Page 51 of Married By Treachery

“Fine. Leave me out here with your monsters and bleeding trees,” Raquel mumbled, then walked through the door after Jake and froze.

She was inside of an atrium of sorts—a mesmerizing arid space that let in light from above, with arched doorways and windows, all open to fresh air. Similar to the outpost, there was no mist in this place. Here was an enchanting garden oflivingplants—thick vines and palms and ferns—all of them draped in flowers.

Incolor.

So this was where Jake had found the rose.

Raquel had never seen such vibrant hues, and she immediately thought of Harran’s stories. The one’s she’d grown up with, but even they failed to do this justice. Deep green vines as thick as her arms festooned from the ceiling, all of which were covered in an exotic assortment of flowers so saturated with color they practically dripped with it. More flower petals tumbled across the mosaic floor, pushed by a breeze Raquel had not felt outside, and on that breeze, she smelled the sweetest fragrance. Like honeysuckle and jasmine and fresh rain. Water trickled from a fountain at the center, which was where Raquel’s attention fixed.

The fountain was composed of three bowls—three tiers—and rising through them at its center were the figures of a man and a woman, both covered in rose petals. His hair fell to his chin, and hers cascaded over her body, covering her nakedness. They stood close, facing one another with their waists touching, and the man held the woman’s face in his hands as he gazed lovingly down upon her, their lips a fraction apart.

The dream flashed in her mind again. Jake’s hands on her face, the look in his eyes when he saidI love you.

“It was a gift for my mother on her wedding day,” Jake said suddenly, startling her.

He had stopped beside her, but his attention remained on the fountain.

“It seems a cruel thing to keep, considering what you said about their marriage,” Raquel said.

Jake didn’t answer immediately. “I doubt she thought of that at all. She’s always been a preserver of rare artifacts.” Jake turned away to appraise the room, and a mark of sadness furrowed his brow and turned those golden eyes as dark as sap.

“Your kingdom was like this once,” Raquel said.

“Yes,” he said, and then he walked on. Purpose lent power to his stride and hardened his gaze, and he stopped behind a desk buried in thick tomes and parchment.

Raquel reached up and touched one of the little roses blooming off the vine. It was so fragrant, so vivid in color, and its petals were like silk between her fingers. “How did this survive?”

Jake opened a drawer, closed it. “My mother. She fashioned this place as a sanctuary, a hidden respite, if you will—she was always so fond of nature.”

His tone was softer when he spoke of his mother, Raquel noticed. Another glimmer of the Jake from her dreams.

“You inherited that from her,” Raquel said.

Jake glanced up from the desk and arched a brow at her. “There are no secrets when one dreams as you do.”

“I fear a lifetime of dreams would not reveal all of yours.”

His forehead creased, and he turned his attention back to the desk.

And then Raquel resumed walking, taking in all that Jake’s mother had saved. The variety of color and flowers and potted grasses. “So her magik protected this place from the curse?” Raquel trailed her fingers over the soft fronds of a palm.

“Yes,” he replied, now turned to a shelf, where he rummaged through vases and jars. “But the curse still seeps inside. It comes to claim all of us eventually.”

“Claims youhow?” Raquel asked.

Jake picked up a box and absently traced his fingertip over a symbol along the lid. “It is like a disease. We breathe it in, and we rot away from the inside out.”

“You become Depraved.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw, and a sardonic smile curled his lips. “It seems you are right about me, after all. I did have a heart once, but it has rotted.”

“I don’t believe you.”

He laughed, but the sound was dark.

Raquel took a step toward him. “I’m serious.”

He stopped laughing and looked straight at her. “So am I.”

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