If Archie and Nori were to learn about kulkida risotto without raising too much profile—something that seemed very important to Mr. Ackers—they only had one person they could turn to.

But when they asked, they didn’t get the answer they were expecting.

“That…that is something…that I don’t know,” Sutton said, more suggestion than fact.

Nori rubbed Sutton’s arm, batting her eyes at him. “Are you sure, Sutton?” she asked in a baby voice that nearly made Archie burst into laughter.

It worked on Sutton. But only a little.

“No. I don’t—uh.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t know anything about that. And…you shouldn’t ask anyone about it.”

“Come on, Sutton,” Archie said. “It’s obvious that—”

“No,” Nori interrupted. “It’s fine. Sorry to bother you, Sutton.”

She walked next to Archie and whispered, “later.”

“Alright students.” Tarragon clapped his hands twice to get their attention. “You know the drill. Just a couple more days of essence control and defensive training, and then we’ll move on to some real conjuration. I’m gonna give you a real challenge today, so don’t get frustrated if you can’t get it in the first fifteen minutes.”

Tarragon made the rounds, binding each student with a conjured noodle.

“You’ve been doing well, Archie,” Tarragon commented before binding him. “Keep it up and this time next year I’m going to have to actually try when I bind you.”

Archie appreciated the words, but not the consequence. Tarragon challenged him with the toughest noodle of all of the students. After ten minutes, Archie had weakened the noodle but failed to break free.

Nori rushed over once she got rid of her restraints. “Come on. Get that thing off of you. I have an idea.”

“I’m trying. Mine is way harder than yours, okay?”

Nori tugged at the noodle. “It’s the same as mine.”

“Only because I already counteracted some of the essence.”

“Whatever. Cheat if you have to. Just…come on.”

“I want to do it right.”

Nori groaned. She waited and stared until Archie freed himself, then grabbed him by the arm and dragged him over to the still-bound Sutton.

“Hey guys,” Sutton said while he squirmed in his restraints.

“Tighten it,” she commanded Archie.

“What?” Archie asked.

“What?” Sutton repeated.

“Tighten it.”

Archie looked around. The other students had waddled around in their restraints, creating a chaotic scene that prevented watchful eyes. “Why?”

“Archie. Do what I say.”

Archie sighed and wondered when he’d be free of his debt. He plucked a loose piece of noodle, adding his essence to tighten it rather than counteract it.

“Hey…” Sutton groaned as the air got squeezed out of him.

Nori put her face close to Sutton’s, but it wasn’t an act of seduction like before. It was an act of intimidation.

“Tell us about kulkida risotto or I’ll have Archie tighten it again.”

“I told you, I don’t know anything about—”

“Do it,” Nori commanded.

“Come on, Sutton,” Archie said. “Just tell us.”

“I told you, I don’t know anything.”

Nori glared at Archie. He sighed and reached toward the noodle.

“Okay, okay!” Sutton said, stopping Archie. “I’ll tell you, just quit saying it so loudly! No one can hear you asking about that.”

“Why not?” Archie asked.

Sutton wriggled around to make sure no one could hear them.

“Because making it in Ambrosia City is illegal. And if someone heard you asking about it, they might assume that you plan on making it. And that could bring a lot of trouble.”

“Illegal?” Nori asked.

“Yes. Well, in a manner of speaking.”

“Sutton,” Archie said. “Is it legal or is it not?”

“Technically, there are no written laws about it. But I’ve had to hide the recipe to keep it from getting burned.”

“Burned? Who wants to burn it?”

“Prince Waldorf’s men.”

Archie leaned in. “Tell the story, Sutton.”

Sutton took a deep breath—or tried to, at least. “Can you loosen this a bit for me?”

Archie looked to Nori for approval. She nodded. He loosened the noodle so that Sutton could breathe. Sutton looked around again. Satisfied with their seclusion, he started.

“What do you know about Prince Waldorf’s marriage history?”

Archie shrugged. “I know he’s had a lot of wives over the years.”

“Four, if I remember correctly,” Nori added.

Sutton scoffed. “Four is what you’re supposed to believe. But there were five. They destroyed most records of one of the marriages, but…well, you spend long enough in the library, you find things that others overlooked.”

“Why are they hiding it?”

“She humiliated him.” Sutton wobbled his head around, his glasses shifting left and right.. “Can you fix my glasses? Or better yet, just get me out of this. I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

Nori stopped Archie’s hand as it reached for the noodle. He shot her an impatient look, shook her off, and grabbed the noodle. It contained a humiliatingly low amount of essence—Archie barely even had to try to dispel it.

