause it. I was walking on the other side. I believe you tripped over your own feet.”
“Preposterous! You kicked my feet off the ground.”
I stared blankly at her and only blinked my eyes in response as if shocked by her allegations. The crowd picked up on my expressions and gave fitting replies on my behalf.
“Don’t be silly. She is so far away. How could she push you?” Someone shouted from the crowd.
“Looks like the fall hurt her head,” another joked and laughter ensued.
“Look at her back! She tore her dress. Fancy flashing her ass around.”
“Does she have no grace?”
“She is blind as a bat. Accusing the wrong person.”
“She stinks.”
“Eww. Gross. Let’s go to the other side.”
Quinn burst into tears at their comments. When she tried to find support in her lover, even he distanced himself from her, choosing to uphold his image and dignity in front of everyone.
Quinn couldn’t decide if she felt more embarrassed or betrayed?
“I will kill you, b*tch,” she swore, dignity and respect drenched in the mud she was in, with burning rage in her eyes.
“Game on,” I mouthed with fierce determination and joined the contestants as the King himself descended to taste our dishes.