As their car pulled up in front of the Hôtel de la Jolie Nuit, the tip of Mina’s nose rested gently on the dark, tinted window. She craned her neck to absorb the breathtaking views of the hotel’s exquisite façade. The car drove smoothly along the paved driveway, which was lined with pink and white rose bushes, until it slowed to a complete stop beneath the stone portico.
Mina enjoyed the quiet ride sitting beside Luca, who continued to read a French-language copy of Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. He had kept his eyes glued to the book on their entire journey from Castle Gealach to Paris, although Mina did not feel ignored or slighted in any way. In fact, she rather enjoyed the comfortable silence that had settled between them, and she imagined what it would be