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“Ugh, you never know how much you itch until you’re tied up like that,” Sutton said as he scratched all over his neck and face. “So anyway, Prince Waldorf is currently married to his fifth wife. The first, second, and fourth all suffered the same fate. People say they were perfectly capable when they married him, but within a couple of years, Prince Waldorf divorced them and they left the relationship…broken.”

“Broken how?”

“Their mental facilities…They were practically catatonic. It’s hard to know for certain, but I believe they all ended up dying within a few years of the divorce. Rotted away in bed until there was nothing left in them.”

Archie sunk his teeth into his upper lip. “Gluttony, huh?”

Sutton nodded. “I believe that prolonged exposure to a Glutton can have adverse effects. In the case of marriage, in which I can…” Sutton cleared his throat. “...assume they were intimate…I—well. You get it.”

Archie looked to the surrounding nature and greenery for comfort so that he might avoid creating a mental image.

“But this third wife. She didn’t suffer the same fate. She ran away.”

“Good for her,” Nori said.

Sutton nodded in agreement but lifted a finger. “Yes, but the how is what matters here. You see, the wedding was this week-long event. And as you can imagine, Prince Waldorf wanted all of the best Chefs to come to Ambrosia City for the festivities.

“And there was one in particular that he wanted. He had heard of a Chef climbing the ranks and making a name for himself in Labrusca. The Chef only made one dish, but he imbued it with an unprecedented amount of essence.”

“Kulkida risotto,” Archie suggested.

Sutton lifted a finger to his lips and shushed him. “Precisely. Now, this Chef knew he was in demand. He knew Prince Waldorf wanted him desperately. He knew that Prince Waldorf could afford any price. So the Chef named a price greater than any royal ransom. Supposedly, Prince Waldorf and his connections in the military embezzled funds to pay for it.

“And so, the Chef came to Ambrosia City already on the prince’s nerves, and on the first night, he served kulkida risotto. Everyone loved it, but on the second night, the Chef was nowhere to be found.”

Sutton leaned in, barely speaking above a whisper.

“Now, this is where we get into some speculation…There have been…rumblings…of a private kitchen in Prince Waldorf’s quarters. A prison, really. Hidden. Now, I have no concrete proof, but I believe this kitchen exists. And that Prince Waldorf has imprisoned Chefs in it. Chefs that were never seen again. There are many instances in which a Chef’s illustrious career path ends with a chance encounter with Prince Waldorf. Many Chefs that have gone missing.”

A chill went up Archie’s spine.

“Why’d he kidnap the Chef?” Nori asked. “Assuming he did.”

“To make more kulkida risotto, of course. And only for him. But…” Sutton readjusted his glasses. “Supposedly, there was someone that loved the meal more than even Prince Waldorf did. His wife-to-be. The wedding ceremonies continued throughout the week, and the day after they said their vows, the wife was gone. She absconded with the Chef, having fallen in love with the man.”

“Is that speculation too?”

Sutton breathed in through his teeth. “Unfortunately, no. They were found dead together in Lampuki a month later. Murdered.”

They had a brief moment of silence for the dead.

“So, unofficially, Prince Waldorf has banned the meal from Ambrosia City. It’s not easy to make, so there were only a handful of people in the city that had figured it out. Prince Waldorf stopped all of them one way or another. At first they protested. Then one Chef’s restaurant burned down. Now no one makes it, and Prince Waldorf makes sure to keep it that way.”

“What makes it so hard to make?” Archie asked.

“It’s the kulkida rice. While being heated, it drains Ambrosial essence at an alarming rate. So the key to normal risotto with something like arborio rice is to pour just a little bit of liquid in, stir until it gets soaked up, then pour a little more.

“With kulkida risotto, you don’t just pour liquid. You pour essence. Or rather, it takes essence. While you stir, it’ll sap you. And instead of stirring it for thirty minutes, kulkida takes much, much longer.”

“You said you know the recipe?” Nori asked.

“Wait.” Sutton backed away. “You’re actually thinking of making it?”

Archie stepped in before Nori could resort to threats. “Please, Sutton. It’s very important to us.”

Sutton pressed his lips together until they turned white, his beady eyes assessing Archie and Nori. “Fine. I hid the recipe away in the library. I’ll get it for you. As far as I remember, it was a pretty simple recipe. The main difficulty will be in finding kulkida rice.”

