Page 93 of Dewpoint
I sat down and accepted the tasting menu we were being served along with an accompanying drink list. There was morewe could order, but at this type of place you accepted what the chef told you to have.
And paid a lot of money to not even think of substituting anything.
“I haven’t eaten here in years,” Onyx said with excitement as he looked over the menu.
I made the effort since none of what I was feeling was really his fault. “Did you come with family or friends?” I frowned when he swallowed loudly and looked like a deer in headlights. “I see. This is your regular date spot in Nerthus.”
“No, wait, it’s not like—” he started to say, but we were interrupted when the first course came out.
According to the menu it was flame-grilled asparagus with lemongrass served on a bed of pistachio and a sorrel velouté… And I hated asparagus.
Awesome start on the food and conversation.
“How were things with the king?” I asked as the server turned to leave, making it clear I didn’t want to go back to the previous topic.
He seemed to struggle with that but then was polite enough to let me win. “Very well. The main issue was finding someone who could mediate with the undines since they don’t speak in the way we do—the concept we do.”
I nodded. They didn’t have vocal cords as most species did. It was more a magical projection and didn’t work well for most modern languages. It was why they were so rare and mostly thought to be myth.
I was glad for the update and to hear a firsthand account of something so amazing—interactions with a species people did mostly think legend. I took one bite of my tiny, tiny course but mostly cut it up and moved it around to make it look like I ate more.
But Onyx seemed to notice, frowning as he stared at my plate for a moment.
The server didn’t pay any mind when they came in again and I set my plate aside to signal I was ready for what was next. It was a lake pike done in a quenelle with a lobster cream over puffed rice. That was great but exactly what you would expect at a place like this.
And I kept listening to Onyx. It was interesting, but I just… Listened.
Then it was a caviar array with different accoutrements.
I decided to say something because I saw the next course came with another drink. “I’m sorry, but I don’t actually drink besides certain wines. Please apologize to the chefs and assure them that it’s all lovely. It’s my training. If I could get a sparkling water, please?”
The server flinched and looked a bit embarrassed he hadn’t asked if I’d wanted a water with my drinks—something totally normal for a restaurant.
Or that he’d taken back two full alcoholic drinks.
“You don’t drink?” Onyx hedged.
“No, only wine, sorry.”
“No, I am. I didn’t know that,” he muttered.
I wasn’t sure what to say. Reminding him that he didn’t ask—about my drinking preferences or any of this—seemed petty. Most would love to be on a date at a place so posh and with such a handsome, intelligent, and lovely dragon.
“This is lovely,” I said about one of the caviars just to say something.
He accepted that as everything was fine and went back into what he was saying. That was it. That was all it took.
There was another fancy fish something that was like two bites but tasty. Then a sweet bread with cheese, honey, and fig? Iwas pretty sure it was a fig. I honestly didn’t care enough to even look at the menu.
The lobster was great. So was the duck. And the tiny steak. I really liked the stuffed mushrooms. It was interesting. Ginger and something tart. Not what you would think for a stuffed mushroom.
But you only got one. How… Pretentious. I mean yes, that was what the restaurant was, but that was what everything always was for a princess. Now queen.
It got boring fast.
The mango and coconut cream sorbet was fantastic. The coffee and chocolate brownie biscuit with a teaspoon of ice cream was great too.
I just wanted real servings of it all. We were dragons.
