Cylea knocked on the door. “C’mon, the morning hours are wasting away.”
Both Kalyll and I jumped.
He bowed slightly and awkwardly. “Thank you again.” He walked to the door and opened it. “I’ll be waiting for your return.”
CHAPTER 19
Beforeleaving,Iranback to the room to check on Valeriana. As I approached the door, I heard her giggling and leaned in my ear to listen. She and Larina were playing, and from the sounds of it, they were having a lot of fun.
“You will never get me,” Valeriana was saying. Scampering steps echoed inside the room.
“Come back here, you treacherous toad. I will turn your hair into lettuce leaves if you don’t give me back my crown. I am your queen, you rascal.”
Valeriana giggled again, and I couldn’t help but smile. I backed away from the door. They were doing just fine without me. I would have to do something to thank Larina.
I walked back and found Cylea and Silver waiting for me.
“Hurry, human,” Silver said.
“Don’t get your panties in a wad. I’m coming,” I said.
“Panties in a wad?” He raised a platinum eyebrow.
“It meansdon’t get upset over nothing.”
He nodded appreciatively. “You’ll have to teach me more of your sayings.”
“Please, don’t.” Cylea shook her head.
Ten minutes later, we were exiting the palace.
“We should go to Ren’s Runes,” Silver suggested.
“We’re not going there,” Cylea said adamantly. “You only want to go there because The Veiled Face is nearby. We’re going to The Sage Crystal.”
“I feared you would say that.” He ran a hand through his cropped platinum hair and veered in a different direction. “I’ll be seeing you later.”
“You’re a bastard, you know that?” Cylea called out. “Gah, he’s insufferable. You can never count on him.”
He waved without looking back, his gait all swagger, which many of the ladies walking down the street seemed to appreciate.
“What’s The Veiled Face?” I asked, though I could very well guess the answer.
“A whorehouse,” she answered plainly.
We walked in silence for a few blocks, and I took the opportunity to appreciate my surroundings, practically gaping at every structure we passed: ornate clock towers with canals running under their arched porticos; majestic fountains with jets of water shooting over statues of nymphs, sirens, satyrs, and all manner of fae creatures; gardens hanging with myriads of flowers that turned the air sickly sweet with their scent; small floating houses traversing the canals in every direction.
“What do you think of Imbermore?” Cylea asked in her husky voice.
“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s probably the same thing I would say if I visited your realm.”
“That’s true.”
“I’ve never seen a car. Kalyll and Kryn have told me about them, and they certainly sound interesting.”
“Rush hour would certainly make your jaw drop.” Though probably not in a good way.