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- Chapter Five -

Amina

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“I'm stayinghere?” There was no way to hide the awe in my voice.

The house—if that was even a fair word—had been hidden behind the giant gates covered in ivy. There was a crisp, green front yard with skinny lemon and orange trees breaking up the flatness. A few pieces of fruit littered the ground, the air tingling my nose with the scent of citrus.

As we drove along the path, I realized the building stretched out on both sides like a pair of wings. It could have housed thirty people, it was way too much for just me. Suspicious, I eyeballed Violet. Her mouth was set in a tiny smile. Her giant sunglasses made it look even tinier.

Parking the car, she lifted the glasses enough to wink at me. “Wait till you see inside. You won't know what to think.”

Honestly, I didn't needmoreto think about. Ever since Bach had stormed out of the recording studio, I'd been in a funk trying to decipher it. What had I done wrong? Violet had assured me—when I'd asked her bluntly if I'd messed up—that everything was fine.

I wasn't dumb. Everything was not fine.

Was it the song I chose?

"Here," she said, lifting my suitcase from the trunk and setting it on the smooth stone under us. "I'll get this, you go on ahead."

"No, no. I can carry my own luggage!"

"I'm sure you can. That's what makes it a favor and not an obligation." Grinning, she walked off with it towards the wide French doors.

"Thank you," I said honestly. Despite her instructions to go ahead, I kept pace with her, opening the door so she could walk inside. I'd been hopeful that they'd put me up in a Holiday Inn. I'd heard they sometimes had free tea and mints in their rooms.

But this...

This was insane.

A large, circular couch was placed in the middle of the foyer, but there was so much room on both sides that I could have stretched my arms out and not touched the thing while walking by.

Arches triple my height were cut into the pale walls like this was part of the Colosseum. The upper level that I could see had similar arches along the railing, and as I trailed behind Violet, I kept expecting to see someone—anyone—walking past them.

"Are you alright?" she asked me.