Page 34 of Avalon Tower
I stare at her. “You picked up on that?”
“It’s a bit obvious, darling.” She shrugs. “Well, he either hates you or wants to shag you, or both. But you cannot shag him. Absolutely not allowed at Avalon Tower.”
“Tarquin didn’t seem to care about that rule,” I say.
“Oh, those rules don’t apply to the gods-chosen Pendragons, of course. Just us commoners. Don’t worry, there are plenty of options outside the tower.” She shrugs. “If you have the energy for that sort of thing.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Is there a story between Raphael and you?” she asks. “Have you met him before?”
“Nothing interesting,” I mutter. “Anyway, I’ll just tell my mom I found work in an amazing bookstore.”
“Whatever it takes.” Serana flicks her red hair behind her shoulder.
“Are you still in training, Tana?” I ask. “I thought you were already an agent.”
“I’m back for more training,” she says. “I’ve been helping MI-13 for a while, mostly on boats, like the one where we met. But they want to send me into Fey France, so I need a whole bunch of new skills. I’ll be in the fighting class and the spycraft classes.”
My stomach tightens. “They won’t expect me to go into Fey France right? I’ll just help crews across the veil barrier and stay on this side, I’m assuming. Tarquin was sort of right. I’m not at all prepared to be here.”
“Tarquin is a wanker,” Serana says. “You don’t need life advice from him. Missions never go as planned. As a Sentinel, you’ll have to know how to react and improvise when the time comes. And yes, that could be in Fey France. Maybe even Brocéliande.”
“Wanker. It’s a funny word,” Tana says dreamily. “Wanker. Say it enough times, and it feels weird. Wanker. Waaanker. Wanker. Wanker.”
Serana massages the bridge of her nose. “Tana, I think you drank too much mugwort tea.”
Tana clutches her mug. “Waaaaaaanker.”
“Were you ever there?” I ask Serana. “Brocéliande?”
She shakes her head. “I’m from the Isle of Man. But Tana comes from Brocéliande.”
Tana’s eyes are drifting shut. “Did you know that in the ancient days—in the time of primal magic—when the Fey were still in Avalon, they would build a large wicker tower and put humans inside it and burn them? And they’d spill human blood to fertilize the soil, where mistletoe grew. I wonder if they still do that.”
Serana rolls her eyes. “Tana, you’re going to scare our new roommate.”
I’m desperate to sleep, but I have two days’ worth of grime on me, and my nails look filthy. “Is there a bath somewhere?” I ask.
“Ah, we’re lucky.” Serana grins. “Tana was able to persuade them to give us a good room with our own bath.” She points at a door just between the bookshelves. “Right there.”
I sigh with relief. “Thank you.” I pull out some of the new clothes—a red dress with no sleeves—and head for the bathroom.
I open the door to a narrow stone room. Light streams in, forming diamond-shaped patterns on the flagstone floor. Candles and soap rest on wooden shelves, and burgundy towels are stacked neatly on a cushioned stool. A copper clawfoot tub stands on one side, and I turn on the tap. As the bath fills, steam curls into the air. I slip into the tub as the water rushes in, and my muscles start to relax. After the long journey here, this feels amazing.
For the last seven years, we’ve been in an apartment that has a bathroom down the hall, shared with strangers. It has a single shower stall that always has someone’s hair in it.
This? This is luxury.
I scrub the grime and seawater off my body. I don’t stay in the bath too long because I’m in danger of falling asleep. But as I step out and the water trickles down my bare skin, I hear Raphael’s voice.
Imagine that rivulets of water are flowing down your skin, dripping down the curves of your body.
I wonder if he remembers that he kissed me once, out there in the vineyards all those years ago. Or if he has any idea that the kiss ruined me because I think nothing will ever top how it made me feel.
I really need to stop thinking about him.
I dry myself off aggressively, then I pull on the red dress. The material is exquisite and silky against my skin.