Nori went from sour to sweet, wrapping Sutton up in a hug. “Aw thanks, Sutton.”

He coughed and fidgeted with his glasses. “Sure. Sure.”

Nori walked away and Archie turned to follow, but Sutton grabbed his arm and pulled him in.

“Archie. If you’re actually going to make this…be careful.”

“I understand how dangerous it is, Sutton. You don’t have to convince me to be afraid of Prince Waldorf.”

Sutton shook his head. “No. It’ll be dangerous for you. From what I’ve gathered, your episodes are driven by negative emotions. Anger, fear, hate. But they might also be triggered by extreme quantities of essence.”

Archie swallowed hard.

“Please be careful, Archie. Please.”

“I’m not going to tell you again, Blanche. You. Need. To. Eat.”

Nori shoved a bowl of lemon orzo into Blanche’s hands.

“I do eat,” Blanche protested, waving around at everything growing in the greenhouse. “I’m picking stuff all the time.”

“You need to eat something other than raw vegetables.” Nori stuck her finger in Blanche’s face.

“I eat fruit, too,” Blanche muttered as she scooped orzo into her mouth.

Archie laughed. It felt good to be on the outside looking in on one of Nori’s bossy moments. “Blanche, are you the one that’s been eating my blueberries?”

Blanche’s cherry-red lips curled into a sly smile. “They’re really good.”

“Better than Nori’s?”

Nori threw a clump of dirt at Archie.

“Well,” Blanche tilted her head from side to side. “Nori’s blueberry bush doesn’t get the attention it used to.”

Nori gestured at the little lemon tree growing in her plot. “Um, hello?”

“Your lemons are really good too, Nori,” Blanche said.

“Not as good as Blanche’s,” Archie added.

“Blanche doesn’t count. If she were growing blueberries, you’d get bumped to second place, too.”

“I’d still be number one in sugar cane.”

“You’re the only one growing sugar cane.”

Blanche giggled as she took another heaping bite of orzo, spilling some down her jacket.

“Have you two figured out what you’re doing for your innovation project?”

“Actually…” Archie shook one of his sugar cane stalks. “I did have an idea for you, Nori. For us. A joint project.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Well, I was thinking about what Rowan said. About giving to those in need. And then I thought about Teff.”

“Teff?” Nori scoffed. “She lives in Caviar Court. She’s not in need.”

“I don’t think the lesson was only about financial need. I mean, you saw the way her father treats her. Her birthday was just a pretense for a social gathering. And you know, she wanted lemon candy. And I was thinking, I don’t want to give her some generic lemon candy, you know?”

“I suppose. Although I don’t really know where you’re going with this.”

“Well, and Blanche, you can let me know if this sounds totally impossible, but I was thinking that sugar cane takes a lot of water, right? But what if we watered it with…lemon juice?”

Nori scrunched her eyebrows. “That would kill it…”

“Maybe,” Blanche interjected. “I mean, under normal circumstances, yeah. But with essence, who knows? You could make it work.”

Archie raised his eyebrows at Nori.

“Sure,” she agreed. “I haven’t thought of anything else I can do, so…better than nothing.”

“Aw, look at you two,” Blanche commented. “Such a good team.”

Nori threw another chunk of dirt at Archie.

“Okay,” Blanche said as she swallowed her last bite. “This was delicious, Nori. It got things moving, though, so I gotta…you know.”

“Seriously, Blanche. Eat real food.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Blanche said as she hurried away to the outhouse.

“So,” Archie said. “What are we going to do about the other thing?”

“Well, Sutton is going to get the recipe for us.”

“And the rice?”

Nori sucked in her bottom lip and chewed on it, her eyes drifting around the greenhouse.

“You have a plan,” Archie said. “And you don’t like it.”

She sighed and crossed her arms. “Tataki. Tataki will be able to get it for us.”

One side of Archie’s mouth bent down in a frown. He knew how uncomfortable even the mention of family made Nori. To suggest relying on them? She must have been desperate. “And…he’d be willing to do that?”

“You have to ask him,” she said. “I can’t…I can’t.”

Archie couldn’t help but laugh.

“So you want me…the person largely responsible for helping you escape from your family…You want me to go talk to your family…Specifically, the best fighter in the world. And you want me to ask him to acquire contraband for us…And if any of us get caught, we might be ordered to death by the grand prince of all United Ambrosia. Is that right?”

“Yep.”

“...Okay then.”