{An Hour Later}

Lexia trailed a circle on Axis’ bare chest. His topaz skin contrasted starkly against her pale hand. She loved the marriage of the colors and often imagined a child with such a complexion. They laid together, satisfied for now, and discussed their futures. Mostly work. Meanwhile, she drew a map of their lives across his abdomen, careful to avoid the ugly round scars. The coin-sized imperfections constellated his entire body in small circular reminders of pain, and Lexia hated them.

It’s why she never asked Axis to be rough with her, even though she craved the knife’s edge between pain and pleasure, control and choice. Lexia loved him too much, knowing Axis could never hurt her after the abuse he’d endured all his life. She was happy with how he liked things, gentle and drawn out to prolong the climax.

It had taken Lexia the better part of an hour to stealth out from the cover of Rhyme’s watchful eyes, yet still, it shouldn’t be too hard to find her. Lexia and Axis’ relationship was growing more and more public with every stride her lover took to propose. The newspapers reported every picnic in the park or lazy stroll. A local writer created a play after catching the couple making eye contact across the street once. When they first held hands in public, someone changed Winter’s anthem to include lyrics about their perfect match.

Axis hated it, but Lexia didn’t mind. Their eventual union would dominate gossip about children and inheritance, all things expected when born into the most prominent families on the planet.

“Come back to me, Lexia.” Axis kissed the top of her hair and took her tracing hand in his, kissing it next. “Am I boring you with my recap of the meeting?”

She wanted to laugh about his choice of pillow talk, but it had always been this way. Gauge Snow was never far from Axis’ mind. Lexia said, “I think the unions are a sign of growth, and, although it often comes with a little pain, this change will ultimately result in a stronger force.”

“Much stronger than our factories, apparently. I can’t believe father is letting the machine managers abuse laborers, and I’m especially aggrieved to learn this from Snow of all people.”

Yes, Lexia supposed it was quite embarrassing. She wasn’t sure why, but she always imagined the Count of Copper with a smug smile on his face. At least that’s how Axis painted him. In her lover’s defense, she said, “I wished I could’ve been there.”

Axis barked out a laugh. “You would eat him alive.” Still holding onto her hand, he turned it over and peered at the timepiece on her wrist.

The metal twisting around it to form Lexia’s seal was gold, and the harness was a soft black leather. It fastened the small clock to the pulse point on her wrist.

Axis’ voice was soft as he peered at it, saying, “I wish I were a braver man for you.”

Lexia shook her head. “Don’t say that. My father’s expectations are unfair—”

“No, Dr. Tempest is right. If I’m to marry you, I need to get over my issue with privacy.” Before Lexia could argue, Axis sat up and stared down at her in his arms to say, “And I will. I vow to you, Lexia. We’ll be together.”

Lexia pressed her hand to his jaw. “We are together right now. Just give me your timepiece, and I’ll give you mine. We’ll tell father you proposed at the restaurant.”

But Axis was already shaking his head. “I respect your father too much to lie to him. He protected me as much as he could. If I’m to be a man fit to marry his daughter, I only have to overcome this one thing. This Founding Season, I know I will.”

There was nothing else for it. Lexia beamed at Axis and brought him down to kiss her. Until they made it official, sneaking out and spending their nights together would have to do.

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For now.

Lexia walked home, sore and sated. About two blocks ago, Rhyme had picked up in step behind her, and she didn’t have the energy to tell him off. Plus, she wasn’t stupid. Some protection for the Tempest Heiress made sense, but crime wasn’t necessarily the problem here.

People wanted for nothing. By participating in any of the available labors within Winter’s city domes, they’d earned their shelter and food. However, the closer to working for one of the three prominent families, the better they lived. Which meant Lexia was often accosted for work in the manor or in the offices. Sometimes it formed a crowd, and sometimes the crowds might become unfriendly.

So Lexia tolerated her large, muscular shadow for the walk home, especially with all the activity in the streets.

