Page 29 of Petals for Vicious Secrets

Hope felt the square-shaped cold glass against the skin on her neck. So damn cold it almost burned. Nina gasped.

“What is it?” Hope urged. In part because she wanted to know, and in part because she didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to stand the freezing touch.

Nina scratched her forehead while still holding the compassom on Hope’s skin with her other hand. “Is it meant to be red?”

“You ask me?” Hope’s nervous laugh felt like a knot in her throat. “Is it the same four-petal mark we saw on the cave?”

“Yes, it is definitely the panom mark. The same shape as Thyria. But it is red. Like… very red. Does it hurt?”

Hope hesitated before saying, “A bit. It burns like icy fire. Why?”

“Because it reminds me of arterial blood.”

17

Lenna

“Welcome to your private chambers, Miss Brachyan,” the middle-aged Organ servant said as she opened the door for Lenna.

“Just Lenna,” she said as she entered the—“Excuse me, what did you say this is?”

“Your private chambers, Miss Lenna. If they are not to your liking, I am sure we can find another unit that suits your needs better.”

Lenna looked at her “private chambers” again and found it hard to believe the frown on the servant’s face was honest. How could anyone not find this to “their liking”? Even if the Organ House was notoriously known for being the richest and most luxurious of all Thyria, Lenna hadn’t imagined this is how they treated their temporary guests.

“This will do,” she said, entering the open five-room apartment. She could have sworn she heard the servant's relief silently behind her. “Sorry, what is your name?”

“Clara, miss Lenna. It’s my pleasure to assist you in any way you may need,” the lady with exotic features followed Lenna inside.

Lenna looked around and snorted. Of course, it was a four-petal shaped apartment. The circle living room they were standing in could easily accommodate twenty or thirty people on all the couches and main table. It connected to two enormous bedrooms with ensuite. There was also a state-of-the-art kitchen that smelled like warm bread and fresh fruit, and a massive plain, empty room with glass panel walls.

“What is this room for?”

“It’s a live room. It can be adapted as you wish. You can ask the House or select whatever options you want on the deliseen,” Clara said, pointing to the rectangular panel attached to the side of the wall.

“That’s some fancy shit,” Lenna chuckled, touching the deliseen and waiting for it to recognize her pupils before showing her a list of popular options. Art room, music room, library, live concert… Maybe she wouldn’t bore to death these months she needed to stay in the Organ House until she had mastered her panom powers.

Months with that man as Panom Guidor. For Fifth’s sake. How could the most exciting moment of her life feel suddenly so dreadful? She had been so focused on becoming a panom and gaining access to her real vault of magic that she had given little thought about what was actually going to happen right after. And her new powers… They had settled in her veins, in her blood. She could feel a subtle yet constant pressure inside her, in tension and waiting patiently at the same time. Ready for Lenna to access. If she only knew how.

“I will leave you now, miss Lenna. If you require any assistance, please ask the deliseen or the House and I’ll be here shortly. A special dinner to welcome our guests will served at eight post meridiem in the Core Salon,” Clara’s courtesy was an elegant half bow. Lenna didn’t want to put her off too much after just meeting her, but she planned to definitely ask her to stop all the bowing, reverential stuff next time.

She headed towards the biggest sofa in the central room as soon as Clara shut the door and she spread herself in a very non-heir-appropriate way. So comfortable it almost slightly improved her pissed off mood.

Her father’s order to “appreciate the effort of the Coralt family to provide the best panom education available” was nowhere near happening anytime soon. Lenna had told her father to fuck off when she heard the truth from his own mouth: Jake Coralt was indeed going to be her Panom Guidor. And Ayla and she were indeed going to spend some months in Corentre. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Lenna wasn’t sure if she was more annoyed at the fact that from all the panoms of Thyria her Guidor had to be precisely that one, or that she was going to be stuck in an unknown city for the Cardinals knew how long.

Yet, here she was. In another house. In another city. By herself on the evening of her birthday. The prospect of having dinner with Cardinals knew who was not motivating. She decided to the Fifth with it all and went to the bedroom to grab a small black purse from one of the many suitcases with her belongings that had been already waiting for her in this room. She sent some ink to Ciaran as she got changed into a sleeveless black jumpsuit.

Shortly after, dark ink appeared on Lenna’s forearm, tickling where the words read:

The deliseen had proved useful showing Lenna a map of the House and indicating the shortcut least likely to encounter people at this time of the day. By the time it took her to arrive at the meet-up point, Ciaran was sitting on the edge of the high stone fence that bordered the Organ House, separating it from the rest of Corentre.

“You didn’t want a birthday family dinner?” Ciaran greeted her.

Lenna chuckled, “I’ve seen enough assholes today to last a lifetime, thank you very much.” That included her father, Ayla, Jake and Rhei as a bare minimum. “Do you know any cool places in this city?”

Ciaran’s mechanical arm moved as his metallic hand smoothed his long hair. “Is that what you want to do?”

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