Glitterland (Spires #1)

by Alexis Hall

Essex was just a shadow in the room, the shadow of a thing I wanted, which was itself a shadow of wanting. But it was unspeakably sweet to feel even that, and terrifying to know how quickly it would pass. A moment inscribed on water, a memory that would fade to grey. I was nothing but a ghost hunter, chasing the wraith of the man I used to be. A beachcomber of my own detritus.

There was a flutter of turquoise silk, and my boxers with the peacock feather print landed right on top of the title page of Through a Glass Darkly. I jerked my head up just in time to see Essex flouncing off and the frozen expression of the tweed-jacketed gentleman standing in front of me. “I’m terribly sorry,” he said, after a moment, “but I only brought a copy of the book.”