Page 51 of Bleeding for the Prince
Hyax snorted and almost choked on his ambrosia. “That’s a polite way of saying she’s a sociopath.”
“She’s a vampire, Hyax,” Simon said. “Most of them are, to varying degrees. Myself included.”
“The fae aren’t that much better.” Gwil raised his eyebrows in challenge. “You lot invented the iron enema.”
Gwil wasn’t wrong.
“Let’s just say we are all unique in our own way. But you can’t deny your sister’s scary. I know not to do wrong by you or she’ll pull off my wings.”
“I would hope you didn’t need to be threatened by my sister to be a good boyfriend,” Gwil said, pointedly.
“Of course I don’t. But that doesn’t mean she’s not an added deterrent.”
“If you’re not careful, I’ll be feeding this information back to her, and I’m sure she’ll wish to discuss with you your feelings on the matter.”
A waiter arrived in time to save Hyax from digging himself into deeper trouble. Penelope was, if all went to plan, his futuresister-in-law and cordial relations would be the best for all involved.
“Good evening, gentlemen. We have a three-course menu on offer today, or if you prefer, you can just select the number of courses you wish.”
For some reason, Hyax hadn’t expected the menu to be so limited and thought a place like the Jyndarin society would offer something more expansive. Perhaps it was particular to them because three of the people at the table were vampires and technically didn’t need to eat, so they could skimp on the food. He cast his eye over the offerings and realised that while there wasn’t a variety of choices, he would be delighted to have everything that was on offer.
“If everyone is happy, I would like to take the full menu,” Robin said. “Can I check if you serve the steak medium rare?”
Hyax read his menu card again. There wasn’t a steak on offer, and instead he had lemon sole, which was more to his liking.
“Sir can have his steak served however he wishes.”
Simon tapped his menu. “Could I get extra of the apricot and beetroot jus?”
He hadn’t realised before, but the reason the menu seemed limited was because it had been tailored to the guest. He looked over to Gwil, and sure enough, he ordered a duck breast with potato dauphinoise. Hyax ordered the fish, asking for it to be filleted, and the waiter glided away.
“I wasn’t expecting a fully customised menu,” Hyax said. “I didn’t even notice the magic powering it.”
“I don’t know how they do it,” Simon admitted. “I had the same reaction you have and can only assume it’s some sort of sentient paper. Quite remarkable.”
“I hope your shots are up to date,” Hyax said to Gwil. “The potatoes are going to be loaded with garlic. Just as you like them.”
“Yeah, had a booster the other week, you know I’m a sucker for a kebab and they’re not the same without lashings of garlic sauce.”
Hyax had been fascinated by the various ways the vampires had gone about circumventing things that should make their afterlives difficult. Bottled blood that didn’t coagulate, injections that prevented issues with garlic, and if they could solve the daylight, they’d be unstoppable.
“Let me guess, you’ve got some sort of spicy lamb thing,” Robin said fondly to Simon.
“Slow-cooked shank in Moroccan spices. You’re the one who took me to Marrakesh, the food and the locals tasted amazing.”
After his conversation with Simon in Dionysus, it seemed Robin was doing his best to play doting husband, and their interactions were lovely to watch. Hyax slid his hand onto Gwil’s thigh, feeling that he should up his game. “Perhaps we should go somewhere once we’re done with this current case.”
“We’ve never had a holiday together. Even a weekend away would be pretty cool.”
Robin topped up Gwil’s glass. “There are some beautiful caves in Croatia that I can recommend. Quite stunning.”
Simon frowned. “Which ones are they?”
“Modric Caves, near Rovanjska. Remember?”
“I’ve never been there. I think you may have mistaken me for someone else.”
For a horrible minute, Hyax thought Robin had got his lovers confused. “No, remember we portalled into a cavern system and walked down into the low levels where we had special permission to see an area tourists weren’t allowed. We found your ruby there.”