From behind, Rhyme called, “This is why I don’t give you a centimeter, Heiress. You took a kilometer by disappearing and leaving me with a story to tell your father.”

“Perhaps we ought to keep it between us,” Lexia offered without turning around or pausing in her stride.

Rhyme asked, “Now why would I do that?”

She said, “Because if you don’t, he’ll know you lost me and failed in your duties.”

Rhyme was quiet for the rest of the walk through the streets of dancing and singing people. Someone took her hand and twirled her around. She held up her hand to stop Rhyme from interfering and curtsied away from the drunken dancer. Maybe tomorrow he would wake up and realize what he’d done, but Lexia hoped not. Founding Season was the perfect excuse for a good time, and she welcomed it.

Wrought-iron fencing between stacked rock columns announced their arrival home. The gate was closed to the street, and the Victorian manor was set back a hundred meters from the public eye. Rhyme went ahead of her to tell the guard to open up, and she sauntered in with a wink for her bodyguard.

Lexia wouldn’t tell if he wouldn’t.

Before she entered the property, Lexia glanced over at Snow Plaza on the hilltop. There, the parade had exploded into the grandest party she could ever remember seeing. Beyond the ruckus and the floats, the Copper Cathedral shimmered in the lamplight, its doors an ugly reminder of the kind of man who lived inside.

Well, the kind of man Axis and Lexia’s father had described, anyway.

Lexia gathered her coat around her, but it wouldn’t fight off the chill. Rhyme followed her inside and down the long paver walkway to the beautiful house she called home. Would Lexia miss the pastel blue siding and soft gray shingles with its wraparound porch when she married Axis? Would she move into the Flickers’ ugly brick mansion, or could she talk her future husband into a compromise of their own home together?

These thoughts concerned Lexia as she stepped inside the warm sentinel of her childhood.

Rosewood stairs wrapped around the walls up to the fifth floor, comprising the grand foyer. Her father stood on the second floor landing with a warm smile.

Dr. Tempest’s voice held a wealth of affection for his headstrong child as he asked, “Should I ever expect you to arrive on time?”

Lexia beamed up at him. “Only for work, father.”

“That’s my daughter. Punctual only when it matters.” Leon’s watchful gray eyes fell on the timepiece on her wrist, and his face softened. “How is Axis?”

Lexia wanted to cry. Perhaps, she’d hinged too much on this date—too much on Axis. She reinforced the smile on her face. “Lovely as always, father.” For good measure, she said, “Rhyme was diligent, as only a professional of his caliber could be.” She turned and extended the smile to her bodyguard.

Rhyme’s eyes widened a touch.

Leon asked, “Did you keep her out of trouble?”

Rhyme glanced at Lexia before answering, “Yes, sir. There was nothing out of the usual.”

Lexia relaxed a bit and made a note to send Rhyme a thank you gift. She turned back to the stairs and took them two at a time, with a pause on the landing to hug her father. “I’m tired from working—alone—all day. Good night.”

“Good night, love.”

Lexia’s room was the only room on the fifth floor, where her father insisted on keeping her private apartments. It was covered in sketches of Axis and butterflies which no one was allowed to disturb. A desk, a bed, a vanity, and a wardrobe consumed the bedroom in soft white. More white furniture made up the sitting room. The parquet floors were painted black—much to her father’s dismay and much to Lexia’s delight. And a bathroom accounted for the rest of the upstairs.

After a hot soak and writing a letter to Axis, Lexia went to bed with entirely too much on her mind. Dreams of copper and snow haunted her.

She awoke the next morning to find a stack of missives in the sitting room. The only one she cared about was the one in the red envelope. It boasted Axis’ flame seal.

I will keep my vow.

Lexia’s heart soared, and she almost missed the shiny envelope at the bottom of the stack.

Copper leaf.

A surge of adrenaline sent Lexia’s pulse pounding. She opened the envelope to find a slip of black paper with a signet in the shape of a shooting star, and only two words were written on the invitation.

Founding Ball.

Lexia would need to find a dress.