Free Of Breakable Things by A. Lynden Rolland

Jonas’s direction. “Was he standing next to you or something?”
    Jonas placed his hands on his hips. “You act like I’m the bad seed.”
    “Speaking of which”—Gabe redirected his attention to Romey—“do you have anything on Chase?”
    Alex still didn’t understand how one word could have such an effect on her. As much as his name had pained her after his death, the reverie of possibility was now equally as powerful.
    “And I’m not allowed to discuss anything about the events that occurred this morning, I’m afraid. Or the proceedings thereafter.”
    “But he is still here,” Alex said. It was more of a statement than a question. His voice that she’d heard earlier—it wasn’t far. Her intuition felt even more accelerated than her new eyesight.
    “I think Alex might make your life a little easier, Romey,” Gabe said quietly.
    “So I’ve heard. Unfortunately, I’ve done a very poor job of making her feel at home today, which is why I opted to wait here so she could actually gain entrance to Brigitta Hall.” Romey hadn’t taken her eyes away from Alex. She gazed at her fondly, though a bit sadly. “You should be able to get in from now on. We’ll talk more tomorrow, yes? Good. Boys, can you show her to the seventh floor?”
    “Seventh, huh? Interesting,” Kaleb remarked, and Alex wondered why.
    Before she could ask, Ellington placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “A word of caution. If I were you, I wouldn’t disclose any information about your mother.”
    “I second that,” Romey added. “Oh—the Bonds weren’t with you guys, were they?”
    Jonas snorted. “Of course not.”
    “Did you see them tonight?” she asked with concern.
    “Let me think. No.”
    “Oh, bother,” she mumbled.
    “They didn’t check in?” Ellington asked.
    “They may have just wandered off again.” Romey twirled a finger around one of her tight ringlets in thought. “Or they may be tied to a tree somewhere. I’d better go find out.”
    “I’ll go with you,” Ellington offered, following her into the darkness.
    “Who are the Bonds?” Alex asked quietly. “And why would they be tied to a tree?”
    Kaleb made a face. “Don’t worry about them.”
    The doors to the Hall swung open, and Alex stepped inside. A creak escaped from the hinges, apologizing to her for being so unwelcoming earlier. Entrapped within the dark marble flooring, a blue fire waltzed and twirled beneath her feet. She lifted her gaze to avoid stumbling from its dizzying effect. Square columns lined the walls, stretching all the way up to the glass ceiling, with tiers of stone balconies twisting around each floor. The bottom level housed long tables and vacant chairs.
    “I didn’t expect it to look so … ”
    “Elegant?” Gabe laughed. “I thought the same thing. The outside looks kind of like Hannibal Lector’s prison cell, doesn’t it? And then you walk in and find this palace.”
    At the end of the fire walkway stood a peculiar fountain. A bridge crossed its spout, giving it the appearance that a sword had sliced it down the middle. Oddly, the fountain held no water.
    “It’s quiet in here,” Gabe noted with a frown.
    When they reached a desk, a girl suddenly appeared, rigidly perched like one of the gargoyles outside. Everything about her seemed to be pointy; her sharp nose, her narrow chin, and even her hair rested on her shoulders in perfectly perpendicular edges.
    “Oh great,” Jonas grumbled. “What’s Tess doing here?”
    Kaleb cupped his hand over his mouth so his words wouldn’t travel far. “That explains the empty room.”
    “You guys are late.” Tess’s mouth twitched in an attempt to smile, but the expression never seemed to reach the other features of her face. She was like a stone.
    “That’s because we were talking to Romey outside,” Kaleb said. “So you don’t have to worry about blabbing to her, Tess.”
    “Romey’s outside? Did she say how long I have to stay here?”
    “You