Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 857(@200wpm)___ 686(@250wpm)___ 572(@300wpm)
Kingston raised an eyebrow. “That could be similar, I suppose.”
“She’s always like this,” Graves said affectionately.
“Finding ways to steal things?”
Kierse shrugged, showing off the watch she’d filched from Kingston before stepping through the portal. “Like this?”
Kingston looked flabbergasted, then began to applaud. “Excellent work, my dear. Excellent work. No wonder Estelle was furious with you both.”
“Because of the pin I stole? It’s not my fault that she didn’t keep count of what I was taking.”
“I think she was more upset that she lost,” Kingston said. He patted Graves on the shoulder. “She should be used to it by now with knowledge before her.”
Graves shrugged. “She didn’t want to play with me.”
“Sore loser,” Kingston said with a laugh.
They walked from room to room, all of them covered in paintings that were probably worth more than the house itself. It was impressive. Though Kierse noted that she didn’t see any people. Whoever Kingston employed to keep the place spotless and change out the artwork certainly weren’t seen.
“Well, I wouldn’t be a good host if I didn’t offer you morning tea,” Kingston said, passing a massive dining room set for twenty. She wondered when he’d last thrown parties of this size.
Then they entered a maximalist’s dream for a sitting room. Everything was dark, lush, and evocative. The chairs were a deep emerald green. The curtains a dark ruby red. And the walls the darkest sapphire with decorative wainscoting. Gilded and filigreed portraits hung inside the open spaces on the wall, and a large window opened to a park beyond.
Kingston chimed a bell when he entered the room and a harried woman in a black suit rushed inside with little cakes on a tray.
“Tea is on the way, sir,” the woman said, bowing and hurrying back out.
Kingston lounged back in a chair, his gaze drifting across to the view of the park. “No rain in the forecast. It’s a miracle.”
“I assume you didn’t drag us all the way here to discuss the weather,” Graves said. He stood next to an antique fireplace, his expression guarded as he looked upon the portraits above the hearth.
“That’s more your forte.”
As her mind turned to the seasons, she put her hand to her chest. For a moment, she realized her connection with Lorcan had subdued. Was that because of the distance between them? She was used to him being somewhere else in the city.
The woman appeared in the room again, head down, carrying a tray for tea. She set it down on the table, pouring black tea into a cup and adding cream and sugar for each of them before leaving the room.
“Now,” Kingston said jovially, “tell me this engagement story. Should I be receiving an RSVP soon? Is this happening in New York?”
Kierse took a sip of her tea. “We’re not engaged.”
“It was part of the game with Estelle,” Graves told him. “You could have simply asked on the phone, Kingston.”
He waved that off as preposterous. “Yes, but you seemed different with this one. It seemed like an actual possibility.”
“If we were engaged, you wouldn’t hear it from Estelle.”
“Fine. Fine,” Kingston acquiesced. “I never thought I’d see you with a warlock again after what happened at the World’s Fair.”
Graves shrugged. “That was a hundred and fifty years ago.”
“Yes, but doesn’t it feel like yesterday?”
“No,” Graves said. “Last I saw Imani, she was nearly dead, and I told Montrell if she came into my city again, I’d kill her myself.”
Kingston laughed. “Always so touchy.”
Kierse didn’t think it was after the bullshit Imani had pulled dosing an entire party with her magic powder. It had incapacitated Lorcan and Graves, leaving Kierse to track down Imani alone. A car chase, a blown tire, and a crash later and Imani was out of the picture. She just hoped for good.
“A warlock is a better companion anyway,” Kingston said. “Humans live such short lives. They’re like ants swarming the world and using up all its resources.”
Graves shot him a pointed look. “Is that why you’ve settled down with a warlock all these years?”
Kierse’s eyes widened. “Are you with a warlock?”
Kingston waved his hand, finishing his tea. “We aren’t talking about me.”
“Of course not,” Graves said under his breath. His eyes raised to Kierse, and he had a wicked glint in them. “We won’t meet him, but he’s had an apprentice for a very long time. Longer than I was here.”
“Preposterous,” Kingston said.
Kierse grinned. “I would like to meet him.”
“There’s no one for you to meet, my dear. Graves is being Graves.”
Graves winked at her.
Kingston cleared his throat dramatically. “Well, if no engagement, then how goes the training? Figure out how to unlock that immunity yet?”
“No,” Graves said.
Kierse shook her head slowly. They needed to be careful how they discussed her powers. She had just killed a warlock with them. Not that she thought she could kill Kingston or even wanted to. But if he found out what she was, it could ruin everything. She didn’t think Kingston would hold back from killing her, and she knew what Graves would do if he tried.