After the suitcases were loaded into the Cruz sedan, Lila sped to Hotel Emeraude, located across from Bullstow.
Lila stared at the hotel when she reached it. No matter how many times she had seen Hotel Emeraude, her amusement with the place never ceased. It was as if a teenage architect had crossed the Parthenon with a doll’s mansion. It wasn’t j
ust grand, it was grand taken one toe over the line. If one didn’t look closely, one might miss the touches of whimsy, the windows shaped like gemstones, the trees trimmed in perfect circles, the little gargoyles peeking over the edge of the roof.
She parked in a back lot of the hotel, hiding the sedan among several large trucks, not that it needed much cover. She’d taken the most anonymous vehicle in her family’s garage for a reason.
She didn’t want to be found.
Lila jogged to the front of the hotel. The door opened as soon as she came near, and the owner of Hotel Emeraude stepped forward to greet her, awash in a cloud of vanilla fabric that contrasted with her ebony skin. The elegant woman extended her hand, her natural hair spiraling cheerfully around her face, like a goddess of the vine. “Prime Minister Lemaire waits for you in the café. We have a private booth for you there, Madame Randolph,” she said in a thick French accent. The doorman reached for the satchel on Lila’s shoulder. “My people will carry your bag to your room if you wish.”
“That’s okay,” Lila said, eyeing the doorman, not trusting anyone around her laptop and drives. She hitched her satchel farther on her shoulder. “I will carry them all myself later, Madame Sauveterre.”
“As you wish. I notice your family’s colors. They are missing from your coat?” Madame Sauveterre inquired, tilting her head toward Lila’s chest.
“I wear what I wear.”
Madame Sauveterre’s mouth crooked in a puzzled line as they stepped into the hotel lobby, which was far more exquisite than the exterior. The marble floors, a blend of white and gray geometric prints, were almost too immaculate to step on. Chiseled black pillars had been scattered throughout the space, reaching all way up into the ceiling, which spanned several floors. A crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling. Bursts of silver flashed everywhere, from doorknobs to railings, to rods peeking out of the drapes, to the half-hidden lights nestled throughout the structure. Several ivory sculptures of fantastical beasts dotted the rooms, interspersed among the green sofas and pillows. One of Jewel’s paintings had been hung behind the front counter, a bucking unicorn bought by Madame Sauveterre from her sister’s second show.
Madame Sauveterre ushered Lila into the café and toward a row of doors at the back. She paused at the door to number three and handed over a key. “You are checked into Hotel Emeraude, Madame Randolph. I will take you to your room later if you wish?”
Lila nodded. “Thank you. As always, your hotel is one of the finest in all of Saxony.”
“And the most discreet.”
Madame Sauveterre bowed and drifted away, heels clicking on the tile.
Lila opened the door to the private booth, which could have fit a family of six with room to spare. A rug of the deepest green covered the space under a slick ebony table with two large benches on either side. At the table’s center sat a trough of lilies.
Prime Minister Lemaire turned away from the window, which had been filled with one-way glass, composing an entire wall of the booth. “Lila, girl,” he said, darting forward to lift her off the ground in a hug. Lila’s coat caught the air as she twirled.
He let her slide to the ground eventually, but he did not let go.
“I always find them in the end,” she said, not sure what else to say.
Lemaire put her down immediately and dragged her to the table. “For oracle’s sake, you need tea. You voice sounds worse than Chief Shaw led me to believe.”
“I’ve had buckets and bucket of tea.”
“Well then, more won’t hurt.”
“You don’t have to pee it out later.”
He tugged down her scarf, squinting at her neck. “There’s makeup on your scarf, and enough light in here for me to recognize bruises when—” He licked his thumb and rubbed it across her neck.
“Ew…” Lila batted his hand away. “I told you. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You’re just in one piece. At least when you’re prime I won’t have any sleepless nights. I had them all the time when…”
He trailed off as Lila darted around him, scanning the room with her palm. As it was not large and did not contain many furnishings, it did not take Lila all that long to finish. Finding nothing, she sank onto the bench across from her father and tossed her jammer near the lilies. The jammer was one of many gadgets she had taken with her when she left the Randolph estate.
“Being prime is dangerous too.”
“There are different degrees of danger. And I already checked for bugs. I’ve made good use of your programs. You always have to check, though.”
“I can’t assume your palm hasn’t been compromised.”
“Well, it’s good that I check as well. I can’t assume yours hasn’t been compromised either.”