“No,” I firmly said, glancing down at the bottles. “I, I have a question. For both of you.”
Grove and Medium-Sized Robert exchanged looks.
“Ask away,” Grove said.
CHAPTER
SIX
Jade
Iflexed my fingers and ignored the itch in my elbow, which was more than likely my nerves based on how sweaty I was getting. “Is there a reason for why a fae would drink hot water?” I asked. “Is he, maybe, afraid of poisons or something?”
“What’s the situation?” Grove asked.
“I visited Orrin—with Captain Reese’s permission,” I rushed to add.
Grove and Medium-Sized Robert stared at me for a moment.
“And?” Medium-Sized Robert finally added in his rumbly voice.
“He was drinking hot water from a paper cup.”
“Ah.” Grove leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, he probably wants tea.”
I paused, trying to follow the deduction. “Pardon?”
“Fae are big into tea, you know?” Grove said.
“Yes,” I slowly said—I vaguely knew fae loved tea. All the places that catered to them carried tea. “But I thought that was more of a preference thing—liking tea over coffee.”
Medium-Sized Robert shook his head. “No, Ma’am,” he said. “It’s a cultural custom. Fae view tea as necessary for life—almost as necessary as a connection with the fae realm.”
“Oh,” I said—it was all I could think to say. “I didn’t know that.”
“Did you see any mugs or cups anywhere?” Grove asked.
I shook my head.
“Yeah, then he definitely wants tea,” Grove said.
“He’s being held by werewolves, yes?” Medium-Sized Robert asked. “They probably didn’t think to ask him, and there’s no way he will risk asking for tea when it’s possible it could be construed as a favor.”
“That would put him in their debt,” Grove added for my benefit.
“And debts are bad?” I asked.
“In fae culture? Oh yeah. It’s the worst.” Grove nodded so hard he rocked his entire body, and his arms—resting on the edge of the table—made the table shake, so the potions in their glass vials wobbled dangerously. “Fae want to avoid being in someone’s debt—it gives them power over you. You will eventually have to pay them back, and you probably won’t like the way they make you return the favor.”
Wow, yeah, I was punchingwayabove my level.I scratched the back of my neck. “Okay. Thank you. That’s very helpful.”
Grove saluted me—which made me want to sink through the floor in embarrassment. “Of course. But, in warning, Blood, be careful you don’t say thank you to Orrin—a really sneaky fae would use that as a toehold and say you owe them.”
I grimaced. “Of course. I’ll work on that—I need to do more research.”
Grove nodded, then went back to his bottles, but Medium-Sized Robert studied me a moment longer.
“You know a lot about vampires, wizards, and even shifters, but not fae,” he said.
