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"Those who serve see a lot but are not told everything." Her dark eyes were half-lidded. She must know a thousand secrets about her employers, but she wouldn't share a word.
I understood. Servants loose with their words didn't remain servants for long. If they were lucky, they would be thrown out of the residence with their lives. Those not so lucky would serve as a reminder to the others.
"Not even about other servants?" I pressed gently.
"We know what our employers wish us to know," Czari replied simply, her expression unchanged.
I snorted, but didn't push any further. Servants, if the Council's were anything to go by, usually knew more about the goings on in any place than the employers. However, I sensed Czari genuinely knew nothing about Izzy.
I would ask Dex or Bain when I saw either of them next.
Czari stopped outside a tall door, squares inset into the shining wood from top to bottom. Every crevice was polished to the highest sheen. She opened the door and I stepped inside.
Or outside.
The courtyard was the biggest I ever saw. As wide as it was long, it was lined with trees and bushes covered in roses, honeysuckle, moonroses, starlillies, dragonblossoms and Hades knew what else. Benches were scattered here and there, in places which would give shade during the day.
Right now, the gardens were lit by a row of globes, which danced lightly in the slight breeze.
In the precise centre, a small fountain tinkled as water flowed from the hands of a stone carving of Hades, into a bowl at his feet.
Although recognisable as the god, the shifter's version had wider shoulders and a penis way too big to be normal. The witches would also never depict him naked. Nor with Persephone kneeling, mouth open to take in his cock. Another god, one I didn't recognise, crouched behind her, cock erect and aimed to slide into her. His hand gripped her hair. The stone was carved into intricate strands which wound around his fingers.
They looked so real I almost expected them to moan and sweat.
Doors lined the sides of the courtyard, at least thirty of them, each as intricately carved as the next. The globe light picked out women, and a variety of animals, all in similar poses to the statue. I was almost certain that bull's dick wouldn't fit into any hole on the woman he leaned over.
That was fiction for you, I suppose.
Several doors stood open. A few women reclined on couches nearby, glasses in hand, speaking in low voices. None gave me more than a glance.
"Please, this way." Czari led me across the courtyard to a closed door near the end.
I stepped lightly into a reception room lit with smaller versions of the globes outside. They gave just enough light to illuminate the small, hexagonal blue and white tiles which covered the floor. Larger tiles adorned the walls all the way to the ceiling, giving the space a sense of being under water. It was disconcerting, but pretty. Certainly fancier than anything I was used to.
Czari nodded toward an open door and I peered inside. The light didn't penetrate as well here, but I spied a large bed and what looked to be a sitting room to one side. My suitcase sat against one wall.
Open curtains framed a small window. All I saw through it was darkness.
"How many women live here?" I asked
"Maybe twenty," Czari replied. "This suite is yours."
How many was he screwing?I wondered. "Wait, all of this?"
"The Keeper insisted. You don't like it?" Czari looked confused.
"Oh, it's very nice." Was I surrounded by shifters? Did they know what I was?
She smiled. "The tailor will be here in the morning."
I blinked. "Tailor?"
Czari looked sideways at my clothes. "You'll want the latest fashion. The Keeper insisted."
Of course he did. What else did he insist on? How I wore my hair? Who I spoke to? I suspected the answer to both of those was yes.
"Ah." I said finally. "I guess I could do with some new clothes."
