Page 54 of Thorn Season
I tried to control my expectations—steady my shallow breathing—as I pushed the key into the lock and twisted. My specter flared as a cheerfulclicksounded.
Then Carmen’s door whispered open.
16
Carmen’s sweet vanilla scent poured over me, reminding me of her embrace. And despite the excited flutter of my victory, this suddenly felt wrong.
But this key had been found near Wray’s body the night the compass was stolen; I needed to know why. And I wouldn’t find answers on this side of the threshold.
So, I drew a wobbly breath, stepped inside, and shut the door behind me.
Carmen’s lounge succeeded in the impossible task of clashing with itself: deep-auburn furnishings and maroon walls buried under bright, blushing fabrics; vases of dried autumnal flowers filled with glossy bonbon-pearls. Carmen layered over Nelle in a palimpsest of styles, as though she’d refused to erase her mother from the suite entirely.
The thought bolstered me. Seven years had passed since Wray’s murder and five years since Nelle had even occupied these rooms. But perhaps she’d left something behind—journals, records,anythingthat might link her to Wray.
I swept toward the bedchamber, my specter flurrying.
I examined the closet and foraged through the vanity drawers, their bottoms encrusted with spilled lotion. I found books and gartersand even the fudge collection, stacked in multitiered tins.
Losing patience, I knelt before the black-lacquered dresser—another of Nelle’s acquisitions, no doubt—and unlocked the bottom drawer with a tendril of my specter. The shallow space overflowed with silks and loose jewelry. I went to relock it but halted.
The drawer looked bigger from outside.
Using thin spectral wisps, I eased up the bottom panel. The contents sloped to the back, and I smiled. There was something worth finding after all.
A thin stack of shipping documents sat beneath the false bottom. Though the destination wasn’t specified, the date puzzled me. The ship was set to sail two weeks after Rose Season—thisyear. How had Nelle possessed shipping documents so far in advance?
Flipping the page, I had my answer. I’d received enough birthday cards to recognize the handwriting in these margins.
These documents didn’t belong to Nelle. They belonged to Carmen.
“Let me guess. You picked the lock.”
I jumped, slamming the drawer shut. Keil was leaning against the wall behind me, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.
I shot to my feet. “What are you doing here?”
“Witnessing a robbery, apparently.”
“I’m not—” I stopped, checking myself. “I’m not explaining myself to you. Were you following me?”
“Why would I be following you? Perhaps the princess invited me to her chambers.” His lips spread with a slow smile. “Could you really blame her?”
A lock click sounded from the lounge. My stomach swooped.
I grabbed Keil, and he didn’t resist as I dragged him into the closet, tumbled in after him, and yanked the door shut.
Keil’s deep chuckle rumbled across the darkness. “If you wanted to put your hands all over me, you only had to ask.”
“Be quiet.”I backed up as far as the tight space allowed, cool satin gliding over my arms. I breathed so heavily that a musty-clothes smell tickled my throat, threatening a cough. “This wouldn’t be happening if you hadn’t sneaked up on me.”
“Ah, so youwereengaged in illicit activities. Should I be concerned that you’ve made me an accessory to your crime?”
“There was no crime,” I hissed.
“Is that so?” Keil splayed a hand against the closet door. “Then, I suppose she won’t mind if we—”
I screwed my fists around his shirt, tugging so hard that he had to brace his hand on the wall above my head to keep from toppling over me.
