"He has called a meeting. I have been putting it off," Kifirin admitted.
"I will not pity you, whatever happens," Nefrigar snapped angrily. "I know what happened here. Every Larentii does," Nefrigar turned to Kevis. "Had anyone come, it might have been avoided and Reah would not now be torturing herself over it. It was something that could not be helped or averted, given the circumstances. I hope you get to the bottom of it, soon. I grow tired of waiting." Nefrigar disappeared.
"Wow. I've never seen a Larentii that angry," Kiarra blinked in astonishment.
"I wish we had all the images from this," Kevis said, examining the floor beneath him. Black soot was everywhere.
"The Larentii gave as much as they were willing to recreate for us," Lendill pointed out. "If it weren't for them, we'd have had nothing. There were no working cameras here."
* * *
"Reah, you were moaning in your sleep, my love." Astralan stroked hair back from my forehead gently.
"Honey, I'm sorry I woke you up," I mumbled, my eyes refusing to open completely.
"No," he whispered, pulling me close. "It sounded as if you were in pain. I was afraid it was the baby or something."
"No, honey. I think the baby is fine."
"You're not feeling ill, are you?" His fingers stroked my belly.
"No, honey. Maybe a little hungry, but that's it. What time is it?"
"Nearly dawn. Lie here with me a while longer, and then we'll find breakfast for you and Master Garwin Wyatt." I ran my hand down Astralan's ribs. He drew in a breath and then followed up on my overture.
* * *
"Reah?" Teeg crowded against me as I put sauce together at the stove for eggs. Astralan and I wanted eggs and shaved ham on toasted bread with sauce. The cook and her helper were waiting for breakfast just as Astralan was—all of them seated at the island.
"Teeg?" I leaned back my head to look at him while I stirred. He kissed me, and then kissed me again before going to sit with the others.
"I wish my sauce would turn out like this," the cook sighed. She was in her fifties, just as I was, and in her prime. I liked her. Very much. Edward had a knack for hiring the right people.
"It will." I smiled at her from my seat between Teeg and Astralan.
"What? Where's ours?" Lok looked upset at what we were eating. Flyer, who'd been off with some of the Saa Thalarr Falchani, learning some tricks, as Lok put it, was right behind Lok.
"I'll get you some breakfast, stop fretting," I flipped his braid before going back to the stove. I'd made enough sauce for everybody; I only had to do the eggs.
"Reah, this is very good," Flyer complimented me.
"I'll let you make noodles later," I smiled at him.
"Be happy to," he agreed.
"Reah, can I get something quick before going off to fight the war for justice?" Lendill walked in dressed in his ASD uniform.
"I've got another egg right here, keep your clothes on," I muttered, putting a plate down in front of him. He gave me a brilliant smile as he began to eat.
"Oh, good, breakfast," Ry came in with Erland and Corolan. Three more plates of food were set down. Lendill rushed off as soon as he finished, giving me an egg-flavored kiss first.
"Brush your teeth!" I yelled as he folded away. That caused a bit of snickering around the table.
Farzi, Nenzi and Edward walked in, followed closely by Kevis. The cook and her helper were clearing dishes away by that time. I gave them a conspiratorial grin as they worked beside me.
"Reah, can I get a kiss?" Cory asked as I leaned against him to put a plate of food down for Edward.
"Cory, you can have whatever you want," I threaded my fingers through his dark-blond hair.
"Good," I was on his lap in seconds. "Now, want a bite of this?" he offered some of his food to me.
"I'll take toast."
"Here." He put a bit of jam on it before handing the piece to me. "Want some milk with that?" A glass was poured using power and it floated to me. His fingers stroked my ribs while I ate. "Too thin," he kissed my shoulder. I still wore my stretchy pajama top and cotton bottoms.
"She is," Ry agreed. "Let's take her to Desh's tonight. I'll see if we can get in." Ry has a slight dimple, but it doesn't show itself often. The dimple was present now.
"Good. I want to check on Dee's while we're there," I said. "Since I have money now, I'd like to see if anything needs upgrading."
"We can go today, if you want. I'll take you," Kevis offered. "Feel like visiting your relatives at Desh's to make the reservations?"
"We could. I wouldn't mind seeing Fes." Lok and Aurelius escorted Kevis and me to Tulgalan. Fes broke into a huge smile when we walked into his kitchen.
"Uncle Fes," I hugged him back when he wrapped me in his arms.
