I made eye contact with her, smiling as gently as I knew how. “Thank you,” I said as we released one another. “Lara, let’s go home.”
“I fear Briony has ordered like eighteen pizzas,” Lara whispered to me as I sank into Ares’ arms.
“That’s perfect,” I said as I leaned against him.
Calypso sighed. “I’m going to eat a minimum of two on my own. Riding a Kraken is no fucking joke.”
Lara snickered. They were going to be friends, I could tell.
As our boast sped into the clouds of mist hanging over the delta, I listened as everyone listed the things they were going to eat. The delivery bill was going to be enormous. Ares pressed a kiss to my forehead as my heavy eyes fell closed.
CHAPTER 43
ARES
As I carried a deeplyslumbering Ember into Hemlock House, I was mesmerized by the transformation. The mansion, which had fallen into deep disrepair over the years, practically glowed. The last time I’d been here it had looked like it might sink into the ground and simply cease to exist.
Now the herringbone pattern in the wood floors gleamed. New furniture, in deep jewel tones, graced the rooms I could see as we entered. Just off the entryway were a library and a small parlor, from what I could tell.
Plush rugs spread out over the floors—antiques, the quality of which were rarely seen in Orphium. The Orphium Maere could certainly afford this, but where had they gotten it all in such a short time? Everywhere I looked, there was precious art, glowing lamps, comfortable furniture, andplants?
Hemlock House looked as though it had been pulled from the pages ofCity & County Magazine. Many of the antiques I spotted on the shelves were occult in nature. Objects associated with each branch of the Trinity.
Briony came running down the sweeping staircase that filled the foyer, grinning. “It’s great, isn’t it?” she asked as I nearly maneuvered Ember’s foot right into an enormous vase ofexpensive cut flowers. They stood on a gorgeous primitive table, carved from a dark marble at the center of the foyer. Each flower told a story on its own, but together… Together, they told a story of comfort, of loyalty. The flowers named this placehome.
Briony had reached the bottom of the stairs. “Eli and Lux had people here all day. You should see my room…. Is Ember okay?”
It occurred to me that Briony’s babbling was probably who she really was, not a scared, silent teenager, but one who talked. A lot. Something about that idea, combined with the story the flowers told, touched me deeper than I imagined possible. Perhaps it had been the stress of the day, in contrast with this place… I was overwhelmed by my emotions, unable to sort them out, tired as I was.
“She’s all right,” I explained as the rest of the Maere, Eryx, and Av streamed in behind me. “She just used a lot of power destroying the thrysos. Can you tell me where her room is?”
Briony grinned. “Sure can. Right this way.”
I followed her through the house, which was decorated with such tasteful depth, it made sense that Lux was involved. Sure enough, as I followed Briony through a set of double doors, Lux Medios, dressed in a poppy-red three piece suit, stared out the floor-length windows that looked out onto the pool and the skeletons of a late autumn garden.
In summer, it would bloom with a riot of hydrangea, dahlias, and probably peonies, from what I could tell. But there was also foxglove amongst the flowers. Foxglove, datura, hellebore, and of course, plenty of hemlock. This was a Necroline house, originally, after all. Gray light filtered through the wavy glass in the double doors. The sun would be up soon.
Lux stepped forward as Ember woke up in my arms. “Hi there, baby girl.”
“Hey Lux, this looks so pretty,” Ember said in a somewhat uncharacteristically sweet, sleepy voice.
“You know I like a project without a budget,” Lux purred. The Seer glanced up at me. “Leave us for a bit, so I can get your girl cleaned up, all right? There’s a shower through those doors and another bedroom just beyond.”
I frowned, was Ember going to be all right with Lux?
“I’ll be all right. Go see the bedroom.” Ember smiled at me as I set her down. “I hope you like it,” she said through a yawn.
I was reluctant to leave her, but she and Lux were friends, and if she needed a few moments to herself, I could give them. The bathroom was on the smaller side, not as big as the one I’d seen through the doors in the primary bedroom, but luxuriously appointed. I closed the door to Ember’s room to give her and Lux a little time.
Their soft voices drifted over me. Ember was telling her an abbreviated version of what had happened, from what I could tell, and Lux was running water in the shower. My girl would be all right. I pushed open the double doors that sat opposite the one I just closed. There was a smaller bedroom on the other side of the doors, and yet another set of doors opened up onto a small office.
On the desk that faced the window that looked out onto the garden and the pool, sat a note, written in Ember’s hand. I frowned at it, wishing she was here beside me to explain. But when I opened the envelope, I understood. Her words were simply an invitation, one she wanted me to consider before saying yes.
There is room for all of us—stay if you like.
—E
I sank down into the comfortable desk chair and stared out at the rain, dropping into the crystalline emerald water of the pool.Stay, she said. She bought this enormous house that had once belonged to my Dynasty, renovated it with the treasure trove of money the Consulate had paid her with over the years, and invited all of us to stay.
