A steady drip-drip echoed through the hallway outside Murphy's office. The rhythm meant someone was approaching. At the sound, Murphy, who was poring over a battered old book, twitched his ears.
He had never heard the crisp, peculiar clack of those shoes against the ground before.
More precisely, he hadn't heard such a distinctive sound since entering Transia. Back when he'd been a corporate drone, though, he'd heard it all the time.
As the footsteps drew closer, Murphy's expression grew increasingly strange.
He slipped a bookmark into the old tome Triss had specially found for him—a collection of theories from various schools across the continent about the era "before the Epoch"—then closed it and put it in his desk drawer. Afterward, he arranged his face into his most standard, kindly expression and looked toward the door.
Two seconds later, there was a knock. After a brief pause, the door opened, and Lady Adele appeared before Murphy, carrying a stack of documents. Her expression was solemn. Clearly, she had come to deliver her regular report on the latest intelligence about "swamp reconnaissance."
But just then, Murphy's attention was on Adele's feet.
More precisely, on the "shoes" worn by those feet, white as jade. Just as he'd suspected, they were a classic pair of women's openwork high heels.
They weren't a traditional style in Transia. If Murphy had to guess, they were a new design from Silvermoon Designs, the shop that had opened just two days earlier.
They might even have been specially commissioned by Madam Water for Adele.
There was no denying that the delicate crystal heels, paired with Adele's already long legs, made her look even taller. And the distinctive way she walked in them lent her an ineffable air.
After Triss's "reminder" last time, Murphy had paid particular attention