The silver coat itched where its hood met her forehead and swished about her feet. She’d not given much thought to craftsmanship over functionality, her haste and doubt in the possibility of its creation affecting the outcome. But she’d done it. Brought a thing of enchantment into reality. If she weren’t so frightened over breaking another set of rules, she might have made the time to awe over what she’d managed. Still, she allowed one prideful thought.
She could create extraordinary things, and clearly, she’d stifled herself with fear for far too long.
The hidden grounds behind Opulence Mansion were dotted with more bulbous hedges and golden, square buildings. The structures ranged in sizing, and were topped with crimson, slanted roofs. None, she noticed, possessed window boxes. In fact, there were no windows in these structures at all, buttacked on framing to create the illusion. Certainly, there were no flowers.
She made to ask Lennox about them but held the question for later. Right now, a stranger had exited one of the buildings. Short and curvaceous with black hair braided down to her thighs, she was middle-aged, if Alora had to guess. She wore a red, latex suit hugging every curve, revealing an expansive amount of flesh across her chest. Her boots met the ends of her hair. She was beautiful. And intimidating—a whip lay tucked in her hand.
“Lennox,” she said, without stopping.
“Noelnina.”
Alora glanced once more at her shoes just to be sure she wasn’t revealing an ankle. She was not. Noelnina passed them by.
The pebbled path branched now from house to house. Alora guessed the buildings couldn’t be anything else, as it was made clear early on that most of Opulence’s employees and performers lived on the grounds. She followed Lennox dutifully, jolting now and then at a particularly loud crack of thunder. It’d not yet started to rain, which she was thankful for.
She stopped when Lennox did, before a rather small building with only two fake windows and one small hedge. She said nothing as the other woman reached out and turned the knob, pushing the door in. When Lennox moved inside and gripped the door’s edge, making a show of looking out over the landscaping, Alora took that as her cue to rush inside.
She flung off her coat as the door closed.
“Welcome to my room!”
And it was. A single room. Alora took in the details with a quick, assessing eye. The unmade bed. The chaos of a desk. Paintings of flowers and fire. Two chairs and a small table were covered in outfits she guessed were used for performances, and a mug drained to dregs. She turned to Lennox and smiled.
“It’s very nice.”
“It’s a mess, is what it is.” Lennox sat at the desk and immediately began the process of removing her makeup before the small mirror. “But it’s nicer than some. Bigger than the ground’s employees are given.” She scrubbed aggressively at her cheeks with a cloth.
“And William lives here, too?”
“He has to. Not near me though, so don’t worry.”
“It’s a requirement? What if you wished to live in town and commute?”
“Non-negotiable per the contract. Maybe someday I’ll get to see it. Did you know that I’ve been here nearly three years and I’ve yet to see Enver?” She giggled about it, swiping charcoal onto her lids, but Alora noted something else behind it.
Longing.
A terrible taste filled her mouth as a realization encroached. “Lennox, can you not leave?”
Vivid eyes met her own through the glass, and Alora knew at once. “Non-negotiable.”
“But I’ve seen William in Enver! He was at the print shop.”
“Well, of course he was. William has special privileges, remember? The perks of being Master’s son.” Lennox frowned through the mirror: A choked sound had emanated from Alora before she could help it. “You didn’t know?” Alora could only shake her head. “Well, he is. Though that doesn’t excuse his behavior. If anything, I think it makes it worse.”
Lennox puckered her lips at the glass. Then she rose with a flourish. Striding to the mess of a table, she flung garments aside until she reached wood. There, she extracted a cigarillo from a now-revealed box and lit it. The scent of cloves filled the room.
Alora noted all of this distantly, as the only thought barraging through her head now was the idea that William and theUrchin were not only brothers but brothers belonging to Master Merridon.He might have told me who his adoptive father was!
“Are you all right?”
Alora released a breath. “I’m quite shocked, to be honest.”
Lennox shrugged, having apparently come to terms with the fact long ago. “I’ll tell you I’m not all right. I can’t believe you have the ability to bring coats into reality. Not to mention invisibility ones!”
Breath stilled in her chest. Alora waited for one of the several reactions she expected, but when they didn’t come, and Lennox continued to look at her with awe, she finally released it. And then she did more than that. “I can bring about more than coats.”
“Can you really?”
