Chapter 5. The First Ride

The carriage door swung shut behind her with a single, resonant thud, and in that moment Lora found herself submerged in a dim, heady atmosphere where the mingled scents of burning incense and oiled leather hung thickly in the air. A gentle warmth, almost soporific in its intensity, wrapped itself around her limbs, coaxing her pulse into an erratic dance against the hush. When the carriage lurched forward, the wooden wheels began their slow, laborious groan over the uneven cobblestones, each bump and clatter weaving itself into a kind of anxious lullaby that seemed keyed perfectly to her racing heart.

She sat up straighter—so rigid, in fact, that the smooth, damp silk of her gown felt as though it were pressing into every contour of her frame. Across the narrow aisle, Kai positioned himself with an exactitude that made him seem carved from some unyielding block of marble. His fur-trimmed mantle brushed softly against the carriage’s polished wooden paneling, setting loose a fai