By a Silver Thread by Rachel Aaron

Author:Rachel Aaron [Aaron, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-01T21:00:00+00:00

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As befitted the self-styled queen of the DFZ, Alva’s barrow was in Lakeview, the single most expensive neighborhood of the entire city. Unlike everywhere else on the Skyways, it wasn’t a towering superscraper or a cluster of super-tall buildings like the one Jamie lived in. This was even more luxurious: a five-block stretch of landscaped parkland overlooking the water with lots big enough to build an actual house on.

Lola had lived in the DFZ her entire life, and the idea of a freestanding house on the Skyways still blew her mind. Even Victor’s clients weren’t rich enough to live here, so she’d only been by a few times, mostly to sightsee. Tristan’s classic Lamborghini fit right in, though. The candy-red car didn’t even draw a second glance from the incredibly stylish people walking their purebred dogs down the tree-lined streets. People who were themselves likely only employees of the mega-rich who actually lived here.

“Does every house have its own helicopter pad?” Lola asked, wedging her face into the triangle of the sports car’s minuscule rear window.

“Some have two,” Tristan replied. “And the street itself converts into a landing strip for private jets, though you do have to book ahead so people have time to move their cars.”

Lola whistled, trying to look every direction at once as Tristan’s summoned car drove them through a black iron gate onto a flagstone driveway through the biggest—and only—front yard Lola had ever seen on the Skyways.

It was so huge, it had its own flock of peacocks. Lola didn’t know if the birds were gossamer or real, but just having the space to hold them in a city where the majority of the residents lived in apartments under bridges was an insulting level of luxury. The grounds were meticulously manicured and covered with the tallest bushes that would grow in the climate, since large trees didn’t have the root-room to grow up here on the bridges, which meant gossamer trees were out as well. Even fairy queens had to wrangle with disbelief, and people in this neighborhood were absolutely judging the heck out of every plant choice.

Probably because the show-off yard took up the majority of the lot’s space, the house itself was smaller than Lola expected. It was only three stories, but it was built in that pretentious boxy plantation style with a fantastic view of the lake. Very stereotypical rich person, but stereotypes were what fairies thrived on, and now that Tristan’s car had pulled up to the front steps, Lola could smell Alva’s gossamer like rotten fruit on the wind.

“Stay close,” Tristan ordered as they got out. “And let me do the talking.”

Lola had no argument with that. She was too busy trying not to gag as Tristan led them up the brick stairs to the mansion’s ostentatious portico. The gossamer was thick as syrup now that they were standing on the threshold. But though it tasted strongly of Alva, the magic clearly did not belong to her.

It was such a weird disconnect, Lola couldn’t actually put her finger on what was wrong.

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