Page 53 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

Braxis had a biwheel too. So, he just followed Liria up the hill.

They passed Dafeu, the head gardener, in the orchard, and he straightened to gape at Braxis.

Braxis waved. He reminded her so much of the old Thax that it hurt her heart.

But Liria also craved that energy. That lightness.

It was what had attracted her to Thax initially.

Especially after seeing his darkness. Light is nothing without the dark.

They parked in the carriage house, and Liria took Braxis out front to give him a quick tour of the formal garden.

After a tour of the flowerbeds, she took him down the path by the willow, past the fountain in the circular drive, and to the front door.

It opened as Liria approached, recognizing her vibrational signal.

Braxis stopped and gaped at the whirring gears in the big brass panel. Light seeped out from the edges.

“Holy shit, is that an aurind door?” Brax asked.

“Yeah, Thax's dad insisted on it. It was either that or a security team.”

“Who's his dad?”

“Oh, he's the Speaker of Icara.”

“Wow. No wonder he can afford all of this.”

Liria shrugged and waved at the window to the right of the door. “We've got chime-ward windows too.”

“What are those?” His gaze went to the window.

“The frames are converged to chime whenever danger approaches. But they also diffuse light in whatever pattern you wish. We've got it set to stained glass. You can't really tell from out here.” She went in. “You wanna come inside?”

“Uh, yeah.” Brax pulled his stare away from the window only to check out the center of the door as he passed it. Then eyed the back of the door when it shut on its own. “Am I going to be able to leave?”

“Oh, yeah. It knows you entered with me. It will let you out. But to re-enter, you'd have to be with someone who the door recognizes as an owner or staff.”

“Whoa. That's some high-end convergence.”

“That's only the start.”

“Holy convergence!” Braxis walked slowly to the base of the grand staircase. “That's amazing.”

Liria went to stand beside him and admire the two-story tall mullioned windows behind the sweeping stairs.

Sunlight streamed through the glass, brightening the dark wood paneling of the foyer and shining off the plants within the inner courtyard.

There was an entry on the ground floor, behind the stairs, but Liria led Braxis up the stairs to the landing and the second-floor access.

“It's beautiful, isn't it?” She opened the glass door in the center of the landing and stepped out onto the iron walkway that ran along the courtyard wall at the level of the second floor. She waved at the spiral stairs in the corner. “We can go up to the third floor from here.”

“You have a garden inside your house!” Braxis leaned over the iron railing and peered into the courtyard.

Liria grinned as she joined him. It was so nice to have someone to share this with—someone who was as excited to see it as she should have been. It helped her forget about the tragedy hanging over her and enjoy the good things she had. Like this garden. Inside her house.

With the size of the courtyard—at least a hundred square feet and three stories high—there was room for trees inside it.

Only a few grew along the sides, reaching sturdy branches to the glass ceiling above, but they were enough to make it feel as if it wasn't just a courtyard but a park.

A riot of color frothed from the flower beds, up to the bushes, and then climbing vines.

“Look over here.” She drew him to the right. “You see that stream?”

“Yeah.”

“There's a pump that sends the water underground to the whole garden.”

“Watering from below?”

“Yup, and in that corner there, it forms a pool. We even have fish.”

“Wow, I'd be down at that table every morning to enjoy my coffee.” He waved at the circular clearing in the center of the garden formed with slabs of pale stone. “That's a nice dining set to have outdoors. But I guess it's not really outdoors. The sunlight might damage the wood, though.”

“I believe the glass has a filter.” Liria looked up at the domed glass ceiling.

“Whoever built this place thought of everything.”

“I assume it's been updated over the years. Come on, we can go up to the third floor and work our way down.” Liria climbed the black iron spiral staircase and paused at the top so they could admire the higher view before they went inside.

“Third floor landing.” She motioned down the stairs, then took him to the left.

“Mostly guest and storage rooms up here.” She waved at the corbels and crown moldings as they walked down the corridor.

“I don't know what all this curlicue stuff is called, but there's a lot of it.”

“Yeah, there is.” Braxis peered into the empty rooms at the high ceilings and poked at the stone roses, vines, and faces adorning the walls.

