Chapter 135

Theodore’s POV

I chopped the boren mushrooms while the spies slept. I was pretty sure none of them knew the difference between regular and magical ingredients, but I tried to meal prep while they slept just in case. The boren mushrooms had such a strange, gangly shape, but they had come to be one of my favorite additions to almost every meal for their flavor and how much they rejuvenated my magic.

Smelling something burning, I turned back to the stove where the crinal was cooking at a simmer. Crinal was an allium similar to onions, but magical. That, and apparently, it cooked way faster than onions.

I turned off the burner, scraping the crinal that I had accidentally burnt to a crisp into the trash. Teaching myself to cook with these magical ingredients was proving to be harder than anticipated.

I threw the pan into the sink in frustration. I didn’t even know what use it was teaching myself all this when using my magic would only give Owen ammunition to expel me across the borders. Yes, I could theoretically learn to use my magic in secret, but with the spies constantly peeking around corners, it was a tall order.

I took a deep breath as I braced myself against the sink. I had ruined several dishes before, and I was fully aware that being terrible at cooking with these ingredients was part of the learning process. Yet today it was getting way more under my skin than usual.

I exhaled my disappointment.

I was likely upset, even subconsciously, by the Shelter vote. It had taken place yesterday, and we’d won fifty percent of the votes, just as Master Remy had predicted. Because of the current prejudice throughout most of the country against rogues, it was honestly an enormous accomplishment – one inarguably achieved thanks to Violet’s brilliant public voting platform that surely swayed Alpha votes in our direction.

But it still wasn’t the seventy percent of votes my brother had required to provide the funding we needed.

I glanced at the recipe book open on the kitchen island – the one that was guiding my mess of a meal prep. The one that belonged to Violet’s mother. The note she left inside for me had instructed me to focus on the Shelter project.

What was I supposed to do now?

I startled at the sound of footsteps in the kitchen. Swiveling toward the sound, I relaxed at the sight of Sophia. I had been noticing she’d been waking up much earlier than usual.

I wondered if it was to accommodate the workload from Violet, but I was afraid to ask. I didn’t dare speak any potentially condemning words in a house full of traitorous ears.

“Sorry to surprise you.” She offered an apologetic smile before making her way to the coffee pot. She seemed to take note that I was upset as she rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes.

She pulled a mug from the cabinet above her. “I’m sorry you didn’t get the votes you needed to get funding for Shelter,” she said as she poured herself some coffee.

“Me, too. I suppose you’ll have to scrap all the work you’ve been doing for it.” I didn’t know exactly what she was working on these days since she was technically Violet’s employee, but I knew how much she had been working on it previous to Violet going back to Darkmoon.

“Scrap it?” she repeated as she took a sip of coffee, leaning against the counter to face me. She kept her gaze locked on mine as she said carefully, “No, that’s not the plan.”

Meaning Violet was still working on it. Even after losing the vote.

I didn’t understand why, but it still gave me hope. I trusted my mate with my life.

Then something occurred to me. If Sophia knew Violet was still working on the Shelter project, even after last night’s vote, and I knew for a fact Sophia hadn’t left the castle since then, that meant she had a way of communicating with my wife.

My stomach dropped at the idea that she was using her personal phone to do so. I’m sure my phone wasn’t the only one the spies were going through.

I leaned forward, trying to find the right words. “In your position, you work on confidential matters. I hope you’re taking the necessary precautions to keep sensitive information secure?”

She watched me, clearly realizing I was talking in code, and smiled knowingly. “Nothing I work on would need to be kept from anyone in this house, so I’m sure no precautions need to be taken.” Then with a quick glance around us to make sure we were alone, she winked.

Meaning she not only was taking the necessary precautions, but she knew well enough that she needed to be careful what she said around people living in the castle.

Excellent.

Then my thoughts turned selfish. Because if there was a way for Sophia to be in communication with Violet, why couldn’t I be, too? I searched my mind for a way to ask her about it without saying anything suspicious.

“When I returned from the royal palace a couple weeks ago, I gave you a new assignment.” She nodded to let me know she was following. “That’s still… going well?”

Sophia continued to nod into another sip of coffee. She didn’t offer anything else, sensing I had more to say.

“You haven’t run into any communication issues?”

Her lips parted in a silent, “ah”, as if finally understanding why I was asking these questions at all.

“I did have an issue in the beginning, but a… client,” she gave a knowing look to indicate she meant Violet, “resolved the matter within a few days.”

I leaned back, satisfied to have confirmed that Sophia and Violet were in communication with each other.

“Are you experiencing communication issues, Alpha Nightshade? I could reach out to my client to request another… solution.”

Yes. By the Goddess, how I wanted to talk to Violet, to hear her voice.

But I knew it would be too risky. And if Violet had found a way to communicate with Sophia, she could probably communicate with me, too. The fact that she hadn’t tried outside the note in the recipe book indicated she thought it was too risky.

So I buried the excitement bubbling in my chest. “No, that’s alright. But thank you for the offer.”

Sophia only sipped her coffee. “Shall I convey your regards to my client?”

The look she gave me then led me to believe she knew I had not gifted her assistance to Violet as a parting gift, but that Violet and I were still very much together.

“I’m sure your client has much more important things to talk to you about than polite greetings from your Alpha.” I needed a new topic before I convinced myself to ask Sophia to pass along my undying love for Violet. “How is passing Luna duties over to Eva going?”

It was another coded question since I had only asked her to pretend to pass them along. I expected – or at least hoped – that Violet would be back to take them over sooner rather than later.

But before Sophia could answer, we were interrupted by a knock at the door, and I went rushing to open it before one of Owen’s damn spies did.