“I think I’ll call you Nubbins!” I say, nuzzling my nose against the space puppy’s.
“Nubbins?” Raf’ere asks incredulously, his hand on his face where I kissed him as he throws back a gulp of liquor. “He’s already an ugly little thing, can’t you give him a dignified name?”
“He’s not ugly! He’s just a lil bean, huh Nubbins?” My baby talk inspires another round of wet kisses from my new pet.
“Do I have to call himNubbins?”
I ignore the duke and hold the kahne’ah like a baby in my arms.
“He’s always this grumpy, you know,” I whisper into the pet’s floppy ear.
The duke rolls his eyes and swigs the rest of the drink down.
“Well, let’s take Nubbins to the chapel for a swim, shall we?”
I expect the duke to open the door to the terrifying ballroom with its glass ceiling, but he heads to the far wall and presses his palm against the molding.
A hidden door, much like the one to my room, springs out of the wall.
“How many hidden doors do you have in this place?” I ask, dumbfounded.
“That, Marta, is really none of your business, is it?” Raf’ere smirks. “After you.”
He gestures into the doorway as purple lights flash on in the dark corridor. It illuminates a spiral staircase made of the same black stone as is present in most of this palace.
I approach the opening and tilt my head down. The steps seem to go on forever.
“I’m not sure Raf’ere…”
The duke groans, snatching Nubbins out of my arms.
“Hey, be careful with him!” I protest before he grabs me with his other hand and swings me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Be careful with me, asshole!” I beat a fist against his broad muscular back.
CHAPTER22
?CHURCH NUDITY REQUIRED?
?RAF’ERE
“Put me down!”Marta screams in my ear, all while Nubbins wiggles to kiss my face.
“Sure thing,” I tell her as I drop her flat on her ass as we reach the bottom of the stairs.
“Geez Raf’ere, I can walk myself, you didn't have to—” Marta begins to complain, but she is cut short as her gaze rises to the chapel in front of her.
“What is this place?” Her eyes go wide, and her pupils dilate in the dim cavern.
I try to view the chapel with new eyes. The cavern is carved from emeralds, their jagged edges decorating the ceiling and walls. The floor is stepped with shallow pools. They’re filled with the waters of I’loh, glowing and warm.
“The chapel. The waters of I’loh are fed into the pools here.”
“The waters of what?” She screws her face up, not even angry with me anymore. Just in awe of her surroundings.
“The waters of I’loh…the life source of our planet. It gives us a direct connection with both the goddess and our ancestors.” I kneel next to one of the shallower pools and place Nubbins into the warm waters.
Like all creatures of Sontafrul 6, including the fi’len, the kahne’ah find the waters restorative and incredibly calming. Nubbins flips onto his back and floats–his normal scurrying stopped for the moment.
