We took the stairs two-at-a-time, as if we were small kids eager to go up to our rooms. I found this funny because taking the indoor stairs seemed tedious now that we could just fly anywhere we wanted to. The stairs, it seemed, were placed there for that very reason.

"Ready?" Rhysand had his hand placed on a door handle directly at the top of the stairs.

"I don't know what could possible surpass the rest of the museum, but seeing as this is located in the Night Court..."

"Exactly, my darling." Rhysand pushed open the door.

A soft gust of wind pushed my hair back as we stepped out onto the roof. There were no optical illusions, no magical images, no paintings. Just Velaris spread below us.

In the two hours we had been at the museum, the stars had crowded the sky. My neck stretched as I looked up admiring the natural painting Velaris had put on canvas for us.

"You don't need to do that," Rhys said softly. He spun me to the right to see a large couch meant for laying down directly in the center of the roof. It was a sleek black piece, and had I lacked my fae eyesight, I probably would have missed it.

I walked to it and fell directly back onto it. Rhys laid down beside me. Staring up at them, with Velaris all around us, I felt like the stars were smiling at us.

"The greatest art Velaris could offer..." Rhys began. "The other courts, or at least the ones that have art museums, always represent their own artistic achievements through a series of paintings or statues. Not only do they neglect to represent the other courts—so I've heard—they neglect their own by exhibiting representations of their court through materials, rather than focusing on the court itself. The Night Court, the City of Dreams, values the art the city naturally and honestly brings. That's why our exhibition is really just roof-access to a beautiful view of the city."

"Huh. That kind of makes painting obsolete then... if nothing can compare to the original," I mused, both inspired with what Rhys had said and a little hurt about the comment of art neglecting true beauty.

"I don't think it's obsolete, per se," Rhys began. He looked over to me. "I'm not an artist so what do I know? All I believe is that when paying homage to an object, person, or place the real-deal is just so much better than any art piece could depict. Ideas or concepts, on the other hand... I guess that's where art takes its true form."

While I didn't exactly agree with what he said—and in response he quickly added "That's just my opinion"—it did make me think about the art I had been working on recently.

"I do agree about the person part." I turned over on my side. "A painting could never do justice to embodying you," I said playfully.

Rhys' chest rumbled as he chuckled. He looked down at me and smiled. "I regret saying that. I am quite fond of our painting memories. Or, really, our paint memories."

I rubbed a hand on his chest. Our eyes made contact and he leaned down for a kiss. As his lips touched mine, I noticed some thick glass behind him. "What's that?" I mumbled against his lips.

He sighed and turned around. "The glass?" He turned back around as I nodded. "When I was rambling earlier on about the beauty of the city, I meant to mention that the city's beauty is valued rain or shine. Instead of magic-ing rain or snow to go around the building, we move a glass roof over the museum-goers to appreciate the natural elements of Velaris."

"You got all this information from the tour?"

"Hah. Not yesterday's... I remember all this information from before," Rhys began. "When I escaped from Under the Mountain, it took some time to recover. They opened the museum while I was gone and when I came back I took a private tour as soon as I was ready. They wanted to wait until I got back to open the museum, but they waited for so long, they had to open."

I placed my hand on his arm. He met my eyes and smiled, but I could tell we had reached a point in our discussion he didn't want to continue.

"I am extremely impressed with this. All of this. Like you heard me earlier, I'm definitely coming back to experience this all on my own."

Rhys wrapped his left arm around me and pulled me close. I rested my head on his shoulder and we stayed like that for over an hour.

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