Chapter Twenty
I could hear movement from somewhere upstairs—heavy, booted feet against marble. Three sets. Tahlia froze, her brown eyes wide. The pompous Tahlidi noble had arrived. And he was not alone.
I knew we only had a matter of moments to get out of the manse. If we tried to hide, there was a decent chance we would be discovered or trapped. The noble had spoken of taking inventory. I had a feeling he was going to search the manse from top to bottom with the help of the guards. No point in them standing on duty outside when they would be more useful helping with all the grunt work.
The stairs to the basement were near the back of the manse, in the kitchen. Tahlia snatched up her pack. I covered my mother’s portrait with the heavy length of dusty, velvet fabric that lay on a nearby
