His eyes narrow. We stare at each other for several seconds, and when he realizes I’m not going to back down, he drags in a breath through his nose and exhales. “There’s something I want to show you.”
“I’m ready to lie down,” I protest.
“I have a feeling you’ll like it.”
He steps off the porch, giving his sword a swing over his head to sheathe it in the holster on his back. He stands sideways and looks at me, cocking his head. “Stand there any longer and I’ll force you to come.”
“I’d like that again, actually,” I tell him, biting my bottom lip to suppress a smile. “I bet that would help me sleep like a baby.”
When he smirks, his eyes flash gold, and I yelp as my body elevates.
“Not in the way you’re thinking,” he says. “But we can make that happen, too.”
I hover in the air as he guides me toward him. Once I’m at his side, he places my feet on the ground, and I stumble a bit before gaining my footing.
“Tag along,” he calls over his shoulder.
I scoff, watching him drift farther away. I could ignore him, waltz right into the inn, wash, and go to sleep…but of course my foolish heart won’t allow that. Not only am I intrigued by whatever he has to show me, but I also want to be near him. Why that is, I have no clue. I choose not to question it and jog after him to catch up.
“You know it’s wrong to use magic just to get people to do whatever you want, right?” I ask.
“What’s the point of having magic if not to control others?” he responds with a corner of his lips quirked up.
I try not to react to that darkly alluring smirk by putting my focus ahead instead. We walk for a handful of minutes until we reach a footpath lined with cream stones. That’s when I notice a building in the distance.
Separated from the rest of the village, the roof is domed while the body beneath is covered in the same stone that lines the path. The portico is made of glazed wood, and oddly, there are no windows.
“What is this place?” I ask as we approach the arched double doors.
Instead of answering, Thane raises a hand above one of the handles, and a flash of gold leaves his fingertips. The light melts into the handle, then he grips it, pulling the door open with ease.
“Was that doorlocked?” I whisper-hiss.
“Yep.”
“So we’re breaking into places now? I’m sure it’s locked up for a reason.”
Thane slips right in, blending into the darkness. With a reluctant groan, I take one last look behind me before following him inside.
The door booms as it shuts, creating a hollow echo around us. The only form of light spills from a dim spotlight in the center of the room that highlights the glistening marble floor.
With a snap of his fingers, Thane sends up several gold orbs of light. They hover above our heads, emitting enough luminosity for me to see exactly what surrounds us.
“Ohwow.”
This isn’t just an ordinary building.
Paintings of all sorts hang on spackled walls while marble sculptures of Orvena tower on either side of the room. One of her hands reaches to the rotunda above as she stares up at the sky, her hair falling in waves long enough to cover her breasts.
Crystals of all colors are embedded into the edges of the rotunda, and Thane’s orbs allow them to create a gentle kaleidoscope on the walls and glass ceiling.
“I visited this gallery years ago, back when I was with The Divine,” Thane says. “We had to escort the queen and several other elites. A group of us stayed in Gadonia for a few nights.” He looks all around him, seeming content. “The best art travels here.”
“This is…” Words fail me. All I can do is drink it all in. My breath catches as I lock eyes on one of the art pieces. “That’s a Bruvo Devell piece,” I say, rushing toward it.
Thane stands next to me, studying the details of the painting: deep-brown branches swathed in gold-and-white flowers with a frothy teal ocean in the background. The ocean feels more like a distant view, as if the person studying the art is standing behind branches and flowers with the ocean slightly blurred in the distance.
“I love his work. His art is never straightforward.” I smile. “Did you know he was from Ember Coast?”
