Normally, she had to scavenge tools from other sources and they were always in some state of disrepair, rusted, or cracked. These tools were gleaming and polished. Her fingers feathered over them like they were too beautiful to even touch.
A graveyard of odds and ends collected in the far corner of Sera’s side of the room. Bits and pieces she gathered or found over the weeks.
She liked to build. It was a silly childhood interest. If she attached pieces together in the right order, she could create all sorts of new things. Bridges. Containers. She had devised a working crane with pulleys and a counterweight mechanism so she could use it to lift small screws and bolts. And if it were about ten times bigger… the numbers ticked through her head, and she tallied and added and arranged with as little effort as she put into any other idle thought.
Math was another dumb quirk, she supposed. It was a stupid proficiency. Intelligence wasn’t marked by mental equations.Why would a normal brain do something so insipid? Letters and words ran the world and Sera had always struggled with them. That’s why mother had found her such a disappointment.
A stack of books grew on her nightstand, though she had not finished more than a few pages of any. She gathered them because there was nothing else to occupy her and the topics had seemed interesting. But, while she had eventually learned to read, she did not read well. Gideon struggled with words, too, as mother had often reminded them.
“Only idiots can’t read. Thank the Divine the pair of you have other talents. Gideon’s a guardian, perhaps that will lead to something. And you are at least pretty.”
Sera closed her eyes. No. There would be no dwelling on mother today. She buried the thoughts as deeply as dear mother’s coffin. She got up and threw her wool wrap over her shoulders.
Her dress was a bright, cheery yellow satin that added a softness to her otherwise darker hair and eyes. Bright colors complimented her fair skin and the sight of sunnier tones and hues always cheered her. The skirts were not exactly high fashion. They were missing a layer or three, but embroidered in floral patterns with dark, navy thread along the skirt and bodice. It hugged her in all the right ways and displayed a tempting amount of her breasts. She had braided and twisted her smooth hair into an elaborate coiffer and her soft-palette make-up perfectly highlighted her features.
“Where are you going dressed likethat?” Seth asked, then leaned back on one arm on his bed.
He was ‘luxuriating,’ as he put it, in his plants, the books, and some much needed splendor. Good food was served on request. He could pick at fruits—native Summer Court fruits, with names Sera didn’t know—and read a book with no other expectations. He could tend to plants and nap in a plush bed. They’d had nomeans of keeping their apartment warm in Demon Row, even in the midst of summer, the climate was too mild to really be considered comfortable by a Summer Fae’s standards. Here, he was thriving in the sweltering temperature.
“I mean, I’d love to join you, but, uh,” he leaned against the headboard and sighed, “I think I’m still recuperating, you know? Just need a few more days to work out all that godsdamn iron and Cole’s ‘care.’”
He did look better. Cheeks fuller and his smile easier. In a week there’d be no more lingering physical marks of Cole’s mercurial outbursts. It reminded her that coming here was the right call. Even if she was going out of her mind with boredom.
“Suit yourself, I can’t sit here another minute. We’ve done nothing for weeks. I’m going mad.”
Seth looked at her corner of the room. “Yeah, I noticed. Where’d you get all that junk, anyway?”
Sera twisted her fingers together. “Well, I asked for most of it. You know, something breaks, a servant wants to throw it away, and instead they give it to me. All above board.” She had been trying to find more of those screws that didn’t freeze to figure out how, but so far she could discern nothing aside from an odd texture to their surface. It had to be part of the forging process, possibly some magical component. She wished there was a way other than books to learn about faery smithing.
“And the rest of it?”
She threw her hands up. “He’ll never miss it! This place is gigantic. There is no way he knows every tiny little nail and screw lying around. And I never took anything big. Just… moving a set of bolts to a better angle provided more support with less. I simply pocketed the leftover pieces. He’ll thank me, trust me. That table could hold two of me now. It wobbled before.”
“Whatever you have to tell yourself, Sera. But that is one stare I would hate to draw.” Seth sat up, “I mean, I see why you want him. Really. He’s gorgeous.”
She huffed. She did not need reminding.
“But that’s literally the end of it. He opens his mouth and frost comes out. Actual frost. You’re so vibrant and lively. He’s…” Seth tapped his chin with a finger. “Bread.”
“Bread?”
“Yeah, the toasted, unbuttered, stale kind.” Seth shuddered. “He probably comes with a straight face.”
Sera crossed her arms. She didnotneed to think about North’s face in the throes of passion. Not right now. Not again. More often than not he had turned up in her dreams and that was not something she wanted to admit aloud.
“Look, are you coming or not? I’m about to start sweating if I stand here in this wrap much longer.”
Seth snuggled down and set a book over his eyes, letting the pages tent over him like a sleep mask. “Nah. I’m good.”
Sera rolled her eyes and headed for the door.
“Wait!” Seth shot back up. “You’re sure we can’t go back? One quick check of the apartment?”
Sera hated to disappoint him, but he asked at least once a day if they could return for his letters. But returning was still impossible. She hadn’t asked him directly since that first day, but she saw how North looked at her shoulder, or rather, past it. Death still marked her. “I’m sorry, Seth. If it’s hidden, then hopefully it will stay that way until we’re safe to go back.”
He slumped back into the comfort of the blankets. “Then can you just grab something for me? I need some of that lavender tonic. I ran out and my hair’s in jeopardy.”
“Where am I supposed to find that?”
