They were wet—dripping yet—but with water. Only water. She flung herself up to peer into the tub.
Perfectly clear. The room smelled of soap and nothing else.
Goosebumps remained all over her body, but because the water steamed yet and her pulse beat with fright, Lux shakily climbed back in.
“It’s only your imagination running,” she murmured to the stillness. Nevermind it’d never run tothatextent before.
She sank until she could hardly see the seam of the wall. The scratching didn’t come again. Nothing moved. She reached toward the tray standing beside the tub, her fingers enclosing around a random selection. Her palm grew sudsy at once.
“Just your imagination,” she whispered, and though she didn’t quite feel alone, she still hoped with everything it was true.
Therepeatedknockcameupon her door as she finished rinsing the travel grime from her hair. Lux climbed from the tub into a puddle of suds and shouted, “Just a moment!”
In a hissed whisper, she added, “You rushing oafs.” He’d told her she’d have an hour. It couldn’t have been already that.
She reached for a towel and wrapped it about her body before noticing the dressing robe hung on a hook. It was ivory and long; when she donned it, it trailed on the floor. She padded to the door.
“Excuse me, but I’m not—”
Kent filled the frame. “Excellent timing, I see. Ms. Thorn, your clothing is ready.”
Lux stared at the bundle in his arms. “Did you even sleep?”
A heavy pause blanketed the air. “No,” he finally said and held the fabrics out to her.
Her fingers enclosed around their lush softness, and her eyes widened over the feel. “What material is this?”
“Why…it’s velvet. A necessity this time of year. Ghadra does not have velvet?”
“Maybe. But not that I’ve ever owned.” She ran her fingertips over the pale red skirt. “I should pay you.”
“You shouldn’t. You’re not the first I’ve made garments for, nor will you be the last. Besides, you will need something to wear for the banquet.”
Her brow furrowed. “Do you often receive guests as ill-prepared as me?”
“Are you ill-prepared?”
“I—” She swallowed at the intensity of his voice, of his eyes watching her from their shadowy recess. Of realizing they might be speaking of more than just attire. “Probably.”
His posture lightened. “There’s a remedy for that, and it comes in stages. Knowing you’re ill-prepared is the first.”
“And the next?”
“Put on the dress.”
“Perfect,” said Lux, full of long-suffering.
“It should be. Find me if it isn’t.”
“I will.”
She wouldn’t.
The collector inclined his head and turned to leave, but Lux interrupted his departure. “I have a question.” He shifted back. “Have you ever been overwhelmed by your brilliance? Or in your years of using it, has it ever felt…changed?”
“In what way do you mean?”
That intense pitch in his voice had returned, and Lux struggled again beneath it. She yearned to be more open, more trusting, and she’d made heaps of progress. But in the end, she couldn’t discount the main reason she’d come here. She certainly couldn’t ignore the replay of his words.What a find…
