Page 120 of The Fifth Heir

Warm air passed over us.

I sent a thin current ahead before either of us crossed the threshold. It slipped between the paths and returned without the metallic taste of active traps. A second current circled Talia, testing the air around her, then settled against her back as if Storm itself meant to urge her inside.

Talia raised the lamp.

We stood at the edge of a garden.

Not an abandoned courtyard with a few surviving plants. A complete garden extended beyond the door, enclosed by high crystal walls and a ceiling too dark to see. Stone paths curved between trees, flowering vines, and beds of unfamiliar herbs. A narrow stream crossed beneath three small bridges before disappearing among the foliage.

Soft light came from white blossoms growing along the walls.

Talia stepped through the doorway.

Every blossom brightened.

“How long has this been here?” she whispered.

“I was hoping you could tell me.”

She turned slowly, examining the walls and the arch behind us. “The stonework matches the original tower foundation.”

“So centuries.”

“Possibly.”

“The plants don’t look dead.”

“I noticed.”

She crouched beside the nearest bed without touching anything. Small silver leaves grew in clusters around pale green stems.

“I don’t recognize these.”

“An admission of ignorance. I should have brought Sebastian.”

“Bring him next time.”

“Next time?”

Talia stood. “You said you discovered the door today.”

“Last night.”

“And the garden looked like this?”

“I never entered. The door stayed closed.”

“But you could see through it.”

“A little.”

“Were these flowers open?”

I looked toward the white blossoms.

“No.”

The entire wall now glowed.