On the Trail

Tiberius downed the rest of his drink and changed his order to black coffee and an appetizer of rice-and-herb stuffed grape leaves. Whatever this was, he’d need his wits much more than uninhibited charm. He bore the stranger’s long examination with a slight furrow forming between his brows, slowly folding up the broadsheet he’d been reading and tucking it into his jacket. She was doing something magical, though he couldn’t tell exactly how it worked on first sight. It was clearly not an art his tutors ever bothered with – nor one practiced by his new fiancee.

”Well. That’s not very nice. Shall I undress for you as well?” He touched his left wrist, threatening to unbutton one cuff before stopping and breaking into a grin. If she’d been sent by Cici, she wouldn’t have needed to ask his name. Especially after all that magical arse-sniffing.

”Tiberius of House Umbra, very pleased to meet you.” It wasn’t, exactly, just etiquette speaking. If she was not Cecilia’s creature but instead something distantly like her — then this was an opportunity. A dangerous one, to be sure. But that rarely stopped him. He leaned back in his chair, regarding the stranger over the steam rising from the cup cradled in his hands. She wasn’t entirely colorless after all. Her eyes were kind of purple, not gray like he’d first thought.

”Only a low House, I’m afraid, but you will not find a better guide to the city. What brings you to Minrathous, Miss? …”