Chapter 56: After the Adventure

"So," I said, breaking the silence of the room. With everyone’s mouths full of Damara’s meatloaf, the room had stayed suffocatingly silent for too long. "Tell me about your day. Clearly it went well."

"It was amazing, Sam. We kicked total butt," Katrina blurted.

A glob of gravy sat on her cheek. I reached over and wiped it off with my thumb. Without thinking, I licked it off. As soon as I realized what I had just done, my eyes shot up.

Katrina had seen it, causing her face to flush.

I froze. My brain finally caught up with my actions. Licking gravy off my thumb in front of the entire table was definitely not my smoothest move.

Katrina stared, her ears twitching wildly as a deep crimson spread all the way down to her collar. She sank a little lower into her wooden chair.

Taking a slow sip of her water, Damara set her glass down and raised an elegant eyebrow. "Smooth, Sam," she noted, a dry smirk resting on her lips.

Sarah giggled from her spot on the table. "He likes the gravy!"

"It is good gravy," I muttered, suddenly finding my plate incredibly interesting. Scooping up another bite of meatloaf, I quickly changed the subject. "Anyway. The cavern. How did the dive actually go?"

Katrina recovered, sitting up much straighter as her bushy tail resumed its rhythmic swishing against the chair legs. "It was mostly dark, flooded tunnels. The water was absolutely freezing, chilling me straight to the bone. I had my claws ready the entire time, but we didn’t even get to fight much."

Looking up from my meal, I frowned. "Why not? The bounty explicitly said it was infested."

Setting her fork aside, Damara leaned forward. "It wasn’t a standard clearing job. Calvin posted the bounty under a generic title to keep it quiet. He actually met us at the entrance."

"Calvin?" I asked. "Why hide the real objective?"

"He asked us to search the upper levels of the caverns for more clues," Damara explained, gesturing with her fork. "He is trying to track down the rogue mage who took Elise. Calvin suspects the researcher left encrypted journals, discarded magical components, or perhaps a secondary laboratory behind."

"But all we found were a few shattered glass vials and a broken containment ward near the entrance, but nothing pointing directly at his current location," Sarah explained, cutting in.

At the mention of the mage, Elise went completely rigid. Her knuckles turned white as her grip tightened, and her fork clattered quietly against her ceramic plate.

I shifted my chair closer, reached under the table, and rested my hand firmly on her knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I silently promised we would never let him near her again. She let out a shaky, uneven breath, her tense shoulders slowly dropping back down.

"Did you find anything?" I asked, keeping my focus on Damara.

"Not enough," she replied, shaking her head. "The rain ruined our window. The storm caused massive flash flooding inside the tunnels much earlier than anticipated. Water washed away any tracks we could have followed, forcing us to pull back before the lower levels completely submerged."

Sarah puffed her tiny chest out. "I kept us dry on the way out. I used my magic to block the water."

"You did," Katrina agreed, flashing a warm smile at the fairy.

Damara shifted her crimson gaze back to me. "Calvin wants to meet with the entire crew tomorrow morning to plan our next move. He specifically requested both you and Elise be there."

Elise flinched at her name. The color drained from her cheeks, leaving her looking almost as pale as the day we found her. The idea of facing Calvin and discussing the man who tortured her clearly struck a nerve, but she offered a tight, forced nod anyway.

"We will definitely be there," I confirmed, squeezing her knee one more time before pulling my hand back.

The conversation naturally drifted toward lighter topics after that. Food vanished quickly as serving plates made their rounds across the table. Making sure Elise got a second helping of potatoes, I watched the large platter of meatloaf get reduced to mere crumbs.

Eventually, the lively energy dialed down into quiet yawns. Katrina slumped back, rubbing her stomach with a thoroughly satisfied expression. Damara rested her elbows on the wood, looking completely at ease, while Sarah laid flat on a napkin to rest her wings.

Standing up from the table, I gathered my empty plate and reached for Katrina’s next. "I will handle washing the dishes tonight. You all did more than enough work today."

Damara didn’t argue. Stretching her arms over her head, her spine popped softly. "We appreciate that. You should finish up quickly, though."

I paused, balancing the heavy plates. "Why?"

Katrina stood and handed me her cup, a familiar mischievous grin returning to her face. "Because we have something planned for you tonight."

Glancing between the three of them, I noticed Elise simply smiling behind her glass of water. She clearly knew what was going on.

"Planned?" I asked. "What kind of plan?"

"It is a surprise," Sarah chirped, hovering up to land on Katrina’s shoulder.

"A good surprise?" I pushed, carrying the stack of dishes over to the kitchen counter.

Damara turned toward the hallway. "You will just have to wait and find out. Come upstairs when you are done."

They left the kitchen, leaving the house completely quiet once again.

Standing by the sink, I turned the metal faucet. Warm water rushed out, hitting the porcelain basin with a steady hiss. A few drops of soap on a rag were all it took to start cutting through the leftover grease. The hot water felt great on my tired hands, washing away the lingering soreness from grinding roots at the clinic all morning.

Scrubbing the thick gravy off the ceramic plates, I rinsed them clean and set them carefully on the wooden drying rack. The quiet domestic routine felt incredibly grounding.

A month ago, this massive house had felt entirely empty.

Now, it was overflowing with life, laughter, and an undeniable sense of belonging. Despite the quiet routine, my mind raced the entire time.

A surprise from all of them could mean absolutely anything, causing my heart to beat a little faster against my ribs.

After finishing the silverware and wiping down the dark counter, I turned the metal faucet off and dried my wet hands on a clean towel. The dark hallway leading to the wooden stairs waited silently. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for whatever they had planned.

Tossing the towel aside, I turned and started walking forward.