I couldn’t fight the pang of excitement in my gut at the idea of venturing out into this newfound oasis.
“Elsedora…” Krait sighed her name while pinching the bridge of his nose. It seemed this wasn’t the first time he’d disagreedwith her whims. I wasn’t about to get in the middle of it, having not yet figured out their dynamic.
“What? Don’t ‘Elsedora’ me. Not many know her face yet or that she’s even here…There will be little chance for her to see it once they do. And she will be withme.”
“That’s entirely what worries me,” he argued.
“Just this once. Please, please, please—”
“No gaming houses,” he warned.
The redhead’s face lit up like he’d just made her day.
“Or pleasure halls or pubs.”
Elsedora smirked. “What do you think of me?”
“I know you better than most,” he said.
His skepticism didn’t dull Elsedora’s enthusiasm, which grew contagious.
“Go get cleaned up.” She bounced around me and twisted a finger into one of my curls. “I’m going to have fun doing something with these.”
I smirked. No matter how much my body ached, or how much I longed for a bath and a bed, I didn’t think I could refuse her if I tried. Then she skipped toward the entry of Umber House.
“There are underground baths—I’ll assign someone to show you around,” Krait said. “Unless you’d rather explore my city smelling like a mule.”
“It’s a rather fine deterrent,” I answered, though a bath after our long trip sounded divine. Not even my desire to be contrary to him would prevent me from taking him up on that offer.
I felt slighted that he wouldn’t even be showing me his house or city himself though.
The sight of the main hall of Umber House took my breath away as we stepped inside. The way the dark wood domed above us made the space look larger than it had from the outside. Above us, tapestries depicting the Vallic Mountains hung between the beams and stretched up to the ceilings. Themountains were woven in silk of deep hues of red, brown and gold. The air was noticeably cooler, like an ever-present breeze fended off some of the stifling heat.
My mouth hung open, and I tripped over something while admiring the tapestries.
A broom?
The stick righted itself and continued sweeping into a dustpan. “Oh, sorry…” I glanced around, and a maid giggled from the corner.
“It is charmed, my lady.”
I stepped out of the broom’s way. “Marvelous!” The maid was tall and lanky with straight brown hair, looking to be in her early twenties. “What’s your name?”
“Maddi,” she said and bowed.
“I am Sybilla,” I answered while spinning on my heel to get a better look at the way the candles and sconces seemed to hang and float on nothing but air.
“Oh! You are the Central Queen—”
I waved my hand to dispel her alarm. “If the estate is charmed to clean, what are your duties?”
“Well, I charmed the broom.” Her eyes went wide as saucers. “If the magic offends you, I can stop it.”
So Source magic was as common here as I’d imagined.The possibilities of such efficiency swirled through my mind. Farming, trade work, all of it aided by magic.
I shook my head and smiled. “I was merely curious. You like working here?”
The girl’s shoulders relaxed, and she nodded. “Very much. King Darvanda keeps a full staff during the day, and it is much less dull than working in textiles like my mother did.”
