Page 31 of A House of Gold
The hallway curves gently, branching off into other hallways. I pass door after door after door, all identical. No numbers. No names. No way to tell one from another. After five minutes of walking, I realize I have no idea where I am. Could be on the same floor as my room. Could be three floors away. Could be walking in circles for all I know.
The panic starts small, just a flutter in my chest, a tightness in my throat. Then it grows. Spreads. Because I’m lost. Completely, utterly lost. And there’s no one here. No servants, no Auric, no Croesus. Just me and endless golden hallways that all look the fucking same.
“Lost already?”
I spin around so fast, I nearly trip over my own feet.
Auric is leaning against the wall about ten feet behind me, arms crossed and that infuriating smirk on his face. He’s wearing another expensive suit, navy this time, with a gold pocket square, and he looks like he’s been standing there for a while. Watching. Waiting.
“How long have you been following me?” I demand.
“Since you left your room.” He pushes off the wall, strolls toward me with that same casual grace. “Which was about seven minutes ago. You’ve walked in a complete circle, by the way. Your room is three doors down.”
I look back the way I came. Sure enough, three doors down, there’s.. a door that looks exactly like every other door.
“How the hell am I supposed to tell which one is mine?” I grump. Just happy it’s not a whine.
“You learn.” He stops a few feet away, clearly enjoying this. “Everyone does eventually. Or they don’t, and they stay lost. Those are really your only options.”
“That’s helpful. Thanks.”
“I’m not here to be helpful.” He tilts his head, studying me. “I’m here to make sure you don’t accidentally wander into a restricted section and get yourself killed on your first day. Lord Croesus would be very disappointed if I let that happen.”
“How thoughtful.”
“Indeed.” He gestures down the hallway. “You’re looking for the dining hall, I assume? Breakfast?”
My stomach chooses that moment to growl, loudly and embarrassingly. I haven’t eaten since...yesterday morning? The day before? Time feels slippery here.
“Yes,” I admit.
“Then you’re going the wrong way.” He turns and starts walking in the opposite direction. “Come on, little sin eater. Try to keep up.”
I follow because what choice do I have?
We walk in silence for a minute, turning corners, passing more identical doors. I try to memorize the route, left, straight, right, straight, left again, but it’s useless. Without landmarks, with no distinguishing features, it all blurs together.
“You’re doing it wrong,” Auric says without looking back.
“Doing what wrong?”
“Trying to memorize the path. It won’t work. The house doesn’t operate on human logic.”
“Then how am I supposed to navigate?”
“Feel.” He taps his chest. “The house responds to intent. If you want to find the dining hall, genuinely want it, the hallways will take you there. Eventually.”
“That’s the most useless advice I’ve ever heard.”
“And yet, it’s the only advice that works.” He glances back at me, amber eyes glinting with amusement. “You’re in a house built by an angel, Raven. It follows angelic rules. Desire. Want. Need. Those are the languages it speaks.”
“So I just want really hard to find breakfast and hope the hallways feel like cooperating?”
“Essentially, yes.”
“That’s insane.”
“Welcome to the House of Gold.” He stops in front of a door, identical to all the others except this one has a subtle gold handle shaped like a wheatsheaf. “Dining hall. Try not to embarrass yourself.”
