Ciaran choked on his cough. “Rose. Let’s call you Rose, shall we? It’s more socially acceptable.”
Gabrielle had lifted her eyebrows at Hope’s idea and still hadn’t brought them back to their usual place. “I must confess, people would talk more about a Blood-named female than a Rose-named female. Another way to be unnoticed might be getting rid of some of your weapons, Rose.”
“Not an option.” She didn’t even have to think about it.
Gabrielle swallowed, taking a few seconds before speaking again. “No one in this House except myself wears any accessories, any weapons, any jewelry on them. The SouthCardinal, as you well know, was the creator of the Taking power of our four-petal panom marks. The South House enjoys…Taking belongings from the beings in it.”
“A House that steals?” Hope’s voice was an octave too high, but her shock was way higher than that.
“A House thatTakes,” Gabrielle corrected her. “As the Organ Mandor, you are the utmost powerful panom in this island, so the House will respect you and not Take from you, like it respected previous Mandors, but the people here will notice you are brave or foolish enough to carry belongings with you.”
Somebelongings being exactly fifteen blades and two Lawful Stabs.
Hope narrowed her eyes. “Brave or foolish enough? What do you mean?”
“Over the years, I have only seen two types of guests carry things with them. The first type are fools, and come to a House without knowing its rules and customs. They are no better than a gambler willing to risk all their grolls and valers on their first gambling night, but they are innocent. The second type, though, is brave and pedantic. They carry their belongings, knowing of the South’s passion for Taking, yet they believe the House will for some reason think they are good enough and not Take things from them.” Gabrielle chuckled lowly and tried to contain a smile as she added, “I must admit, my House seems to find the second type particularly funny, and usually Takeseverythingfrom them, including every single piece of their clothes. These guests rarely come back.”
Hope snorted, her eyes wide as she turned around to look at Ciaran, who nodded with a side smile, clearly very familiar with the South House and its peculiarities.
“I will play fool, then, because my blades aren’t going anywhere but with me,” Hope reiterated. “Oh, and if we could be in a wide room, it would be very helpful.”
“One room forbothof you?” Gabrielle asked, again with that slightly contained smile appearing through her thin lips.
Damn the Fifth. “One room, very wide, please. Two beds, very small, please. For security, among other reasons.” Hope’s smile was as tense as her chest.
“Consider it done.”
18
Hope
Gabrielle guided them through the South House to their chambers. The House was a white, magnificent castle, and all the buildings distinguishable in small towns around it were equally white. From the immense windows and balconies, Hope saw multiple pools with light blue water filling the gardens.
The South Petal was covered in desert and sandy dunes, and the contrast of all the black sand with the white buildings was beautiful. The built structures weren’t the only bright thing in the South Petal, though. White, small petals continuously floated in the air, as if they were part of the breeze and weather. They never touched the ground, they just floated around eerily.
“I’ve asked the House to provide, so I hope the chamber meets your requirements and you have a pleasant stay here,” Gabrielle said, opening the door to their room but not following them inside. “Rose, Ciaran, anything you need, send me your ink, and I’ll do my best to help you.”
“Thank you for your generosity, Gabrielle. We will aim to make our stay as brief as possible and leave without disrupting your House nor your Petal.”
When they closed the door and looked around their room, Hope almost collapsed on the floor.
“Twoverysmall beds? Seriously?” Ciaran asked, his voice sounding as desperate as she felt right now.
“I didn’t want her to be suspicious, Ciaran. I don’t want anyone to think that hurting you is a way of hurting me.”
“Or vice versa,” he said.
“But let me tell you—I was not expectingthiseither.”
Hope had never been in a bigger room. If it weren’t for the four walls and the ceiling, it wouldn’t even be considered a room. Its dimensions were those of a medium-sized lake. It was clearly magically modified, as otherwise it wouldn’t fit inside the South House itself, and it went against any structural and architectural laws Terrha could have.
Right next to the entrance door, a very narrow, individual bed stood alone. The other bed couldn’t be seen anywhere close, and it was only after a while that Ciaran pointed at a small dot at the other end of the room.
“There. My bed.” He shook his head with his nostrils flaring. “This fucking House loves taking the piss.”
Hope laughed. “Takingthe piss and everything else.”
The beds couldn’t be moved or Taken away. New beds could not be Given, and anything resembling a comfortable surface to rest disappeared—kindly Taken by the House—the moment after they made it appear.
