She walked back to her house, picked up her purse and the dragon’s egg off the steps, and went in. Her stomach growled, a sure sign that she needed to eat, but she never really felt hungry. Hard to when nothing had any taste.
Wasn’t like she ever got cravings, either. How could she? How could she crave a certain food when it was just as bland and boring as the next thing?
She tossed her purse on the table in the foyer, then went through to the kitchen. Her standard meal, as boring as it might appear to an outsider, was a nutrient-dense, high-calorie, high-protein shake.
She added ice cream to boost the calories and make it cold. Her twice-daily milkshake could have been well-chilled wallpaper paste for all it appealed to her. It was merely meant to keep her body fueled.
Before she made her shake, however, she took the chocolate egg out of its box and set it on the side table next to the couch where she sat to watch TV. She left the cellophane on it, to protect the egg. It was a beautiful object and she wanted to be able to see it, even if she had no intention of eating it.
At least that way she could enjoy it in her own way.
She took a shower, rinsing off the day, put on her favorite cashmere lounge pants and long-sleeve top, and went back to the kitchen to make her shake.
The house seemed quiet once she turned off the blender. It wasn’t often that silence bothered her, but tonight it did. Tonight, the quiet only made the nonsense in her head louder.
She ought to get a pet. She’d thought about it before. She certainly had time for one. But that wasn’t going to do her any good tonight.
She took her shake into the living room, turned on the television, and looked for a show to distract herself with. She found a new series on one of the streaming services, My Five-Star Life, a show about a woman who’d grown up poor, made a name for herself as a social media influencer, and was now using her fame and fortune to expand her horizons.
Twenty minutes into the show, Nasha realized the whole thing was just meant to bring this incredibly shallow woman more fame and fortune.
She started surfing around again, looking for something less annoying. She found a season of a baking contest show she hadn’t seen yet and settled in to watch that. If nothing else, she might learn a new recipe.
Although if she did, she knew very well she’d never try it. There was too much potential for an untested recipe to go wrong, and then people would question why she’d thought such a thing worthy of being sold in the shop.
Still, the show was interesting enough. Nasha sipped her shake, trying to get it down before it became lukewarm.
Despite her interest in the baking competition, her gaze kept shifting back to the egg. There was no question that it was beautiful. As someone who knew the intricacies of decorating edible things, she appreciated the time and effort that had gone into all of that work.
But the longer she looked at it while drinking her tasteless, pasty shake, the more her feelings of resentment and self-pity returned.
How unfair was it that she couldn’t taste that egg? She knew she ought to count her blessings that she had such an amazing life. In the grand scheme of things, not being able to taste anything was pretty minimal.
But in the moment, that was cold comfort.
She downed the last of her shake and grabbed the egg, untying the ribbon that held the cellophane closed.
As soon as she opened the bag, the incredible aroma of chocolate rose up to greet her. Dark and rich, it made her mouth water as she took the egg out of the cellophane. The egg was weighty and as she turned it in her hands, she could feel the movement of the smaller chocolates inside. She inhaled again. Was that gorgeous smell what chocolate tasted like? It was something she’d wondered about all her life.
At every Christmas when chocolate goodies seemed to fill all of her schoolmates’ lunch boxes. At every Halloween when her friends would boast about their hauls. She had one, too, but found no joy in treats that had no flavor. At birthday parties and other special events, she was always left wondering about the decadent cake or brownies or cookies or ice cream that she just couldn’t enjoy like everyone else.
Even in her own bakery, she faced the stuff on a daily basis.
She breathed in more of the dark, luscious scent, eyes closed. The past was a hard thing to fight. All those years of feeling left out tore at her soul like hungry little demons determined to leave their scars on her. She sniffed and a tear slipped down her cheek.
She was truly pathetic. And she no longer cared. If she wanted to be sad and miserable in the privacy of her own home, then why not? She’d never carry on like this where anyone could see her.
She didn’t even want her father to know, because he’d only blame himself and he had enough to deal with as a Horseman.
Taking Domino out for a ride was sounding better and better. A deep, shuddering breath left her as she pushed to her feet, setting the egg back on the table as she did so.
But she misjudged the distance and the egg landed on the edge, toppled over, and fell to the hardwood, shattering into large and small fragments and sending the contents across the floor. The chocolates inside were just as beautiful as the egg had been.
What a waste.
“Blast it,” she muttered. She bent to pick up the pieces, feeling impossibly worse than she had just a second ago. She sniffed as she collected the shards and the whole chocolates, trying to stack them in her hand.
The more she worked, the more of a mess it became. The chocolate was melting against the warmth of her skin.
She carried the first handful into the kitchen and dumped it onto the counter. The loss of the gorgeous egg only added to her miserable state. Another tear slipped out, running down her cheek to the edge of her mouth.
Tears were supposed to be salty. All she tasted was wet.
She wiped it away with her chocolate-smudged hands, then licked her lips.
She hesitated as something new filled her mouth. What was that?
But she knew exactly what it was. Flavor. She’d tasted something. The breath stuck in her throat. How was that possible? No idea. But there it was, something faintly sweet and smoky and dark and delicious and creamy and so many things she didn’t have words for.
It had to be chocolate.
She ran to the mirror in the living room
A dark smudge crossed the corner of her mouth and extended to her cheek. She felt faint as she stared at her own face. Her tongue darted out to find the smudge again. More sweet and dark and smoky and creamy and—
She spun around, looking at the remaining shards of egg on the floor. She scooped up a piece and shoved it into her mouth, desperate to understand what was happening.
The flavors exploded over her tongue in full force as the chocolate melted.
New tears came, tears that had nothing to do with feeling pathetic and everything to do with joy.
She didn’t know how this was possible, but she didn’t care. She could taste. She knelt beside the bits of egg and individual chocolates and began to try each one. Dark chocolate and milk chocolate. Both so very different.
She couldn’t get enough even when her teeth began to ache with the sweetness.
Abruptly, she stopped and ran back to the kitchen, her fingers sticky. She hauled the tub of ice cream out of the freezer and stuck a spoon into it, scooping up a big chunk. She’d bought blackberry for no particular reason other than she liked to vary the flavors she chose just for appearance’s sake.
She took a bite of the purple-streaked stuff and frowned. Nothing but cold. She waited a moment, but that didn’t change.