Hewouldneed to do something with his time, wouldn’t he? But considering the coronation aisle was the farthest he’d walked without his cane since his resurrection, the pits were likely not in his future. Raven and Gabriel had invited him to act as an adviser to the Council of Elders, but he had to believe the job wouldn’t take all his time. Eventually, he would need a distraction, anything so he wouldn’t dwell on the disaster that was his life. Funny that it took this strange woman to make him think of it.
“Who are you, exactly?” he asked.
“Harlow. I’m the doormaker’s daughter. I think you’ve met my parents, Darium and Lemetria?” She bowed her head in greeting.
“I have met your parents.” He sipped his wine to keep from betraying his feelings about the couple. Doormaking was an esteemed art in Paragon as each home’s door traditionally displayed a unique mosaic of gems that represented the history of the family who lived there. The wealthier the family, the more ornate the door. And Darium was the premier doormaker. But all that wealth had made him and his wife drunk with self-importance—at least, that was how Marius remembered them. Then again, it had been hundreds of years since he’d been in a position to judge.
“I know what you’re thinking, but they mellowed out over the years you were away,” Harlow said. “Certainly the last few, when Eleanor became a power-hungry tyrant.”
Marius raised a brow and ground his teeth. “It’s hard for me to picture your father in the resistance.”
She laughed. “Oh no, he wasn’t. We both know that’s not who my father is. But he also distanced himself those last months. I suppose that’s what earned us the invitation.”
Marius glanced around the room. “Your parents are here tonight?” That surprised him. He hadn’t spoken to Gabriel about who was associated with the Highborn Court, but he would have assumed Darium and Lemetria to have been in Eleanor’s inner circle as they were when he was a young man. He’d have thought Gabriel would have cast them out entirely.
“No.” She gave a shallow smile. “My father was called away to meet with a vendor in Nochtbend. They send their regrets. But I am here, representing my family.”
“Hmmm.” His glass had run dry, and so had his patience. He looked toward her to make some excuse to abandon her presence, but his eyes locked on a figure that had appeared behind her in the shadows.Killian. His father’s colorless and translucent presence stood wraithlike behind Harlow, his dark mouth gaping silently in his pale face. A red slash marred his neck where he’d been beheaded. He was saying something, mouthing words that Marius couldn’t understand.
Marius’s skin chilled. He stopped breathing. Stopped blinking. Tried to make out the word his father mouthed to him from the beyond. The glass dropped from his trembling hand.
And Harlow caught it.
“Is everything all right?” Harlow asked. “Are you unwell?” She turned to look where he was staring, his empty glass cradled in her palm. Killian disappeared like so much smoke. There was nothing there. Just the empty corner of the room.
Marius shook his head and took his glass from her. “Thank you. I’m still recovering,” he said. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to retire to my rooms.”
“I understand. It is very late. Take care of yourself.” She smiled, and he noticed her red lipstick exactly matched her dress. Oddly, he found he was almost sorry to have to cut the conversation short.
“It’s been a pleasure, Harlow,” he said automatically before bowing and retreating from the room. Halfway into the hall, he was surprised to discover that he actually meant it.
