To an era where it was easier for things to simply . . . disappear.
Her fingers bit into his bicep through his shirt as he led her down his great-grandfather’s halls like Orpheus leading Eurydice out of the underworld. Every step they gained across those shrieking boards was borrowed time. Cal’s jaw tightened and he removed Nadine’s hands from his shirt, pushing her up against the door to her bedroom with her wrists held loosely against the wood as he kissed the surprise from her parted lips. She still tasted like him.
“Goodnight, little sparrow.” The words were scarcely louder than a breath. “Dream of me.”
That was where he left her, fumbling her way into her bedroom. Light snapped on beneath her doorway as she readied herself for bed. Cal did not bother to do the same as he undressed himself in the dark. The light of the moon was enough to see by, even wreathed in clouds.
Later, when that small flickering band of light disappeared, he crept through the passageway to study his sparrow unaware, sipping broodingly from his glass of rum. She slept restlessly, the way only someone haunted by dreams slept: hair mussed, clothes tangled, a heavy line on her brow. He wondered whether her dreams of him tonight would be sweet or nightmarish.
He wondered if it even really made a difference.
???????
Cal awoke to a bitter chill, heavy with vapor. Beyond the window frame, the sky was bleak with clouds the color of dark bruises tinting the light an eerie corpselike shade. He could see smudgy lines of virga over the mountains, their chiseled vista mirrored by a buttress of thunderheads.
A storm was coming, a big one. Cal had seen enough skies in his lifetime to know that those warping clouds meant windshear. The rain would be landing soon enough, and hard.
He closed the window and the drapes, dressing quickly. There was a lot to do today and he wanted to be off before the weather turned.
To his surprise, he found Odessa in the kitchen, awake unusually early. She looked equally surprised to see him, and then relieved, and when he caught the herbal scent of her clove cigarettes, he knew why. She wasn’t eating but there was an open bottle of Champagne on the sideboard and her orange juice was a little too pale in color.Like mother, like daughter, he thought grimly, giving her a chastising look. “We were saving that.”
“Oh, don’t be such a stick in the mud. Drink to your victory.” She brought the cigarette she’d been hiding under the table to her mouth and took a defiant inhale, blinking at him, sphinxlike. “I am.”
“Father would kill you if he caught you smoking in here.”
“Yes, because he cares more about his precious wallpaper than he does for any of us. We can’t forget about thebronze powder.” She stubbed the cigarette into the empty teacup set out in front of her, scarring the porcelain. Then she swigged down her juice. “Join me,” she commanded.
Cal ignored her, switching on the coffee machine. Whoever had used it last hadn’t bothered to refill the grounds, and he cursed quietly.
“You’re not going to drink with me?” his sister asked.
“I’m driving.”
She snorted. “Awfully rich of you to play morality police when you stay out all night doing—what was it that Father likes to say? Getting carnal with the wildlife? I’m trying to be happy for you, Baby Cal, really, I am, but your condescending attitude is really testing my patience.”
“You haven’t got any patience,” Cal responded, with a glance over his shoulder. “Unless you’re taking a page out of Ben’s book.”
“Cullraven women can’t write in the book.” Odessa took another draught of her drink. “Don’t look so reproachful. I heard you come back, is all.”
“There weren’t any lights,” he said, matching her tone.
“Well, I wasn’t in myroom.” She swirled her glass, watching the bubbles. “I was in the solarium. I’m surprised you didn’t notice, actually.” Her eyes went to the window, her cocky smile fading. Cal turned back to the machine and heard her say, “Think it’ll take out the power?”
“The storm? I’d bet on it. Those are arcus clouds.”
“Arcusclouds,” she repeated. “How disgustingly scholarly.” Some of the teasing returned to her voice, but it didn’t sound right. “You should go out to Arboreus to buy some candles for this evening, just in case. We’re still out from last time.”
“That’s not on my way. You can go yourself.”
“My license is expired,” Odessa yawned. “Besides, you could take Nadine, if you went. I know you want to—take her.” She studied her nails. “You probably won’t be able to get out, anyway. The roads might be closed by now.”
“The roads are still fine,” Cal said impatiently. “Rather than busying yourself inmyaffairs, perhaps you ought to keep your eye on our older brother, whose behavior of late has been unpredictable and erratic.”
“He’s not here,” Odessa said “He and his explosive temper are out running errands with Father, and they decided to leave me behind, as usual.”
Cal turned from the coffee machine again. “What could they possibly be doing in this weather?” he asked. “Festival business?”
Odessa’s eyes cut to something to his left. He followed her gaze to where Nadine was standing in the doorway uncertainly, regarding the two of them with a watchful expression.
