Page 17 of Consort's Glory
Vividly recalling those fangs scraping against her ear, Margot flushed hot with embarrassment. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know, but I’m not changing my mind. You’re staying with me.” Margot couldn’t decide if it was her imagination, or if there was a real note of finality in that statement.
Theodore waved her forward with a flick of his claws. “Come along, darling.”
When he started walking, her only option was to follow, and she had to hurry to match his long-legged stride. He guided her through a twisting series of corridors and past finely crafted doors, all of them shut, before they entered what felt like the center of the maze.
An octagonal foyer, marble-floored and covered by a domed ceiling of dark glass, stretched out before her. Pairs of double doors marked the edges of the octagon, and in the precise center, a mosaic of the finest craftsmanship took pride of place.
Crossing thistles, their thorny stems and leaves intertwining, their rich violet blooms standing proud against a rising sun — the Solbourne crest blazed against the white marble.
Theodore stepped up to the edge of the crest, the silver tips of his shoes barely nudging a thorny stem, and turned his head to offer her a sharp-toothed smile. His gaze was hot, intensely focused, when he breathed, “Welcome home, Margot.”
