Page 40 of Knave

She paused and stepped back from a particularly thick cluster. “I hope there are no living spiders in there.”

Ferris chuckled. “You have a caterpillar at home and you’re afraid of some spiders?”

“There aren’t any spiders—these webs are old.” She poked him playfully in the side. “But don’t compare Des to them. She doesn’t leave a clingy mess behind.”

“Sure, luv. I’ll go first,” he said, laughing again. “Come on.”

Ferris entered into a large sitting room and took in six glass cases full of strange objects resting on velvet pillows. One wall held shelves and, on them, what looked to be journals bound with strips of leather. In the middle of everything was a round table between two red armchairs. He paused just inside, Mouse right on his heels, and scanned for threats.

“Seems safe enough,” he said. “No skeletons either, which is always nice.”

Mouse stepped in front of him and reached up onto her toes. “Let me.”

She gathered dusty cobwebs from his face and hair with featherlight touches. He drew in a deep breath, remembering her naked in the lake. Pressed against him. Her soft skin brushing along his.Shit.Now wasnotthe time for his mind to take a side trip into the gutter, but he couldn’t help it. Not when her hands ran down his chest, collecting more webs from him. He wanted to touch her too, wipe her clean … then make her dirty again.

Mouse looked up at him with a coy smile as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. “There you go. Handsome as ever.”

“I’m glad you approve,” Ferris said in a husky voice and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Now, let’s see what goodies we can find.” He rubbed his hands together and waggled his eyebrows at her.

Mouse spun around to face the room and gasped. “This looks fun.”

Soft, glowing yellow lights flickered to life when they stepped farther into the room. Ferris tugged Mouse back in case they’d triggered a trap. Imogen had them in the Ruby Heart Palace, strategically placed anywhere she didn’t want prying eyes. Orbs floated near the ceiling, circling each other and spanning out again to create simple swirling patterns. Shadows danced along the walls from the light but nothing else stirred. No trap doors opened and no arrows soared toward them.

“What is this?” Mouse asked in awe. She lifted a hand toward them, too short to reach, and wiggled her fingers in their light.

“Hell if I know. Let’s see what the rest of this shit is.” Ferris walked forward carefully in case anything more than orbs appeared, but when he made it to the table unscathed, he released a breath.

Mouse moved around the perimeter of the room, fingers skimming the thick wallpaper. “I wouldn’t exactly call thisshit.”

Ferris followed her gaze to the middle display case. Inside was a wide belt inlaid with dozens of gem stones. Large and small. Marquee cut, square, round, pear, princess, all of them gleaming as if the sun were shining brightly overhead. “It’s strange,” he said quietly.

Mouse inched closer and set her hands on the glass, her lips parting. “It’s … humming.”

“Even fucking stranger,” he said, stepping back. The last thing they needed was to set off a trap. Everything in here was undoubtedly worth a fortune—otherwise, why hide it? A secret door that any vampire could’ve stumbled upon wasn’t likely to be the only security measure in place.

“What do you think this one is?”

Ferris scowled when she ran a finger over the next glass box. Folded red fabric took up a majority of the top shelf. Gold trimmed the edges and a large medallion clasp held the neck together. An overcoat of some kind, he guessed. But it was more than that. The air around the display was thicker, heavier, and scratched against his skin. It didn’t hurt but was definitely an uncomfortable sensation. Iron bars surrounded the seams of the glass with engravings in an unknown language. Three pearls were nestled beside it—one blue, one pink, one white. The next shelf contained a golden hourglass encrusted with rubies.

“Oh, a dagger!” Mouse had shifted to the smaller display at the end while he was distracted by the mystery object. “This is what I imagine the dagger would look like that Juliet takes from Romeo to end her life.”

Ferris joined her, partially to be near her, to make sure it wasn’t rigged against would-be thieves. Itwasa beautiful blade. The point appeared razor sharp, the edges expertly tapered. Halfway up the top of it was harsh serrated edges and a floral design etched along the center. The hilt was gold, inlaid with diamonds and emeralds, scrollwork snaking around it. At the base, the gold flared out into a flower. Another large emerald sat at the center.

“Unless you think it can kill the beast, let’s keep looking,” he said.

Mouse tsked. “You’re no fun.”

“Am I not?” He raised a brow. “I’m fairly certain you were singing a different tune when we—”

“We should rest,” she said quickly, her cheeks turning pink. “I think it’s safe enough in here.”

Ferris glanced around the room for any potential triggers he might’ve missed—a plank that didn’t settle right or an item perfectly out of place. Nothing set off alarm bells. “Let’s finish looking around first.”

“Ferris,” Mouse chided. “You spent days breaking down rocks to free me. Sleep so you can think more clearly.”

He reached out and lifted a strand of her pink hair, admiring how soft it was. “I would gladly suffer sleepless years, bloodying my hands, to protect you. You should know that by now.”

“I do know.” Her breath hitched when he let her hair fall back to her shoulder and traced a line over her neck. “And you should know that I would do the same for you. I’ll settle for making you rest though.”

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