Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
“What is that?” Terra asked, leaning closer to smell it.
“That is velka root.”
“It smells amazing,” she remarked.
“It is very strong,” Taurex observed.
“I like strong,” Terra told him.
Taurex glanced sideways at her and she realized what she'd said and immediately looked back down at her chopping.
“I mean flavors,” she added quickly. “Strong flavors.”
“I understood.”
The low amusement in his voice made her cheeks warm.
Once all the vegetables were prepared, Taurex turned toward the enormous cooling pod growing from the wall. He stroked its pale green side, and the overlapping leaves peeled themselves back, revealing the chilled interior.
“I need the marnak meat,” he told Terra, who was looking around his shoulder curiously.
The meat was stored in another living container inside the cooling pod, wrapped in broad translucent leaves. Taurex lifted it out and unfolded the covering to reveal several thick chunks of bright blue flesh.
Terra stared.
“That stuff is meat?” she asked.
“Yes, it is,” Taurex said.
“But…it’s blue.”
He nodded.
“Yes, that is the correct color for marnak meat.”
“And what exactly is a marnak?” Terra asked.
Taurex paused for a moment.
“It is a large grazing animal.”
Terra narrowed her eyes.
“You hesitated before you said that.”
“I was considering how best to describe it.”
“Does it have too many legs?”
“It has four. Is that too many?” he asked.
Terra shook her head.
“No. But does it have too many eyes?”
“It has two,” he told her.
Terra frowned.
“Does it have tentacles?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
At last she was satisfied.
“Good. I don't think I want to know anything else.”
“That may be wise.”
Terra pointed at him.
“See? That answer means there is definitely something weird about it.”
Taurex rumbled laughter as he carried the meat to the broad black cooking plant. He touched the side of the bowl and orange veins began glowing beneath its surface, spreading rapidly until heat shimmered above it.
“What do you use for oil?” Terra asked.
He shook his head.
“I don’t need any. The cooking pod produces its own natural oil whenever I add ingredients to it.”
He dropped the first chunk of blue meat into the heated plant, and it immediately began to sizzle.
The sound was so familiar that Terra almost forgot she was standing inside a living house on an alien spaceship. Then the smell hit her.
“Ohhh,” she moaned as her mouth started to water. The scent of the searing meat was incredible. It was rich, savory and slightly smoky, like the best steak she had ever smelled cooking on a grill, but with another note underneath it that reminded her of roasted mushrooms and browned butter. Her stomach growled instantly.
Taurex looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.
“Hungry?”
Terra put a hand to her stomach and gave an embarrassed laugh.
“Apparently.”
“You told me you ate very little this morning,” he pointed out.
“I was excited.”
Taurex frowned.
“You should not skip meals just because you are excited.”
Terra raised an eyebrow. “
Was that my boss talking or my mother?”
The corner of his mouth turned up in a half-smile.
“Both may have valid concerns.”
She laughed again—she really liked the big Monstrum’s dry sense of humor.
Taurex turned the blue chunks with a set of wooden-looking tongs, browning each side until the exterior darkened to a deep navy while the scent filled the kitchen.
Terra found herself drifting closer without even meaning to.
“I cannot believe something that color smells like steak,” she remarked. “It looks like it ought to smell like blueberries.”
“Color does not affect flavor,” Taurex remarked.
“Tell that to green ketchup,” Terra remarked.
Taurex frowned.
“Why would ketchup be green? Isn’t it made from red tomatoes?”
“Yes—that’s my point,” Terra said. “But no matter what color the stew is, I can’t wait to try some of it.”
“I hope you’ll enjoy it,” Taurex said, smiling.
Once the meat had been thoroughly seared, he removed it and set it aside on a broad waxy leaf. Then the vegetables went into the same cooking bowl, and Terra watched in fascination as their colors began changing almost immediately.
The purple roots turned emerald green and the golden g’rn bulbs softened into a deep cobalt paste. The silver seeds became bright turquoise.
Terra shook her head.
“This meal is going to look like it was cooked by Smurfs.”
Taurex frowned.
“What are ‘Smurfs?’”
“These tiny little blue people who live in a magic forest,” Terra told him, smiling.
His brow furrowed.
“Are they real?”
She smothered a laugh.
“No.”
He gave her a deeply suspicious look.
“Humans have very active imaginations.”
“Very,” Terra agreed, laughing.
Taurex added the browned meat back into the bowl, then poured in a dark violet liquid from a bulb-shaped container he had taken from the cooling plant. The instant the liquid hit the hot surface, a cloud of fragrant steam rolled upward.
Terra inhaled deeply.
“Oh my God. It smells even better now!”
The scent had changed again, becoming even richer and more complex. It reminded her of beef stew simmering all day in a crockpot, except there was something deeper beneath it—a roasted, earthy flavor with a faint sweetness at the end.
“What did you just add?” she asked.