“No, no. It is my pleasure, when you bring hope to our world.” The girl moved about with a spring in her step.
Hope? Her?
Her stomach sank. Leya picked up a glass of the golden juice from the tray of food, then opened the door, and walked out into the humidity, barely feeling it as a shiver darted down her spine.
She wished Aerén was there. The nightmare had left her shaken. Then again, Aerén—ugh, the man probably wouldn’t take her dreams seriously.
Leya stopped at the vine-covered balustrade, and her face heated, remembering how he’d secured her wrists last night before he took her to heights she never thought herself capable of—
A rustling sounded, and a vine slithered around her wrist. She brushed it off. Another branch coiled around her hand and along the balustrade. A glittering diamond-white serpent slipped free of the vines.
“Crap!” She jerked back as the ethereal snake slithered closer.
I’ss waiting for you…The sibilant hiss slithered through her mind.Aurasss…
This time, it remained small.
“What?” she croaked, the snake both fascinating and terrifying her.
“My lady?” Mihr called out. “You should come inside. It’s far too hot. You have yet to eat.”
The serpent faded.
Glass clutched in her hand, Leya pivoted and found Mihr standing in the doorway.
Did she not see the snake?
Frowning, she glanced back at the empty railing. With a shake of her head, she headed indoors. The heat must be playing with her mind. Aerén had said they no longer had any animals, serpents included.
A half-hour later, breakfast over, Leya traipsed the elegant hallways on the ground floor with Mihr, doubting she would ever find her way in this ginormous place without a map.
They came to an arched, stone entrance leading into a paved passage. Orbs lit up at their appearance, and then she stepped into a cool, colorful wonderland.
“Oh, wow!” Leya stood at the threshold, her gaze darting about the massive indoor gardens and up to the domed glass roof. Plants grew between the curved wooden rafters, branches hanging down. A paved pathway meandered through a jungle of shrubs, trees, and flowering plants in summery hues.
A smile started. “It’s utterly beautiful.”
“Queen Aderyn commissioned this garden,” Mihr explained. “I’ve been told the main palace in Nehendem has one, too, with an indoor lake.”
“A lake?” Leya repeated and shook her head.
They were magical people, so why not?
The sounds of rushing water drew her. She followed it to a looming caramel rock, which appeared to be a part of the outer wall. Water cascaded down the granite surface, frothing into a dark pool edged with more boulders. She loved that the queen had maintained the wildness of nature in here.
Her attention shifted back to the trees and plants, and she frowned. Even this garden bore traces of the weakening magic. The leaves drooped, their foliage sporting the ashy residue like those outside.
“This garden is warded, but that doesn’t aid much in protecting it from the curse,” Mihr confirmed, her attention on the shrubs, their pink, green, and blue foliage dulled by a gray tinge. “No one can stop the affliction we face, unless we get all the magic back to our world.”
Leya rubbed her prickly palms down her gown, guilt knotting her belly as she made her way to the falls. She sat on the boulder, slipped off her sandals, and slid her feet into the water. Her calf hit the rock, and a sting had her grimacing.
She peered at the bleeding graze.
Great. She swiped the blood off, rubbed her fingers on the grayish-green moss covering the rocks, and slid her feet into the tepid water, easing the burn. A deep sigh escaped her. “I could live here forever.”
As she kicked her feet in the rustling water, the lack of insect sounds in this place haunted it, reminding her of how much more this world had lost and was still losing.
* * *
