Rock-A-Bye Baby: The Sand Maiden (Morpheus: Greek God of Dreams Book 2) by L. R. W. Lee

Author:L. R. W. Lee [Lee, L. R. W.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Woodgate Publishing
Published: 2019-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

The pair of stewards looked up and scanned our party. The one on the right said, “You must be the princess. We’ve been expecting you.”

They were expecting me. I willed my fingers to stop twitching, without success.

The other attendant raised a brow and gave us an evil eye. “Don’t touch anything.”

“Come.” The first steward turned and without looking back, strode into the torch-lit chamber, his black robes swishing behind his onyx wings.

Other than the dread of meeting my powerful crone aunts, I didn’t know what to expect when I’d found out we were headed to the Palace of Time, but what I saw hadn’t entered my mind: The smell of incense greeted us, and then the low sounds of ticking, metal balls rolling across metal, tinkling water, chimes, and more. They joined to create a melody as we followed our guide between rows of ancient shelves, which stretched floor to ceiling, crammed with all manner of time-keeping devices.

Tan-robed attendants flitted between a sea of clear hourglasses, tipping them over just before the sand ran out, while other stewards monitored elaborate contraptions with dripping water and added more to some.

Another section of shelves with robed custodians scurrying up and down movable ladders had devices in which a metal ball rolled down a zigzagging track to move the hands on a timepiece. A simpler measuring device that we came upon looked to be nothing more than candles burning. A steward would change out a melted flambeau when the wick guttered. Some candles looked to be perilously close to expiring. I hated to think what happened if a candle wasn’t tended to expeditiously.

So many different devices. My feeling of dread gave way to awe.

“Please keep up,” the steward warned.

He jarred me from my reverie, and the reality of the situation reasserted itself. I felt the warm breath of the beasts following on my wings and heard their nails clicking on the stone floor.

Mare-Rankin strode beside me, a stern expression making the muscles in his jaw bulge. I clutched my stomach and averted my eyes to the back of our guide’s worn robe.

After passing several more shelves brimming with devices, ladders, and attendants, our guide stopped and I peered around him. My aunts, Nona, Ches, and Ta, sat on a dais, hunched in rocking chairs, conversing. Fear and awe overwhelmed me and I gripped my jacket buttons.

They seemed oblivious to our presence. Or maybe they were hard of hearing. I took the time to study them. Their stringy, white hair fell over plain gray-robed shoulders. Nothing but the fact that they were older than time itself boasted anything remarkable about them. But no matter how unassuming they seemed, everyone feared them, and I was smart enough to tremble.

“Pardon me, Moirai,” our guide interrupted, then bowed.

I followed his lead and went down on one knee as well. With my brow a hairsbreadth from the floor, a shrill voice chastised, “You think yourselves equal?” I couldn’t tell if she addressed me staring at the floor as I was.

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