Page 29 of Lich's Mate

Now I can truly start setting my plans into action.

I think of the mansion and its luxuries and wonder what Meera would think of it. I know I shouldn’t care but the curiosity remains looming in the back of my mind as we near Ikoth.

11

MEERA

The ordeal of everything is beginning to catch up on me. I can feel my body’s energy waning as the boat docks at Ikoth’s port. All of this traveling has made me wary, and the heat only makes my exhaustion more pronounced.

I look up at the darkened red sky, shielding my eyes from the sun’s rays. The burning orb is right at home in its crimson surroundings.

“Is something the matter?” Kavian asks.

“I’m worn out.”

He nods and gestures to a waiting carriage nearby.

“It is a short ride to my home. You can rest there.”

I follow him as we walk to the carriage, led by a reined zarryns whining and pawing at the concrete. Kavian opens the door and tells me to get in.

I settle down in the seats, my body melting into their softness. The entire carriage rocks side to side as Kavian enters, taking his seat across from me.

I hear the snap of the driver’s reins, spurring the zarryns into action. Sighing, I lean my head against the window, watching mindlessly as the streets pass by.

The scenery of the streets catches my attention, and I mumble a little too loud for Kavian’s liking.

“What is it?” he asks, brows crossed in either wonder or frustration.

“Ehm… sorry, it’s just…” I throw a hand to the back of my neck. “Xaphans practically shove propaganda down our throats in New Solas, usually preaching about the brutalism in Ikoth’s streets and how there’s violence and bloodshed everywhere.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Kavian remarks, his brooding gaze now directed outside the window.

“Yet, this looks pretty normal to me,” I continue, watching as demon children play on the sidewalk.

“We’re not blood-hungry monsters… Well, at least not all of us.”

Laughing, I return my focus to the goings-on of Ikoth. The continent certainly looks different from New Solas in its choices of architecture, with most buildings constructed from black stone. Most of their peaks are sharp like the tip of a sword. It’s a far cry from the more modern design of New Solas.

Though Kavian says the journey is short, I find my eyelids heavier than ever, and I fight to stay conscious. Clearing my throat, I forcibly straighten myself up, struggling with the urge to close my eyes.

“Almost there,” the demon says. “I’m more than certain you’ll find my mansion quite comfortable.”

Maybe I’m too tired, but did I hear him mention a mansion? I would ask him to repeat his words, but right now he seems caught in a moment of deep thought. I brush it off and rub my eyes, fighting off the tiredness for another while.

The carriage takes us into a less populated area, where there are fewer shops and more taller buildings, which I presume to be living spaces. However, it doesn’t stop outside any of these buildings, instead continuing out towards another part of town with larger houses.

He must live outside the main hub of the city.

I watch the housing grow smaller behind us as the carriage takes a turn down a cobbled path.

In the distance, a glorious mansion comes into view. From here, it looks at least two floors tall. I think I see a garden in front of it, judging from the tips of shrubbery protruding, but it’s hard to tell from this distance, and it doesn’t help that a tall wall encloses the mansion.

The carriage rides too close to the wall for me to be able to see any more of the magnificent building.

But then it turns into the gate, and I realize then that I didn’t mishear Kavian. The mansion that now looms closer must be his!

“This is your home?” I exclaim in disbelief.

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