Page 41 of Blood and Roses

"You guys better watch out. You don't want to overdo Eli's artistic vision."

"Hardly. He was the one that wants it to be this over the top."

"Fine. I could do with a walk anyway."

Cecily helped Rosa up off the floor, and she began to hobble away in search of Balthasar.

On the second floor, Rosa heard Balthasar talking in the offices, so she knocked once before opening it.

"Hey, boss, we need—oh, sorry," she said, quickly looking at the bookshelves.

Balthasar was standing only in a pair of dress pants as the tiny man measured his arm length.

"What is it, Miss Wylt?" he asked calmly.

She risked a sideways glance at him, her own eyes fighting to keep focused on the amusement in his.

"Cecily sent me to find you... The entrance hall, it's... It's ready, and I need you... Sorry,theyneed your approval," she fumbled. "You know, for the thing."

"Thank you, Mr. Brookes. I think that will be all," Balthasar said as he lowered his arms. The small man wrote down numbers in a notebook and nodded silently.

Rosa risked another look as Balthasar picked up a light blue shirt from his desk. Underneath his fancy suit was a lean, well-muscled body, but that wasn't what held her attention. There were scars scattered all over his skin in various shapes and sizes. He slipped on the shirt and turned towards her as he began buttoning it.

"Something wrong, Rosa?"

"No. I didn't realize that someone who could heal wounds could have so many scars," she said, wondering why she was still there.

"Most of them are from when I was human. I was thirty-eight when Eli turned me. I thought you would have known that from the account I left you," he said as he fidgeted with his cuff links. Rosa took them from him and helped fix them into place. "Thank you."

"You saved my life last night. Cuff links are my way of working off my debt," she said. "There we go, debt repaid. And I didn't read your account. I figured I had invaded your privacy enough and thought if you wanted to tell me, you could tell me yourself."

Balthasar tucked in his shirt. "We already agreed on how you were going to repay your debt to me, and there was no mention of cuff links. But never mind that; take me to the grand entrance. I want to see what Eli's vision looks like."

"A romp through an enchanted autumn forest on acid, I imagine," Rosa said as he opened the office door for her.

"Sounds dramatic, though that is Eli's style."

"Well, you can take the fae out of Faerie," Rosa joked.

Balthasar raised an eyebrow. "Rosamund Wylt, the things that come out of your mouth never cease to surprise me. If they came from anyone else, it would mean their mouth being sewn up forever."

"Does he terrify his subjects so much?"

"That is the only way to get them to behave at times."

"What about you?"

"They are definitely afraid of me. Who do you think carries out all of Eli's threats?"

"That seems...unfair."

"We are all bound by invisible ties of honor, duty, or responsibility. I would have been left for dead if it wasn't for Eli. All of us would have been."

"According to my father, we are honor bound to serve the Vanes." Rosa pulled a face at him, hoping to lighten him up again. "I don't know how I would feel being bound to you forever."

"I suppose it depends on what we are bound with," he replied bluntly, making Rosa blush before she could stop herself.

Rosa hadn't been into the main entrance area since she had returned to Gwaed Lyn. A large chandelier hung down in glittering crystal drops with a curving staircase leading down either side of the room.

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