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I pretended I didn’t see the effect I had on him as I pierced another chunk and licked the juicy piece off my fork, sucking on it between my lips. “Will it be all day?”
“In two days,” he said absently, watching my tongue.
I giggled. “Yeah, you said that part already.” I popped the chunk into my mouth and chewed slowly, waving my fork in the air. “And we’ll be—”
And just like that, he was on me.
“You tease.” He gripped my jaw and explored my melon-filled mouth with his tongue. We didn’t get far, though, because Ander walked onto the balcony, clearing his throat.
“Sorry. I knocked over and over but… yeah.”
Lucius ended our kiss and glared over at Ander, who came to the table and picked up a muffin.
“Morning, Ander,” I said with a grin. “Everything all right?”
“How come you two got all the goodies, but Pateus and I just got oatmeal and honey this morning?” He eyed the spread of fruits, scones, muffins, and jams. I swore I heard his stomach growl. But that could also have been Lucius.
“What do you want, Ander?” Lucius asked with a groan as he went back to his seat.
Ander chewed his muffin and made a face of pure delight. “Wow. These are good.”
“Trajan,” Lucius warned.
“Fine. Ongar, you remind me of Fadon sometimes,” he said under his breath. “Pateus had someone send this to the villa.” He pulled out a scrap of paper from his vest pocket and handed it to Lucius, who took it with impatience.
“Pateus isn’t here?” I asked.
Ander shook his head, finishing the last of his muffin in one giant bite. “Errands.”
I watched as Lucius read the note, and I saw that his jaw had tensed. “Bad news?” I asked.
Slowly, he pocketed the note and rearranged his expression before taking a sip of his coffee. “Not at all. Ander, I have something to see to, but would you mind taking Sierra somewhere?” When Ander nodded, Lucius smiled at me. “I’m afraid I’ll have to meet up with you later, little dove. I won’t be gone too long, though.”
“Where am I taking her?” Ander asked around a mouthful of food.
Lucius stood and tucked in his chair. “To Epsom Hall.”
Ander made a face, as if that were the last place he’d rather be. “Fine. But you better not be long, Lucius.”
I laughed. “What’s the face for?”
“You’ll see.”
I saw what he meant when we entered the establishment.
Epsom Hall was a theraspa, one of those places Mother used to beg my father to take her to. The building was in the shape of a semi-circle, tucked away in the corner of a busy street. Three stories of white walls and floor, with a white staircase that led to the many rooms that featured everything from nail art to body massage.
When we approached the counter in the vast waiting area, a woman with the lightest skin I’d ever seen greeted us with a smile on her painted red lips. “Good morning, Lady Dega. Please have a seat and Hannah will be with you in just a moment to take you upstairs.”
Behind me, Ander grumbled. I smiled at the pale woman and nodded my thanks before taking a seat by the window, a petulant Ander following me.
I let him grumble some more as I looked out the window and to the street, where there were so many things to see. Most of the people walked on foot so that the street was kept clean and easily accessible by the shoppers. And there were so many shops.
Clothing, coffee, teas, and jewelry, but mostly flower stands displaying flora I’d never seen before, in colors that would make the flowers in Providence weep in envy.
My eye caught a young woman in purple, who was standing directly across from me on the other side of the street. I swept my gaze past her, but something made me look again. She was staring straight at me. She wore a strange headpiece in her dark piled-up hair. The adornment looked like little flags, as if her hair were a map of Titus.
My breath caught, and suddenly the sights of Ghypsom City seemed to dim as my enthusiasm waned. A familiar sense of wariness came in its wake as I remembered what the Sapera had told me that night in the kitchens, about a woman who had something to give me.
