Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
She met his gaze again. “She has the cauldron?”
“Yes.”
She knew what this meant to him. He’d paid her ten million dollars to get the spear. He’d do anything for this. She didn’t need the money this time, but the thrill of stealing something this powerful was too much for this thief to say no to.
“You could have just called.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And you would have answered?”
“No.” She smirked. “But I’ll do this.”
Chapter Five
The limo rolled to a stop in front of a distinctly Parisian apartment building with the quintessential white stone facing, flat roof, and black wrought-iron balconies. A designer wedding dress shop took up the windows for the shop on the first floor. Streetlamps dotted the expansive avenue, illuminating the empty sidewalk.
George hastened to open their door, knocking open a large black umbrella. Kierse took his hand as she stepped out onto the wet pavement with the umbrella open high above her. The sky had unleashed on their drive, but the rain was now a misty drizzle. Graves took the umbrella from George on his way out and held his arm out for her.
“Ready?”
Kierse lifted her chin, determined not to show an ounce of fear. She grasped his arm and let him guide her toward the awaiting door, where Graves punched in an entry code. When the door popped open, she entered a small black-and-white tiled stairwell with an antique wooden banister. Graves stepped in after her, dropping the wet umbrella into a basket.
“When Hausmann renovated Paris,” Graves explained as they took the stairs, “he standardized the design of the new buildings so that the ground floor boasted shops, the second floor was lavish flats with the highest ceilings for the elite, the next two floors were smaller apartments, and the top floor was servants’ quarters. Of course, now, the top floors are highly coveted for their views, but they’re still more closets than apartments.”
“So, Estelle is on the second floor.”
“Well, she bought the entire building sometime in the early 1900s and renovated it to her liking.”
Kierse shot him a look. “Like someone else I know.”
“Who do you think she learned it from?”
Graves’s brownstone on the Upper West Side was massive. He’d scooped up as much of the surrounding real estate as he could and connected the buildings. It was the only way he could have a personal library of its size in the middle of Manhattan.
At the second-floor landing, they stopped before massive double doors. Kierse could immediately sense the door was warded against entry and great swaths of magic were being used within. Symbols had been etched into the doorframe in that same language that always hovered at the periphery of Kierse’s mind. Permanent markings helped to hold the ward in place with less continued magic, which meant that these wards were strong. At the center of each of the wardings was a fleur-de-lis. The same symbol that she had seen guarding Queen Aveline’s jewels in Versailles.
“She’s allied with the queen,” Kierse said.
“Indeed,” Graves said as he reached forward and knocked.
“Won’t she be upset that we stole from her majesty?”
“I believe she’ll find it a very fun game.”
The door swung inward, revealing a pale young woman in a white silk gown and elbow-length formal gloves. “My mistress has been expecting you.”
“Of course she has,” Graves said.
The woman’s gaze shifted to Kierse. Her eyes were wide and piercing blue, and she had a prominent mole above her top lip. “She isn’t sure about you.”
“Well, I am,” Graves said as he drew Kierse across the threshold.
Estelle’s magic melted over her skin. For the briefest moment, she smelled fresh-baked bread and a hint of dry champagne before it let her pass into an incredible foyer complete with towering, coffered walls and decorative ceilings with ornamental molding. The herringbone-style hardwood floors crossed into a luxurious sitting area full of antique furniture. A gold mirror rested on the mantel over an original fireplace. The room was bedecked with a glittering crystal chandelier, and heavy embroidered drapery covered the array of French doors leading onto terraced balconies she had glimpsed from outside.
Kierse’s entire job had been to steal from and for billionaires. She had thought nothing could be as ornate as Graves’s brownstone, but compared to Estelle, Graves favored simplicity.
“Please have a seat and enjoy the refreshments. My mistress will be with you momentarily,” the woman said before dipping into a curtsy and departing.
Kierse and Graves exchanged a look.
“The game begins when you enter,” was all Graves said.
Of course. It always did.
Graves moved to the fireplace, seemingly inspecting the craftsmanship. Kierse circled the room and took up a spot by the farthest balcony. She pushed gently against the French door and found it opened on a breeze. If something went sideways with Estelle, this would be the easiest exit.
On a sideboard against one wall, tiered silver trays held little French delicacies. Gold-rimmed flutes of champagne sat on a matching silver platter. Kierse’s stomach grumbled. She’d gotten so invested in her work that she’d forgotten to eat today, and with the adrenaline wearing off, she wished that she’d thought better of it. Not that she would indulge from an unknown warlock.