Page 153 of Where the Wicked Reign

On the opposite side of the room to his bed that was covered in black and crimson striped sheets, the headboard black just like the frame, with a bright crimson rug around it, there was a long workbench spanning the entire length of the wall.

“Wow,” Cat breathed, walking over there in a near-trance as she took in the dozens of figurines Milo was in the process of painting—a whole lot of fantasy creatures. He also had glass shelves of them displayed throughout the room.

“He really gets into all this when he has some downtime.”

“It’s amazing,” she said, crouching down to take a look at a sorcerer figurine holding a magical staff that was half painted. “He’s really good.”

“Yeah, he’s got a steady hand.” I smiled to myself. “In more ways than one.”

She chuckled. “Yeah.” As she rose back to her full height, she suddenly turned to me and asked worriedly, “Crap, are we supposed to be in here? Did he give you permission?”

“He owes me. I was the one who tidied this shithole up last night in anticipation of you coming here. There were empty plates, books, clothes all over the floor, a moldy apple, you name it. And the bathroom was another story altogether. You really don’t want to know. It’s why his room is over on this side of the mansion, far away from Nico’s bedroom. He can’t stand all that mess.”

“Huh, I never would have guessed,” she said, as we headed out and continued down the upper floor over on this side of the place. “That was nice of you to neaten it up for him.”

“Well, we wanted this place ready for your arrival.” I winked at her. “It wasn’t just for him.”

She beamed up at me and held my arm tightly to her as we walked. “You’re a real sweetheart, aren’t you?”

“I can be. To a select few.”

She chuckled and then we headed down the black, winding staircase to the main floor.

I pointed at the four statues lining either side of this corridor. “And there are the Viking statues, now all fixed up and in perfect condition again.”

“Hey, he deserved taking that hit. He sent me a severed fucking finger!”

“I thought that was retaliation for slashing your tires?”

“Nope, it was for the finger.”

“Ah. Well, either way, it’s fucked-up.”

“It certainly was.”

I looked out at her. “Loved it, didn’t you?”

A coy smile spread over her face. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

Sure.

I pointed out some of the paintings hanging on the walls as we strode along of Roman and Greek gods.

“He certainly loves his mythology,” she commented. “Even calling this place Charon. It’s the name of the ferrymen in Greek mythology who transported dead souls across the Styx.”

“Yeah, kind of like you with your King Arthur stuff. There’s a bust of Zeus in his home office here, too. And for our last stop, I’ll show you the fountain with a statue of Aphrodite. It’s near the hot tub.”

I watched her taking everything in.

I showed her the large kitchen again, this time with a proper overview. Last time I’d been focused on treating her mom and Cat had been on her phone the entire time too, so she hadn’t really had time to take it in. It was all monochrome and top-of-the-line sleek black appliances, a white marble kitchen island, then the breakfast nook in the corner with white leather seats. We passed by the library, Nico’s study—that was locked and he wouldn’t like me randomly heading in there without his permission, so I left it—a den, and one of the living rooms.

Then we walked across the lobby and up the double winding staircase toward another set of bedrooms.

I led her toward Nico’s, but then pulled up short and told her, “Yours is right next to his. Do you want to get out of your dirtied wedding dress first while we’re right here before we continue the rest of the tour?” It couldn’t be nice to be stuck in that thing—for several reasons. I should’ve thought of it sooner, but I’d been on a role since I’d seen her interest in my tour idea and the fact that it had been cheering her up.

“Actually, yeah, that would be nice. I think I’ll take a quick shower as well.”

“Sure thing. Meet me in the first living room I showed you when you’re done.”

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