“The building follows the point of the peninsula.” Liria waved at the wall they came to. “This is the upper wall of the main suite. It's two stories, but there's no access up here. There's a tower over here with a nice view, though.”

She deliberately took him to the southern tower instead of the northern tower that overlooked the terrace. They went up another set of stairs to the top. The conical roof sat atop four stone columns that were connected by a high railing, all open to the elements.

Liria waved at the brass telescope. “Have a look.”

“Whoa.” Braxis just went to the railing first, staring in the direction of the point. “I've never seen the Junsari from so high. This is spectacular.”

“Yes, it is,” she whispered.

Braxis turned, getting the whole 360. “There's the town! Wow, you can see everything from up here.” He went to the telescope and turned it toward Thennis. “I can see my house!”

Liria laughed, finally feeling the childlike joy she'd been hoping to recover. “It's peaceful.”

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

Without the breathforges to clean the air, she could smell the salt of the sea, but that high up, it was refreshing without the other, less pleasant odors that often came with the coast. She let Braxis look until he was content, and then took him back down to the third floor.

Next was the second floor, gained by going down the southern tower stairs. Liria took him down to the end of the house again, but here, there was a set of double doors. She opened them and took him into the main suite.

“This is supposed to be my bedroom.” She waved to the left. “Bathroom's over there.” Another wave to the left at a wooden spiral staircase. “Stairs to the second-floor loft, which is actually on the third floor of the house.”

Braxis didn't say anything, just walked straight forward to the wall of windows that stretched two stories. The Junsari Sea stretched out before him. He laid a hand on the golden handle of the balcony door.

“Go on,” Liria said as she joined him.

He glanced at her. “It feels as if we're on the prow of a ship. A very large ship.”

“Yes, it does. It's an illusion. The balcony hides the tip of the peninsula, making it seem as if we're poised above the water.” She nodded toward the balcony. “It's different out there.”

Braxis opened the glass door and stepped outside. A breeze blew back his hair, and he sighed. “My goodness.”

She followed him to the railing. “From here, you can see the edge of the peninsula.” She motioned at the twenty or so feet of ground that had been left between the house and the jutting point.

A walkway followed the wall, going from one side garden to the other.

“So it gives you a better sense of height. It kind of tickles my stomach.”

He chuckled and looked down. “I'm glad we can't see the side of the cliff. I think that would be too much.” Then he turned and looked up at the house before staring inside, at the loft that overlooked the main floor of the suite. “So, why aren't you sleeping in here? Is it the windows?”

“Uh.” Liria went back inside. “It's just too big, you know? Maybe after we've been here awhile.”

“Let me guess—you're in a guest suite on the ground floor.”

“How did you know?” She led him out of the suite and down to the north tower.

“I wouldn't want to walk up stairs every day either.” He winked at her.

Chuckling, she took him out onto the ground floor.

“This is where we sleep.” She waved at the door to the suite she shared with Thax, but didn't offer to take him in.

That was too personal. Instead, she passed the entrance to the dining room and went across a corridor intersection.

When they came to the second intersection, she took them to the right and then into the first doorway on the left. “This is the library.”

“Damn,” Braxis whispered. “This is bigger than my house.” He went across the thick rugs to the bay window where the desk sat. Looking at the odd dip of the ceiling, he asked, “Is this the tower we were in?”

“Yes, the ceiling dips with the line of the stairs. This is the tower base.”

“Amazing.”

Liria was just about to show him around the vast room, with its barren shelves, begging for books, when she heard a growl. Braxis and Liria spun to see Thax come stalking into the room. He went straight to Braxis.

“Thax!” Liria rushed between them. “Darling, this is Braxis. I met him in town today.”

Thax narrowed his stare at Braxis and continued to stare while he asked her, “You brought another man into our home?”

“It's not like that. He's a new friend.”

“Fuck,” Braxis muttered. “I'm sorry, man.

I didn't mean to upset you. This isn't anything you should worry about.

I just saw your girl in town, and she looked so, well, she looked like she could use a friend.

Then she said she lived here, and I've always wanted to see this place. This is just a tour. No hidden motives. I swear.”

Thax's face twitched.

Liria put her hand on his chest. “Do you want to walk with us?”

He looked down at her. Stared. Then he nodded.