Page 24 of City of Snakes
Rynall was biting his lower lip, but Darvanda was unamused as he said, “Yes.” He glanced at Ryn again. “No complications.”
“I heard you the first time,” Rynall called after Krait as the King ascended the steps. “Don’t worry, you get used to his moods. And quit looking at me all starry-eyed. Truly, it’s an honor to meet you, Queen Sybilla—we’ll be friends in no time. After all, we have worlds in common.”
Ryn offered me his arm to lead me through the halls of Umber House. The same tilework as outside was prominent inside, and the brown-speckled terrazzo stone floor kept the space cool despite the heat outside. Even the halls of the estate were cozy. Warm-toned, thick curtains hung around every window and large wooden beams ran the length of the ceilings.
“So, if you are a Toth, what is your Source power?” That seemed the simplest question, though I bubbled over with eagerness to ask him more. The Order had long stripped magic out of our history, and meeting him in the flesh was an opportunity to uncover tendrils of my land’s roots.
Ryn smiled and answered, “Moonlight—my twin sister, Freya, and I both.”
Not much was known about what had happened to the Princess of Phynx all those centuries ago.
“You have a sister?”
“Had,” he corrected, and a subtle pained expression crossed his features.
“I’m so sorry,” I offered, and he squeezed my arm.
“It was a long time ago.”
Ryn looked no older than thirty with a strong jawline, crystal-blue eyes and sleeves pushed up over thick biceps. I’d always had a weakness for strong arms.
“My friend Asterie is also of the night sky,” I noted lamely, unable to come up with anything more intelligent to say after his disclosed tragedy.
The corner of his mouth turned up slightly in thought as we approached another curved hall. He explained, “The house has four quadrants on each level, and the halls form one giant loop.”
I was surprised to find each space he led me through as enchanting as the last. Wooden bookshelves adorned the walls, along with portraits of men and women I didn’t recognize. Above each doorway, there was a wooden carving of the rattling-serpent crest of the Sahlms.
We were on the fifth level, having just passed several windows with views of the main canal, when we passed a plain closed wooden door on our left.
If I was judging the space appropriately, it was about where the bell tower I’d seen from the exterior would be, yet the door looked as though it led to nothing more than a broom closet.
“Is that the bell tower entry?” I asked
“It is—but it’s Krait’s private study. None of us are allowed in there. I’d advise, if you’d like to keep your fingers intact, that you don’t even touch the knob. He’s likely laid traps with Shadows.”
“Noted.” What the King might keep in his personal study intrigued me. “I have to ask. You’re here with the enemy of your fallen kingdom...”
“Is that a question, Princess?”
I blushed, too enamored with him to be offended by the demotion. After all, if he’d stayed, I would not be sitting on a throne. A lump grew in my throat. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Ryn shook his head and patted my arm as we stepped past Krait’s study. “You know, some stories are mine to tell, and some are only partly mine. Come back and ask me after you piece together some parts that aren’t mine.”
He gave me a wink and held out his hand to let me walk first down the main staircase. “I’ll show you where your bedchamber and the baths are so you can get cleaned up before you leave with El. If you drink with her, keep your wits about you and don’t try to keep pace with her. She’s a wild one.”
My chamber was a decent size, a double bed with an abundance of pillows on one side and a vanity on the other. It was decorated simply with a few paintings of the red rock mountains. I was thankful not to be held in a cell. So far, Darvanda had kepthis word that he wouldn’t harm me, however, there was no guarantee I’d be treated as royalty.
Ryn explained on our way down that the bathwater in Umber House, and bathhouses around the city, was filtered through sand, and the gray water was used to water the greenhouse crops. No waste in the desert.
He left me at the door, and I entered,alone, to a divine space. Three exquisitely tiled pools of crystal-blue water sat side by side, large enough for ten people each.
After stripping out of my travel-worn clothes, I soaked in the pool for so long that my hands had become pruned. The dust and grime washed away with lukewarm water and lilac-scented soap. After drying and wrapping myself in the robe that’d been left for me, I padded up the cool tile steps to my bedchamber.
After a few minutes, Elsedora came into the room like a hurricane.
“There you are. Sit!” she commanded.
She spent an hour ironing out every one of my curls with a pronged contraption that she heated over a candle. I was uncomfortable with it so close to my face, but the more I moved, the more likely she was to catch me with the edge of it.
