“Is that…?”
“Prepare to meet it,” answered Corvin, and grinned.
Chapter thirteen
Thegateoutsidethemayor’s mansion in Ghadra had been tall and spired, the whorls of iron shaved sharp enough to cut. These gates put all of it to shame. Twice as tall, with spires needle-fine, and whorls that seemed off-putting to Lux’s eyes—until she noticed what it read.
Mothlock
She pressed her face nearly upon the glass to better view the thick stone pillars supporting them, and how those pillars gave way to a wrapping iron fence, extending as far as she could see. And beyond it—
Lux sucked in a breath.
“It’s really not so unfriendly as it appears.” Corvin’s voice resonated between their bodies, quiet and reassuring.
But she hadn’t even glanced at the hulking residence spearing the sky.
She stared at the water.
It was far away and interrupted by fencing, but it was blue. A deep, dense blue. And it stretched on forever. Hardly a cloud marked the sky, and the sunset beamed upon the land unobstructed. It lit the sea last, its evening rays bathing everything in shades of orange. Then it all vanished.
Lux eased back as the carriage turned to face the manor. It was almost too impossible to fathom. That she was here and notthere.That there was so muchspace.That she could look out on a clear day and see the very reaches of the horizon.
People live like this?
A jolt of envy skewered her at the thought, dousing her cold. How horribly unfair. To have been born in Ghadra. To grow up as she did and see what she saw. Her fists clenched around her hidden books.
Devil below, what I would do to change it.Her gaze met Corvin’s and narrowed.To have his life…
“Are you well?”
His blatant concern only angered her. Because somewhere deep down she knew she was being irrational. One cannot help what they cannot control, and the circumstances of her birth fell into that category. But if she’d been brave enough to leave sooner—
“I think my lack of sleep is catching up with me.” She massaged her temples in an attempt to lessen the tension.
She listened to Corvin’s reply from behind closed lids.
“I’ll secure you a room. The whole of Mothlock will be yours to explore come morning.”
Her eyes snapped open. “All of it?”
“Fine. You’ve caught me out.” Corvin ran a hand through his hair, a smile tugging at his mouth. “Mostof it. There are, after all, a lot of dead spaces and ends in an old house like this.”
“I didn’t realize an invitation allowed so much.” Lux studied the peculiar markings on the pillar as they passed it by.Are those…faces?
“It doesn’t. That’s what you have me for.”
Lux turned back in time to catch his devilish grin and could well imagine the sort of child he’d been, with a clever, curious mind and a sprawling manor for a home.
She thought he might also be an orphan. But she didn’t dare ask.
“And how quickly could I see the water?”
“Immediately?”
Her heart skipped before galloping ahead. “Please,” she said, hoping it didn’t sound as pleading to him as it did to her own ears.
Corvin’s expression softened; she knew then she’d been begging.
