Rose: A Fairytale Reverse Harem Romance Series (Happily Never After Book 4) by Plum Pascal & H.P. Mallory

Author:Plum Pascal & H.P. Mallory
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2020-06-17T04:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

CARMINE

The home of Mad Madam Harriet Trilby is a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare. There doesn’t seem to be a surface in the place that isn’t packed with something curious, squirming, or clearly bespelled. It’s an assault on the eyes.

The floor is checked, the squares seeming to sway or dance if I stare at them too long. Almost every knob or knocker in the place has faces, with eyes that track me across the room. They’re placed in odd, nonsensical places without a door to open at all. I wonder what might happen if I pull them? Would a door magically appear, or would the brass knocker just shout obscenities at me?

There is barely enough space to navigate the hall. I keep bumping into end tables or writing desks, stuffed to bursting with papers and objects I can’t name. On one is a complete alchemist’s tool set. Something is boiling in one of the beakers, emitting sweet-smelling pink bubbles every few seconds. Hattie bats one away from my face when it comes to bob before me.

“None of that, or we shan’t get a sensible word out of you for a week.”

“What does it do?” I ask.

“You ask too many questions.”

It’s actually the first question I’ve asked her, but no matter. I boggle at the rear-cinch of her waistcoat, which is the only part of her I can currently spy through all the insanity. Then, in the next second, she’s gone, leaving me to deal with a floating parasol that does its best to club my right ear as it floats lazily past. I swat at it, then glance upward, prepared for more combative decorations.

Looking up is a mistake.

The ceiling is patterned similarly to the floor, but with red and yellow stripes adorning the dome. They converge at the center, like stripes on a peppermint and form an almost hypnotizing pattern. They also seem to spin when I stare too long. I sway, suddenly dizzy, and I might have collapsed into the next desk, full of miniature cats lounging on satin bows and small, velvety poufs, if Neva wasn’t there to catch me.

She gently stops my spinning with a wispy laugh.

“Hattie’s home is a lot to take in, Carmine,” she starts. “And you don’t want to take it all in at once. It’ll drive you batty if you try. I’m not even sure you can get the full scope of this place. Things seem to change from day to day.”

“How do you live here?” I wonder aloud.

Though the more pressing question is how is she here? How is she alive? And if she’s been alive all this time? Why hasn’t she come to find me before now? It’s strange how life works, but I’ve only known my sister to be alive for the last ten minutes or so and in that time, my mind has been a blank—shock perhaps.

“How… how do you live?” I change the question, facing her earnestly.

Something of my thoughts must show on my face because the good humor drains away quickly, ushering in a more sober expression.

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