Chapter 224

When Zoey returned to her room, Delta was waiting inside, sprawled out on her bed, shirt riding up to reveal a hint of her stomach. At the sound of Zoey’s arrival, she sat up, fox ears pointing upward and twitching in a display Zoey had learned meant excitement—though she could have read that on her face without the help.

She waved a slip of paper at her even as she finished closing the door. “You better appreciate how much restraint it took.”

“Huh?”

“You got a gift from our favorite princess.”

Blinking, Zoey walked forward and took the note from Delta. It read, in Rosalie’s handwriting, Closet, underneath the blanket. You’ll see it.

“What’s this?”

“That’s what I’ve been dying to find out. But it’s a gift for you, or something like that, so I wasn’t gonna barge in and find out myself.” She wrinkled her nose and jabbed a finger at her. “But only because I like you. It took a lot of restraint.”

“I like you too,” Zoey said, amused. “And thanks. But, a gift? From Rosalie?”

Zoey was already walking toward the closet, and Delta jumped up to join her. When Zoey opened one of the large double doors to the walk-in room, Delta slipped in first. She bee-lined for the obvious stand-out: the blanket-covered object—piece of furniture?—tucked out of the way, which had definitely not been there earlier.

It was tall, thin, and rectangular, at least by how the fabric was draped across it. Definitely not a typical ‘gift’, but then again, Zoey hadn’t expected it to be. Honestly, she didn’t know what to expect, with Rosalie having, with no explanation, deposited some piece of furniture into her closet.

“Can I?” Delta asked, her hand already gripping the cover blanket.

“Go ahead.”

Without fanfare, the palpably curious foxgirl yanked the covering away, revealing the object underneath.

It was ... a door?

A wooden door that could be found just about anywhere, distinctly not ornate or grand like the ones in the d’Celestin manor. It was fixed inside a doorframe, not standalone, which made it an even odder sight.

“Huh?” Delta said. “The heck is this?”

“Open it.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She gripped the knob, turned, and pulled the door open.

Zoey had already had a suspicion of what it would be, so she was only half surprised to see a shimmering black portal appear, as they would find at a shard entrance.

“Woah,” Delta said. “I’m going in.”

“We should—”

But she’d already stepped through.

Zoey sighed, more exasperated than annoyed, and followed after. She sank into the cool liquid. Within a single step, she had arrived somewhere completely different.

Well. Not completely. They were still inside the d’Celestin manor, it looked like, just in a new bedroom. One with far less frippery than the one Zoey, Delta, and the others had been staying in. Though still nice, still spacious, clean, and clearly of wealthy construction—only lacking the ostentatiousness.

Sitting in the corner of the room was Rosalie. She stood as Zoey and Delta arrived, obviously having been waiting for them.

“Wait,” Delta said. “Our rooms are nicer than yours?”

“Of course,” Rosalie said. “You’re in the guest quarters, which is where we host influential parties when they have business in Mantle. We have a reputation to maintain when it comes to the presentation of those rooms. But that doesn’t mean we prefer such gaudiness.”

“I ... guess that makes sense,” Delta said, though she sounded surprised. She looked around Rosalie’s bedroom—as Zoey did—though there weren’t any indicators of it being her room. But that was because she hadn’t grown up here; she was as new to this manor as they themselves were. The implication, though, was that their Haven estate was designed under similar principles. Flaunt their wealth to the dignitaries, but simpler living for themselves.

Well. ‘Simpler.’ It was still a rich person’s room.

“What’s up with the portal?” Zoey asked. She looked back; behind her, an identical copy of the door stood, a black void shimmering inside. “I didn’t know you could make portals between places.”

“A very expensive set of artifacts from one of my father’s shard explorations.” She paused. “Or, I assume it came from my father. I took it from the family vault, since I was informed by a certain someone,” she gave a dry look to Zoey, “that I would, under no circumstances, be allowed to spend my nights away from her.”

Zoey smiled. Rosalie had worked quickly on that problem. There had been a logistical concern about keeping their secrecy while continuing their relationship, but portals helped take a few steps toward solving that.

“Family vault?” Delta asked. “What else is in there?”

“How’s the door work?” Zoey asked at the same time. “And how expensive is expensive?”