With that, the woman turned and headed past the dining table and the bar toward her study on the other side of the house. Cheyenne and Eleanor exchanged glances, then the housekeeper neatly fluffed and replaced the pillow she’d squashed and stood as well. “If you need anything, sweetheart—”
“I’ll know who to find. Thanks.”
With a tight smile, Eleanor set a firm, gentle hand on the halfling’s shoulder, gave it a little pat, and headed down the south hall closest to the circle of armchairs and the sofa. A door opened and clicked softly shut somewhere, and Cheyenne turned toward Ember.
“You okay?”
“Uh-huh.” The fae buried her face in the large wineglass, gulped, and nodded. “This is amazing.”
“Yeah, she’s got a pretty impressive collection.”
“And I’m drinking it.” Ember chuckled. “You know, I think I like it better when you go through all the crazy stuff and come tell me about it later.”
“Oh, it’s much more entertaining for you that way, huh?”
“Entertaining, period.” Turning her head slowly, the fae girl met her friend’s gaze with a frown of concern. “You make it sound like some awesome adventure with some assholes along the way. I had no idea there was all this other scary crap.”
Cheyenne smirked. “Are you talking about the giant scorpion that almost squeezed me to death or the weird way I have to tiptoe around my mom about the whole thing?”
Ember chuckled softly and shook her head. “All of the above. I had no idea, and I still can’t figure out how you manage to make jokes right after something like that.”
“Meh. It’s much easier to get caught up in all the dark and terrible deadly shit. I guess I just like a challenge.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Yep. We’ve been over that too.” With a tiny smile, Cheyenne took another sip of her bourbon and set it down on the glass coffee table. “We still have, like, an hour before anyone shows up. You want a tour?”
Ember’s eyes widened. “A what?”
“A tour, Em. Of Chez Summerlin. Trust me, all this looks like a lot right now, but what you’ve seen so far isn’t even half of it.”
“I am not letting you and Eleanor drag me up that giant staircase.”
With a snort, Cheyenne stood from the sofa and walked around the wheelchair. “Not a problem. Want me to take the wheel?”
“Please don’t let me drink and drive.”
“Ha.” Cheyenne grabbed the handles and spun the fae around to push her down the south hall toward the other side of the house. “So, Bianca’s study is on the other side, obviously. That’s pretty much the only room over there, and I don’t get to go in there very much. We’ll skip that part.”
“Yeah, I bet it’s bland and boring as hell, anyway.”
They both laughed.
“Okay. Giant half-bath for guests.” Cheyenne opened the first door on their left.
“Jesus, that’s bigger than my closet.”
“Yep.” The halfling shut the door again and continued. “I can’t believe I just showed you a bathroom.”
“Hey, it’s an important thing to know.”
“All right. There’s a giant mudroom and coat closet down by the door. Also bigger than your closet. And over here…” The halfling gestured to the swinging double doors with round windows up top used by high-end restaurant kitchens. “Eleanor’s not just an amazing chef, all right? She does a whole bunch of other stuff I don’t even pretend to know about, but this is pretty much her domain. Besides her room, obviously.”
Cheyenne turned and pulled her friend backward through the swinging doors.
“She lives here?”
“Yeah, didn’t I tell you that?”
“I can barely remember my name right now, halfling. Don’t make me take a pop quiz.”
Laughing softly, Cheyenne spun her friend around again. “Behold. My childhood kitchen.”
“My brain’s gonna explode.”
“If it hasn’t by now, Em, I think you’re good.” They moved through the industrial kitchen toward the very back. “I’m pretty sure my mom had this modeled after one of her favorite chef’s restaurants. I can’t remember the guy’s name.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I’m into a lotta different things, but food’s just food, honestly. You eat it, it’s gone, not that big a deal.”
“You’re gonna get struck by lightning for saying that in here.”
“Nah. Eleanor’s busy doing something else.” The halfling pulled up beside a plain white door in the far corner of the kitchen and flipped the light switch on the wall beside it. “You’re gonna love this.”
“The pantry’s bigger than my closet too, isn’t it?”
Cheyenne laughed. “Definitely. That’s on the other side next to the walk-in fridge.”
“Of course, it is.” Ember rolled her eyes and gazed at all the stainless steel appliances in the massive kitchen that could run a five-star restaurant. “So why are we waiting here?”
The halfling didn’t say anything.
“Cheyenne?”
The door in front of them slid sideways into the wall, and the half-drow pulled her friend backward into a small square room the size of a normal closet.
“No way.”
“Yes, way.” The halfling pressed one of four buttons on the panel, and the door slid shut again. The elevator lurched a little when it left the ground floor and headed up. “Uh-oh. That wasn’t a problem last time.”
“Which was when?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Ten years ago, maybe.”
“There’s an elevator in your mom’s house.”
Cheyenne laughed. “Much easier for Eleanor to bring up a tray of breakfast, isn’t it?”
“And she gets breakfast in bed. I’m… I don’t even know what I am.”
“No breakfast in bed. And usually, it’s both of them. At least, it was when I still lived here. I can’t imagine they’d change things up after I moved out.”
The elevator rumbled again when it came to a stop, but the door opened as smoothly as ever. Cheyenne pushed her friend out into the hall and paused for effect.
“Okay. Another hallway. Something normal.”
“Yeah, a normal hallway in the upstairs living quarters.”
Ember looked at the halfling over her shoulder. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
“You’ll see.”
Chapter One Hundred One
“You know how many kids dream of living in a
