The last time Kel had brought me to Ruva, we'd gone to dinner in a beautiful restaurant where they had treated us like the Emperor himself. Yet another reason for me to like Ruva more than a Varraen city. Kel and I had gone for a walk after dinner, but I'd only seen the tall steel homes from the outside. This was the first time I'd been inside one. I wanted to see what it was like—what kind of brilliant devices the Dhon used in their homes. But it was difficult to turn away from that sparkling view.
“It's something, isn't it?” Kel asked as he put his arm around me. “Something special.”
“It is.” I looked at him. “Which makes it perfect for you.”
“Did Rath tell you, or did you figure out that all of us had bought homes to live in after the war?”
“A little of both.” I finally turned away from the view to look at the apartment.
As I did, Kel said, “Lights.”
Light filled the room, shining down from a beautiful chandelier of blown glass shaped like flowers. The ceiling was a good sixteen feet above us, so that even though we were enclosed, it didn't feel like it. Black leather covered the sleek furniture and polished metal accents gave it some shine. Tables were made of wood and glass. One of them held crystal decanters lined up behind matching glasses.
“Come on. I'll show you around.” Kel took my hand and led me past the buffet of alcohol.
The main room flowed back into the kitchen with only a counter to separate them, and that's where the Dhon devices made the biggest appearance. Kel stopped at each one to show me how they worked. There was a box that cooked food with Fire Magic, a bigger box that preserved food with Air and Water Magic, and yet another box that washed dishes with more Air and Water Magic. The Dhon were big on boxes.
After gawking at the sleek cabinets full of artisan dishes and glassware, Kel took me into a hallway and then into a bathroom. The glossy blue tiled room was similar to the bathrooms at the citadel but smaller, nicer, and with a few additions, including a device that warmed your towels for you. Warm towels!
“The floors are warmed too,” Kel said when he saw my reaction. “Throughout the entire apartment.”
“The floors?” I frowned. “Why?”
“Because heat moves upward. It makes sense to warm a room from the bottom up. And then you can walk around barefoot and not get chilled.”
“Wow,” I whispered. “Kel, this is incredible.”
“Thanks.” He beamed at me, the green flecks in his blue eyes twinkling. “I picked out everything myself.”
“It's a good thing the Emperor pays us well.”
“And that most of us have little to spend it on. We all have huge savings. It's nice to finally use some of that money. It meant I could buy us the very best that Dhon had to offer. We're on the top two floors of this building—the most sought-after suite.”
“The toptwofloors?”
“Yes. The apartment takes up both floors.”
“It must be enormous.”
“I wanted us to have space to stretch out.” He pulled me down the corridor. “We even have the roof. It was a community space, but I wanted it for us, so they agreed to sell it to me and seal off access from the other floors. I didn't want to share, but I also didn't want our neighbors up there making noise with us right below. Oh, and I installed a pool. We'll get to that later. First, you gotta see the rest of this floor.”
We went past rooms for reading, storing books, eating, and sleeping. The last few were for our guests. Then we went upstairs in our private lift and down another corridor. Off it were matching dressing rooms directly across from each other.
“I left yours basic so you could design it how you wished.” Kel waved me into the room that was just as large as the dressing room I shared with Xae and Rath.
It had the necessary racks and hanger bars with dressers to hold folded items and shelves for accessories. There was also a full-length mirror and a padded bench. Nice, but nothing noteworthy beyond the size. And then I saw the trunks.
“Are those my old clothes?” I went to them and threw open the lids.
“Yup.” Kel came over. “I have a few more of your things in your sitting room, but you can put them wherever you like around the suite. I want you to feel at home and I think you'll be more inclined to if you do some decorating.”
I sat down on the thick carpet and went through the clothes I hadn't thought were important. Just a bunch of simple garments I had worn in my old life. But I hadn't considered that many of them were memory holders just like my mom's blanket and teapot. In fact, she had knitted me a few sweaters and sewn many of my clothes. My father had crafted my belts and saved up to buy my boots. I ran my hands over the items and felt those memories rise. Rath was right. They were treasures. And I vowed to thank him again for saving them.
“I thought I'd let you hang them or put them away how you wished,” Kel said awkwardly into the silence.
“Thank you.” I stood up and hugged him. “This is perfect.”
He grinned. “You had me worried for a moment.”
