Anathema (Causal Enchantment, #1) Read Online Free Page A

faster. Blood rushed to my head, the sound in my ears
overpowering the roar of the jet engines.
    What’s happening to me?
My eyes darted
wildly around the plane’s interior. The walls and floor wavered. I
knew it had nothing to do with the pilot’s flying
skills.
    And then my heart stopped beating altogether.
Just like that. I couldn’t even manage a gasp. My right hand flew
to my chest while my left groped through the air for help, for
Sofie. It only lasted for a second or two, then my heart thumped
once, twice. Three times. And then it was beating again.
    A cool hand rested against mine. “Feeling
okay?” Sofie asked, leaning in to peer at my face, her brow
furrowed with worry.
    “ Yes. Just felt a little funny for a
sec. Must be my nerves,” I assured her, adding with a nervous grin,
“or the wine.”
    “ Are you sure?”
    I nodded, smiling reassuringly.
    The copilot poked his head out from the cockpit
to announce that we would be landing shortly. My body jerked in
response as the seat reverted to a stiff, upright position. Exactly
how it should be for a safe landing. Sofie’s gentle laughter filled
the cabin.
    Everything else was forgotten.

    “ We’re staying here,” Sofie
announced as our sleek black town car turned into a driveway off
Fifth Avenue. I looked out at a luxurious five–storey building
illuminated theatrically by exterior lights shining upward,
highlighting the grooves and ridges and other rich details of its
architecture. The car idled quietly, waiting for a heavy iron
garage door to glide open before pulling into the dimly lit tunnel
beyond. It ended at a second garage door that didn’t open until the
first was firmly shut.
    “ I guess we’ll be safe here,” I
murmured.
    Sofie offered only a small smile before turning
her minty eyes forward, her jaw tense. She seemed
nervous.
    The second door opened and the car pulled
forward. My eyes widened in amazement. “Wow. This is …”
    We were in an enclosed courtyard filled with
lush gardens bisected by winding walkways. Giant coach lanterns
illuminated five storeys of balconies climbing the four walls—there
had to be a hundred of them, each adorned with a wrought–iron
windowbox overflowing with flowers in vibrant sunset
hues.
    A throat cleared. I turned to find the car door
wide open and a white–haired man in a three–piece suit patiently
waiting, his hand outstretched.
    “ Sorry!” I scurried across the seat
to accept his hand. My feet landed on cobblestones as I slid
out.
    “ Good evening, Miss Evangeline,” the
man said in a rich British accent as he executed a formal bow. “I
am Leonardo, the butler. Please inform me if you require anything
at all during your stay.”
    I nodded dumbly, awed as much by him as I was
by my surroundings. It was warm in here—balmy, compared to the
frigid temperature outside. I took a few steps forward and knelt to
touch a velvety rose petal. “I didn’t think roses could bloom this
late.”
    “ They don’t, normally. Look up,”
Sofie said. “See the dome?”
    I tipped my head back and squinted at the dark
night sky above us, finally noticing the web of black lines holding
the glass panes between them in an intricate pattern. The giant
courtyard was an atrium.
    “ Feel free to tour the gardens,”
Leonardo offered, smiling encouragement.
    I hesitated only a second before returning the
smile and taking off down one of the paths like a child
investigating a secret garden. Until tonight, a place like this had
only existed in fairytales filled with royal palaces and
princesses. Now, as I strolled along the cobblestone path, inhaling
the heady scents of lavender and mint, it was real. And I was
living in it.
    Something white in the center of the atrium
caught my eye. Drawn to it, I stopped before a large statue—a
sculpture of a woman in a flowing gown, arms reaching toward the
sky, hands awkwardly clasped together as if offering up a gift to
the heavens.
    “ Spectacular, isn’t she? Truly