“Easy, dove,” Lucius said. “This is my home.”
“Another home?”
“Yes, as an art dealer and collector, many of my clients reside in the Golden City, so it only made sense that I had a home there. It's not as grand as this one, but it has some nice amenities, and it will allow us a place to return to while we find out more about this ball and prepare.”
“All right,” Tavia said, making the daring move to step through the portal.
Lucius followed her, and when the portal winked out, they stood in a dark room.
“One moment, stay right there,” Lucius said.
He shuffled around, and then, slowly, one by one, candles lit the place.
This home was so different from where they had been before. The large room contained a dining area with a round wooden table and chairs, a simple kitchenette with only a black oven and a sink for washing dishes, and cabinets to the right. A living area with a stone fireplace, a massive white fur rug on the floor, andtwo oversized soft couches the color of coffee.
“Down here is the washroom,” he said, leading her.
There were only two doors in the tiny home. The one on the left opened into a large washroom, tiled in white with a white porcelain tub on gold feet. The tub sat in the middle of the room with a large pipe that went from the floor to the ceiling with faucets attached to it.
“I paid a lot of money to have running water in this place,” Lucius said. “I highly recommend a bath.”
Before Tavia could ask a question, he opened another room.
This was a master bedroom with a raised bed almost built into the room, a sitting area with a settee and a low rectangular table, a window that overlooked the town, and a large fireplace.
“There's only one bed, but no worries. I won't let my wife sleep on the floor. You can take the room, and I'll sleep on the couch. Make yourself comfortable,” he said, but she didn't know how to do that.
She took the boot of nuts and placed it in the kitchen.
Wiley jumped off her shoulder, flying and gliding toward the table, inspecting every corner of this newhome. There was a musty smell, so she went to open the window in the bedroom. Because the house was on the second floor, when she opened the wooden hatch and let in the sunlight, she overlooked the town, mesmerized by its decor.
Unlike the cobblestoned village they had eaten in, the streets of the Golden City were a rustic red. Gold lined the archways and speckled the various structures below them. Golden and red roof tiles glinted in the sun, creating a rich and robust aesthetic. They reminded her of dragon scales.
Though she had never seen a dragon in real life, she imagined their scales held the same rich beauty.
The sound of running water caught her attention, and she left the window open to see what Lucius was doing.
He was in the bathroom, sleeves rolled up, water funneling into the bath. He was taking different vials and jars off the shelf in the wall. He popped the top of one and smelled it.
“Beautiful,” he said softly, almost to himself, before dumping the pinkish liquid into the tub. Suddenly, white foam began filling it.
“What is that?” she asked.
“A bubble bath.”
Tavia didn’t know what a bubble bath was. The only bath she had was maybe once a week, when her father filled the tub and heated it. She was always allowed to wash first before her mother, and then her father last. Sometimes, her mother put rose oil in it, but there were never any bubbles.
“Unlike my estate, I don't have much for you to change into, but I do have something.” He ushered her out of the washroom and into the main bedroom. “It may be a little big, but it should fit you.”
He walked back out with a red robe. It was soft on the inside, the trim furred around it in black.
“I’m going to do some shopping. Haven’t been here in years, and there's absolutely nothing.”
“Should I come with you?”
“No. Take the bath. Relax. If you're bored, I’m sure there are some tomes you could read. And if you want to start a fire, make sure to open the chute. Do you know how to do that?”
Tavia nodded.