"Reah, I was so scared for you," he said while his kitchen staff served us coffee and tea inside his private office. "I saw those vids, and mother and I were shouting at the screen. We knew better, we just couldn't convince anyone else. When Hild Marolla did his exposé, it was such a relief."
"How is your mom?" I asked. Farla was nearing one hundred fifty.
"She's fine. Comes in and helps on Six and Seven-days."
"Have you been to Dee's lately?" I asked.
"Things are great since we got rid of those two," he snorted at my question. He'd meant Ilvan and Radolf. Ilvan was his brother, so I was surprised. "Reah, they stole from you. You know how I feel about that. That's not just theft, it's theft from family. Baby girl, you could have asked us for money anytime. Mother and I would have gladly helped."
"I know. But you have your own business to run and the family to support," I said. "It wasn't your responsibility."
"It was ours, and we failed that test, too," Aurelius growled.
"It's behind us," I said. "Fes, does Dee's need any upgrades or remodels? I can do that now, if it's needed."
"The three banquet rooms need to be redecorated, and some of the kitchen equipment needs upgrading. I can see to it," he offered.
"I'll get somebody on it, but if you wouldn't mind checking on the progress now and then," I said. "You have my comp-code. Just keep me informed."
"Do we have an inside source on getting gishi fruit ice cream?" Fes gave me a shrewdly disarming smile.
"I think we might be able to supply it to Dee's and Desh's, as an exclusive item. And I'll show you how to put that expensive dessert together that they were serving on Stellar Winds."
"That thousand-credit dessert?" Fes was excited, now. The price had jumped and then jumped again as it gained popularity and became more scarce during my illness after moonrush.
"Yeah. That's mine. They called it sex by dessert, but I think we should rename it, don't you?"
"Probably." Fes laughed.
"Reah, I'd like to speak with Fes in private," Kevis said. "Why don't you go check on Dee's and see what they need. We'll order everything and find a work crew afterward."
I blinked at Kevis. They wanted to discuss me, I knew. "All right," I stood and nodded. Aurelius put an arm around my shoulders.
"I'll send mindspeech," Kevis said. Aurelius folded Lok and me away.
* * *
"She seems to like you very much," Kevis looked Fes in the eye.
"She does. Mother and I love her. More than she knows or suspects. Reah kept the business from going under after Father died. He kept his best recipes away from all of us. In spite of all that, Reah managed to recreate all of them, and even improved some of them. When Mother sent her a note after Father died, telling her what would likely happen with the business, we got a reply from Reah immediately, and that reply included every recipe that Desh's needed to stay open. Mother and I have discussed this over the years. We knew Marzi was an evil; we just never did anything about it. She intimidated everyone, including Mother and me. Unfortunately, we didn't know about the abuse Reah suffered when Father sent her off to Edan when she was eight. I'd like to believe we'd have turned Edan in over that if we'd known."
"Do you think your father knew or suspected?"
"I don't know. He may have, but back then, Edan was the golden boy. Desh's number two raked in all the top awards. Of course, we now know that Reah was responsible for those awards, and she wasn't even an adult. Was Edan jealous? Very likely. He hated me because I was first son and Father kept me here at Desh's number one. He, as number two son, was sent to Desh's number two. Edan never got over that, I think. Yes, I know he isn't the same person, now. He and Ilvan both tried to explain that to me. And I should have punched Ilvan in the face as soon as I found out what he was doing."
"I want to have a talk with Edan soon," Kevis said. "To see what he remembers from those days. Recently, I was transported to a time during Reah's youth, where I witnessed a beating he gave her when she was ten. She almost died in that attack. Edan bribed the hospital officials so they'd record the beating as an accident."
"Someone you know can manipulate time." Fes shook his head in wonder. "I wish I had that talent. So many things might be different, now."
"But that's why we don't have that talent ourselves," Kevis pointed out gently. "Any changes in the timeline can result in disaster. We have to leave things alone most of the time, as horrible as that might sound."
"Are you going to be able to help her?" Fes asked. "Sometimes I wish I could bring her to the house and let mother look after her, but she won't come."
"I'm trying to sort this out. She doesn't know it yet, but Ceerah Kade's hearing is tomorrow and the magistrates on Refizan have politely requested her presence. Jalan Wolk has worked out a plea, since this was her first offense. The charges against Ceerah are much more serious."