He had no family. No true, deep friends. And an ex-wife who would undoubtedly do him in should word get back to her that he’d lifted a finger toward freedom.
Some days, he was half convinced the wretched lightning bugs were her spies. But then, Vesta didn’t need spies with the constructs she’d put into place. Blasted fairies and their curses. Witches had nothing on fairy magic.
He glanced over at Theodora. He knew nothing about her. She could very well be working for Vesta. A plant sent to watch him and report back on how he was handling things. That would be a shame if true. Despite Theodora’s wrongheaded beliefs about him, he was already starting to like her. At least she engaged him in conversation.
But would those conversations go straight back to Vesta? He’d have to test Theodora somehow. Slip her some misinformation and see if it traveled beyond her. But how? It would have to be something really big for Vesta to respond.
That response could be deadly. If he was going to test Theodora, he had to be very sure he wasn’t opening up a crock of eels.
Until he managed to suss out Theodora better, he’d have to keep the lovely woman with the bewitching eyes at arm’s length and watch his words.
Vesta didn’t need any more reasons, real or imagined, to torment him.
Theodora suddenly sucked in a breath. He realized he’d been watching her so long he’d lost sight of where they were. He looked forward to see what had made her gasp.
The mine entrance was just ahead. He supposed it was rather something if you were seeing it for the first time.
“That’s the mine?” she asked.
He nodded. “One of them. The biggest one.”
“It’s so pretty.”
He gave it a fresh appraisal. The entrance had been cut into the mountainside and then fortified with steel beams, a steel support structure, and wide gates that opened in the middle. All very necessary and very serviceable. But there was nothing utilitarian about the arabesque curves, green and purple metal, and the multipaned glass inserts in and above the gates that let light through.
Amelia had told him she’d designed it after a long-lost art deco Metro stop in Paris, one of her favorite cities. She’d said there was no reason something couldn’t be functional and beautiful. He didn’t disagree. Although he’d never been to Paris or seen pictures of the Metro stop, so he couldn’t say how true the homage was.
“Looks like the lair of an enormous dragonfly, doesn’t it?” Theodora asked.
“It does.” Seemed befitting that a place that produced such a spectacular array of amazing gems would have an entrance that was something more than just a hole in the mountain. He nodded. “That’s what they call this mine. Dragonfly.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” He smiled. “Amelia, the woman who designed it, likes beautiful things. She built this whole town.”
“Is she a goblin, too? Wait, she also built the town? For her vampire lover, right? Then she’s a witch.”
He was impressed Theo knew that much. “That’s right, she’s a witch.” A witch who as probably as powerful as Vesta. Maybe more so.
Then again…he wasn’t really sure.
Chapter Six
Theo just stood there, marveling at how gorgeous the entrance was. And all for a mine. Amazing. The gates were swung open, and she could see inside. The light that came through the glass panels only reached a few yards into the mine. After that, it dimmed, of course, but strings of clear bulbs glowed brightly, helping to pick out the path that led deeper into the mountain.
“Have you ever been in a mine?”
She shook her head, glancing at His Royal Highness. “But I did a little training towards becoming a lapidary.”
His brows lifted. “You’re a lapidary? How wonderful.”
“No. I only began the training. I never finished it.”
“Not your thing?”
“I loved it. But when my mother died, the tuition money for the Royal Stonecutters Academy went with her. Even at the primary level, the cost was more than we could afford.” After that, Theo had gotten the rest of her education at the regular school. Just the basics.
His face fell. Almost like he actually cared. “I’m sorry to hear that. What did you do instead?”
She’d taught herself as best she could, but outside of the Royal Stonecutters Academy, that was considered an inferior way to learn. “I went back to the common classes, got my papers, then did whatever I could. Mostly baking, like my mother, in a shop in town. Did a little cleaning at night to make