Before dawn Irenya dressed, left a note for Mikey, and went to the banquet room. She opened the silvered doors and caught the smell of Aeryl’s lavender wax. Two lamps stood near the cirayla complete with bowls of lumen. She ignited the liquid, and in the pools of light she rested her cheek on the polished wood. The griffin crouched in front of the soundbox as it had always done, benign, wings extended, and the tiny chips of gemstones glittering among the stylised feathers. She trailed her fingers across the long strings and the sound shivered in the air, through her flesh and bones.
‘Yes. It’s me,’ she whispered. ‘I’m back. I’ll have you in tune quick smart. Nothing like getting up Galen’s nose again, eh?’
The strings retuned, she closed her eyes and began to play. The sound resonated th
