Page 24 of Beauty At Stake (The Twilight Court #18)
Psychometry has its limits. Killian could see what happened with an object—where it had been, who had used it, etcetera. But that's it. His sight was limited to a few feet around the object. And if he couldn't see it, he couldn't learn about it. So, he didn't know the sorceress's real name, but he did know where she had used her tools before she moved into her Bangkok mansion.
Kill didn't get an address, but he had a visual, and that's all he needed to twilight to a location. He could also take a fellow Twilight Fairy with him. But no one else. And we had to wait until dusk to access the In-Between.
No one was happy about the wait. There had been no other discoveries on the property, so the only thing to do was wait. Unless you were Killian, that is. He filled the time by investigating the Fey remains. I offered to sit with him while he did, but he refused, countering with a request for food.
So, I went on a food run with Star. Well, Star, three of his guards, and Hunter Ravee.
We took a van and not just because we needed the passenger room. We were bringing food back for everyone. That would require a good amount of space as well.
Ravee directed us to a local restaurant that could handle such a large order. Evidently, that wasn't easily found in Thailand. But she knew a place run by Fairies. She didn't tell us the Fairies were her family.
“Ravee!” A woman came around a hostess podium to embrace Ravee. She said something in Thai as she looked at the rest of us.
“Yes and no,” Ravee said in English. “We have a huge takeout order. I'm on a hunt. Anong, this is Ambassador Seren Firethorn, King Astaroth, and his guards. Sorry,” she said to the guards. “I didn't get your names.”
“I'm Rathi.”
“Apitron.”
“And I'm Nassar.”
But Anong was more interested in Star and me. “Your Majesties.” She inclined her head. “Welcome. Please, come back to the kitchen. My parents would love to meet you. And you can tell them what you'd like to eat. Please.” She waved us into the restaurant.
“Thank you,” I said.
But Anong didn't take us back. She remained at her post while Ravee led the way past tables full of Fairies. A few humans ate among them, completely unaware of the company they kept. I noticed them immediately. They were the only ones who didn't gape at us as we passed by.
Ravee took us into a large kitchen where several Fairies were busy cooking. The smell was amazing, full of the local spices and tinged with unusual things like fish sauce. The Fairies there called out greetings to Ravee but then stopped what they were doing to stare at us.
With a wave at the workers, Ravee led us through the kitchen and to a couple of Fairies at the back of the room. They were talking together over a book, the woman pointing at a page while the man nodded.
“Mom. Dad.” Ravee stopped before them.
They looked up with little frowns, then smiled at their daughter. And then they saw us.
“Who are these people?” Ravee's father asked.
“Ambassador Seren Firethorn, King Astaroth of Hell, Nassar, Apitron, and Rathi.” Ravee motioned at each of us as she made the introductions. “These are my parents, Krittin and Sasi.” She motioned at her father and then her mother.
“The King of Hell?” Sasi whispered. “You brought the King of Hell into our kitchen?”
I blinked, a little surprised that she was more impressed by Star than me. Oh, that sounded narcissistic. But she was a Fairy. That made her one of my subjects. I was her queen. What was with these Unseelie?
“We're helping him on a hunt,” Ravee said. “He's not going to hurt you.”
“I'm just interested in lunch,” Star said.
“Oh. Okay. For six?”
So, it was worry, not awe. That made me feel a little better.
With a wincing smile, I said, “No, we have about thirty people.”
“Thirty?!” Then Sasi blinked. “Oh, dear Danu! You're Queen Seren! Our Queen!” She bowed. “Welcome, Your Majesty.”
Yup, feeling better and better.
But I held my composure. “Thank you. You have a lovely restaurant.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Krittin bowed as well. “We're honored to have you here.”
“Can we take a picture with you?” Sasi asked.
That was new.
“Uh. Sure.” I went to stand between Ravee's parents as she blushed.
“Come on, Ravee!” Sasi said. “Take picture for us. We can put in restaurant.”
“Okay.” Ravee pulled out her cell phone and snapped a few shots.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Sasi bowed to me again. “Our Fey customers will be so excited to see that you ate here.”
“I'm glad to have made you smile.” Yeah, honestly, I was happy to get some positive PR. I guess it was that whole thing with Malai that was bothering me. I was butt-hurt and their picture request eased the ass pain.
“So, uh, can we get lunch for everyone?” Ravee asked.
“Yes, of course!” Krittin said. “You like spicy or not so spicy?”
I didn't like the fact that he called it “not so spicy” instead of mild. That concerned me.
“Uh, do you have a mild option?” I asked. “I'm not big on spicy food.”
The kitchen went silent.
I looked around. All the workers were staring at me. “You see, ever since my last pregnancy, spicy food hasn't . . . you know what? I'm sure whatever you make will be fine.”
“No, no, no.” Krittin waved. “We make special for you. Mild.” He looked at the kitchen and spoke in Thai.
The cooks looked at each other as if they didn't understand.
“Like for tourist!” Krittin said. “Make all our specials but put extra coconut milk and just tiny bit curry paste. The Queen's taste got sensitive from baby!”
That seemed to do the trick. They nodded and got to work.
Star chuckled. “We like things spicy. You can make some dishes normal.”
“Oh good!” Krittin called out more instructions in Thai. He laughed and slapped Star's shoulder. “Demons like it hot, eh?”
“Of course,” Star drawled. “The hotter, the better.”
“Come, come.” Sasi waved us into an office and then at some chairs and a couch. “Please, sit down. You want iced coffee or tea?”
“No, thank you,” I said. “I'm fine.”
“I'll have an iced coffee,” Star said.
“Good!” Sasi hurried away. “I bring some snacks too.”
After she left, Ravee said to me, “I'm so sorry about that, Your Majesty.”
“Not at all. I'm pleased to meet more of my people. I don't get to meet a lot of Unseelie on Earth.”
“Thank you. You were very kind to them.” She looked out the office doorway. “They work hard, but they love it. They love feeding people. And they couldn't cook this kind of food in Unseelie.”
“Why not?” I asked.
She looked at me.
“Why can't they cook Thai food in Unseelie?” I tried again.
“The ingredients aren't the same.”
“Import them.”
“No one would buy it if we did.”
“Are you sure? The dining room was packed with fairies.”
“Those are locals.”
“And there aren't any Fairies from Thailand in Unseelie?”
“Oh. Well, uh.” She frowned. “I guess there must be. I, uh. I think we assumed that a Thai restaurant wouldn't do well in Fairy.”
“I think it would do very well. I think the Fairies in this region of Unseelie probably cook a similar type of food themselves.”
“Similar, but more Fey.”
“Well then, maybe they'd pay to have this food. Regardless, everyone loves good food. It may take a little time for people to open up to the idea of a Thai restaurant in Fairy, or it may be instantly popular because of its novelty. Either way, I think it would do well.”
Ravee chuckled. “Maybe I'll open one after I retire. I can use my family recipes.”
“There you go. If you do, let me know. I'll bring Raza.”
She gaped at me.
You see what I mean? Raza always gets a bigger reaction than me. It shouldn't surprise me after all these years. As a Dragon-Djinn or in human guise, Raza always turned heads. I comforted myself with the knowledge that I always turned his head.
“Here you go!” Sasi exclaimed as she came back into the office holding a tray full of appetizers and one iced coffee. She set it down on the desk. “Please, help yourselves. I go help cook.” She grinned at me, then Star, and kissed her daughter's cheek before she went back to the kitchen.
“Thank you!” I called after her.
When I turned back toward the tray, Demons surrounded it.
Ravee giggled and headed after her mom. “I'll get some more.”