She nodded to the man beside her and gestured for him to fetch the key.
“Room for three. Suite?”
Aran didn’t miss a beat. He stepped forward like it was all part of his plan. “Yes. Luxury.”
The woman smiled, but her eyes didn’t match it. “Of course, sir. Come with me.”
She turned on her heel before any of us could think to thank her—if any of us were even thinking at all—and led us through the lobby, her heels clicking softly against the marble. Without a word, she began up a sweeping spiral staircase, one hand resting on the golden rail.
“Breakfast is served in the dining hall between seven and nine each morning. Dinner is served in the evening, between six and eight,” she said. ”If you like more privacy, we have room service available all hours. Just ring the bell. Someone will come and take your request.”
Aran's interest sparked instantly. “Wait, anything we want? Brought to the room?”
She looked at him with patience. “Yes, sir. Meals, drinks, fresh towels, bathwater if you need. We also bring desserts. Many sweets from Thérise arrive each week—pastry, fruit, candies. It is very popular.”
“What about wine?”
“We have good selection. A few bottles waiting already in the suite. More if you ask.”
“Gods,” Aran breathed, his grin spreading. “I’m never leaving this place.”
“You may stay as long as you please, sir,” the woman replied without missing a step.
“Yeah,” Will muttered, “as long as you can pay for it.”
Aran snorted. “I’ll find a way.”
I stayed a step behind them, just watching. Just trying to breathe. The higher we climbed, the quieter it became. My boots barely made a sound on the thick carpet. Gold sconces lined the walls like stars set in stone, casting soft light over everything, as if we were walking through some kind of temple.
“You’ll be in the upper vicinity,” the woman said after a brief glance back at us. “It’s one of our more private wings. No shared walls. Each suite has its own balcony facing the harbor. You’ll also have access to the garden terrace and hot springs.”
Aran gave an exaggerated nod, completely at ease. “Exactly what we need.”
She offered a faint smile before turning forward again. “Your suite is just ahead.”
“Excellent,” Aran muttered, like he’d just accepted this new lifestyle.
“There’s a bath waiting for you in the suite,” she added, turning her head just enough to glance at me. “Heated and prepared for our… special guests.”
Her eyes moved slowly across us: Aran, Will, me. Not cruel. Just observant. And fair. Because yeah. We reeked.
Aran cleared his throat, a little too fast. “We, uh… had long travels.”
The doors we passed were carved with impossible detail. Birds. Leaves. Waves. Each one looked like it belonged in a temple, not an inn.
No—not an inn. Ahotel. That’s what this was. Definitely not like any inn I’d ever seen.
Then the woman stopped and opened the door to our suite. The room beyond was enormous. Bigger than the house I grew up in. Velvet chairs were arranged neatly around a marble table, its surface glowing beneath a bowl of fruit so polished it looked painted. Oranges. Grapes. Something soft-skinned and pink I didn’t recognize. Along the far wall, a dark wood bar gleamed under the golden light, lined with glass bottles that looked too expensive to even breathe near. Two doors branched off into separate bedrooms. A bath made of actual porcelain. And beyond it all—tall glass doors, leading out to a balcony overlooking the harbor, where the gold-blue air of evening spilled in like a breath. Outside, the rooftops of Alevé stretched into the distance like a sea of stone and glass. Domes glowed beneath the fading light, and the sky softened around them.
Golden buildings.
I walked to the railing and let my fingertips rest on it. Smooth. Cold. Solid. But it didn’t feel real. None of it did. It was too much. Too soft. Too far from where we’d come from. From the ruins still burned into my mind. It felt like if I blinked too hard it would vanish, and I’d be back in the dark again.
Back in Novil.
Back in the ashes.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
