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“Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” Magnum said. “I’ve readied the salon for guests and Gina and Queen Carys are waiting.”
I’d invited Gwen to come over for an update, and with the library floor torn open, I’d asked Magnum if there was another room where we could meet. “Perfect, thank you. Sorry about the floor in the library.”
“Not at all, Your Majesty. We’ll get it repaired with a proper access panel to the darkness below so you can open it whenever the need arises.”
The darkness below. I liked that. The words pinged in my head, a ripple spreading through a still, deep pool of inky water.
:Not the Deep Blue, but the Deep Black,: Okeanos said behind me.
:I like that even more.:
“Queen Gwenhwyfar has left the tower and should be here shortly.” Magnum gestured to the hallway on my right. “This way, Your Majesty.”
“I’ve never had the chance for a full tour, Magnum. I’d like to see everything after our guests leave.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. The house has been shut and quiet for a very long time, waiting for you to come home and throw open the doors once more.”
Looking sharp in black jeans and dress shirt, Lew glanced back over his shoulder. “Everything looks exactly like I remember it, Magnum. Thank you for taking such good care of our former queen’s domain.”
Magnum’s cheeks flushed with pleasure. “Of course. I was honored to stay on, though I wasn’t sure why the house needed to be ready.” She glanced over at me, her eyes shimmering with emotion. “Now I know why, and I’m more honored than I can convey.”
“We stayed here more than anywhere else,” Lew said. “Though we also shared the London house with Queen Selena when she still had court.”
It was strange to think of Mom as a queen. I’d only ever seen her as my human mother.
“Home,” Thierry said.
Esetta’s home. Softly, I whispered, “She’s still here.”
Magnum nodded. “I’ve always felt a presence I couldn’t explain, especially in some of the more… private rooms.”
I had the feeling she’d almost said sacred instead of private. It’d be interesting to find out how much she understood about the importance of this house to Isis’ pyramid.
Lew didn’t ask but yearning surged in his bond. The desire to see my mother. One more time. To finally be able to say her name.
:After everyone leaves tonight, I’ll ask her to show herself to you.:
Gryphon claws shredded his heart. :I’ve been in this house before and haven’t seen her.:
:We’ll try,: I promised.
Guillaume and Sekh took up positions on either side of the door as I passed into the salon. A round table, large enough for ten or twelve guests, was centered in a circular room with a doomed, glass ceiling overhead. Though the windows were all covered with retractable blinds. Old fashioned gas lamps burned on the outer walls, illuminating soft sandstone-colored stucco with Egyptian-style columns inset with statues of our goddess. The table was lit with dozens of thick white pillar candles. Woven mats of thick, natural-colored reeds softened the hard sandstone floor underfoot.
Dressed in a flowing black and red dress, Gina stood and curtseyed as soon as she saw me, though Carys didn’t even look up from her book. “Your Majesty.”
I scowled at her. “Where the fuck did all this formality come from?”
Granted, I’d dressed up a little more than usual too. I hadn’t seen Gwen in forever, so I’d asked Nevarre for a dress for this visit instead of my usual jeans and sweater or hoodie. Evidently word had spread without me issuing a single command and everyone had dressed up too.
He’d picked out a simple yet elegant, surprisingly comfortable black maxi dress that hugged my figure without constricting me. We’d re-braided my hair too, though I didn’t have much hope it’d stay tidy all evening.
Laughing softly, Gina waited to sit back down until Rik had me settled beside her, directly across from the door. “This room demands formality, my queen.”
“Your mother might have called it the salon, but we called it the war room,” Lew admitted as he and Thierry circled the table to my left behind Gina and Carys. “She always hosted visiting queens in this room.”
Okeanos took position on my right, looking splendid in a shimmery turquoise blue shirt and black pants. His skin looked a little tight and slightly grayish, though anyone but me probably wouldn’t notice.
:How much longer can you be away from the grotto or the sea?:
