Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“No,” he replied, and there was something in his voice, something solemn. “Never. The vast majority aren’t allowed past the eighty-seventh sector.”
“It’s so unfair. How can they justify keeping so many down in the mines?”
Vas brushed some of my hair over my shoulder, and the mark welcomed his touch, buzzing away happily. “I honestly don’t think they care enough to justify it.”
“I hate them.”
“Good. Let that hate fuel you. You’re going to need it for the path that lies ahead.” Vas moved away from the window then and headed for the front door. “Come. We need to get going.”
I followed him out and he took my hand again for safety. The streets were busy with locals and neither of us could afford to be outed as halflings. The sky had started to change from grey with fiery orange blotches to something darker. I stared up, unable to take my eyes off it.
The sky appeared black at first, but on a second inspection you could see a blue shimmer underneath, twinkling and sparkling like hundreds of thousands of tiny diamonds.
“Wow,” I breathed, bewitched by the strange shimmering.
“Indeed,” Vas replied but he wasn’t staring at the sky. His eyes were fixed on my profile. A deep flush marked my cheeks and I tried to focus on my steps because the way he looked at me made my heart pound too hard.
A little while later we entered the upper part of the city just outside the area where ordinary citizens weren’t allowed to venture. There were guards manning a high wall that surrounded the palace and the wealthier districts. Vas and I kept to the shadows as we moved through a residential street lined with unusual townhouses. Or at least they were unusual to me. The roofs were domed, with high chimneys sticking out the centre of each dome. They were certainly a lot more ostentatious than the dwellings in the poorer parts of the city.
Instead of square or rectangle windows, these had round or triangular ones. The front doors were rounded, too, a half oval shape and much wider than the doors back home.
In the distance I could hear some type of revelry, which I presumed was the Star Festival. People hooted and cheered.
Vas tugged on my hand. “We need to go before we’re spotted.”
“Where are we going?” I asked as he led me around the back of one of the houses.
“In here,” he answered, casting a quick spell to unlock the door.
“Wait,” I whispered. “What if there’s someone inside?”
“There isn’t. I swept the house with a spell and sensed no presence. Everyone from this sector will be in the palace tonight for the ball.”
I glanced at my digital watch. Six hours and forty-seven minutes until Belinda reopened the portal. Six hours and forty-seven minutes to kill a monster in the middle of a gala ball and get out before all hell broke loose.
We stepped into a large kitchen with black walls and gleaming countertops made of dark stone. There was abstract art hung all about and odd yet expensive looking furniture. The cooker was barrel shaped and silver, with all sorts of nobs and buttons on the front.
Whoever lived here was rich by Treyu standards and this was just outside the bounds of the palace. I wondered how lavish the dwellings were within the royal walls.
I ran my hand along the shiny counter. “There’s a dark beauty to this place,” I said and Vas cast me a curious look. “I just mean…I know you hate it here, but these houses and the sky outside, it’s all so unusual to me. Did you feel the same way when you came to Tribane?”
His eyes met mine, an intensity in them I couldn’t account for. “There was a beauty to be found there, yes,” he replied, and something in his voice caused my skin to pimple. Was he talking about me?
“Don’t mistake this for normal, Darya. A tiny portion of the population live in houses like this one. The rest of us are down in the mines or toiling away in hovels in the lower sectors.”
A silence fell between us. It lingered a moment too long. I felt scolded for admiring the home of people who lived in luxury while others struggled and suffered. Vas cleared his throat. “We need to wash and find suitable attire for the ball. Let’s go upstairs.”
I followed him up a winding staircase. When we reached the landing, Vas walked ahead of me and pushed open a door at the end of the hallway to reveal a lavish bathroom. There didn’t appear to be a shower, but there was a large, round, freestanding bath that was big enough to fit at least six people. After spending almost five days in the mine I’d never felt grottier in my life and staring at the spotless bathroom was like encountering the holy grail. The trouble was I had no idea how any of the nobs and spigots next to the bath worked.