AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You mean gallivanting about with beautiful women, then yes.”
I rolled my eyes. “I meant your ‘hobby.’”
“Also yes.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “And she approves?”
He sighed. “She doesn’tcompletelyapprove of my hobby, no.”
A snort escaped me. “Alright, I want to meet her.”
Ben leaned forward and lifted his voice just slightly. “Ferox, take us to-” The horse flung his head back and whinnied before he turned sharply rightward. So sharp, in fact, that Ben was sent tumbling against the wall of his side of the carriage. He righted himself and grinned. “I should have known his acute hearing was listening in on our conversation.”
“Does he understandeverythingwe’re saying?”
“Certain words, at the very least,” Ben mused as he set his clasped hands in his lap. “And definitely more than he lets on.”
A crooked smile adorned my lips. “So what does he know that I don’t?”
“You mean where we’re going?” he teased as his eyes twinkled at me. “Didn’t I tell you? We’re going to see my mother.”
I gave a nod. “Yes, but where is she?”
“At the destination to which we’re traveling.”
I folded my arms over my chest and snorted. “Always the mystery man, aren’t you?”
“I try to make your life interesting.”
My eyes flickered down to his shirt. “I hope you’re not keeping any more insane nobleman’s sons in your sleeve.”
“Only on special occasions, but we’ll be there soon.”
We rolled through the cobblestone streets and into a neighborhood of stone buildings that more resembled miniature fortresses than homes and shops. The road was bumpy and winding, and the further we traveled in that medieval district the taller and more imperious the buildings became until they towered over our little carriage.
The structures occupied larger and larger plots, and many were surrounded by low stone walls. They reminded me of giant mausoleums, and the empty streets added to the effect. Ferox rolled us up to one of the tallest and most imposing buildings. A low wall surrounded its acre-sized plot, and each corner of the interior wall was adorned with a gigantic tree that resembled oaks.
The structure itself was round with a huge glass dome on top. High, narrow windows were evenly spaced with one row above the other. The entrance was a pair of large wooden doors that featured carved scenes of women with their hands raised to a moonlit sky. Smaller rectangular buildings with single-sloped roofs were attached on either side to the round building.
Not a thing stirred as Ferox stopped the carriage in front of the gap in the wall. Ben hopped out and offered me his hand. “Welcome to the Covenant.”
I lifted my eyes to the high structure and lifted an eyebrow. “This looks a little. . .bleak.”
He chuckled as he led me up the stone path to the doors. “The more welcoming living quarters are in the rear. My mother should be in the main chapel, however, with the other sisters.”
My mind caught up to what Ben had said, and I whipped my head around to face him. “Did you say convent or covenant?”
“Covenant,” he told me as we reached the door. “My mother is charged with managing a horde of hexers.”
Some of the color drained from my face. “Isn’t hexing bad?”
He rapped loudly on the door. “Very little magic is inherently bad. Only the way it’s used can be bad.”
One of the portals opened and a spinster stuck her head out. She wore a flowing black robe, and her long gray hair was tied in a braid that trailed down her back. The old woman wore spectacles perched atop her beaked nose, but she still squinted at us. “What’s wanted?”
Ben offered her a smile. “An interview with my mother, Lady Forsythe.”
She leaned in closer and her eyes widened. “Why, little Benny!” I nearly burst out laughing. “Why in the world haven’t you visited sooner?”
