Kenton and Valarie stepped to the side, dappled shadows and playful light dancing around them, while Lila turned to stand beside Zielenski, clasping her hands at her middle.

Zielenski bowed before me. "Miss Wychthorn." Candlelight glinted off the rings adorning his fingers. As he straightened I caught the chain of gold around his neck that was dragged down by the weight of an amulet peeking through the gaping open shirt. I couldn't quite make out what was stamped on its surface. Curiously the metal ringing the amulet looked splintered like seasoned firewood. I frowned. It was adamere and it should be impervious to aging.

Blinking away the perplexion, I greeted him airily. "Zielenski." I rarely attended House Gatherings and from what I knew of him, he was the same. However, I had been at his mother's birthday celebrations several months ago. The same social event I'd met Lila at too. As my intended, Graysen had accompanied me, and most of that afternoon the two of us had done little else but bicker.

Since Zielenski ran the Emporium, he was an unofficial member of my father's inner circle, so on odd occasions he was present at the meetings held at our home. My father knew Zielenski as well as one could know a man who offered absolutely nothing about his personal life. He was close to Lise's age too. One time long ago when we were children, she'd whispered to me of a rumor spreading amongst our peers, that he was the dead brought back to life. I could believe it with the way I could see nothing within those hard, lifeless eyes. His gaze slid over my Hangman's Noose, and like Lila, he didn't mention anything. "Welcome to the Emporium."

"It's a pleasure," I delivered flatly.

He half-twisted sideways to speak to Valarie. "Everything has been arranged just as you requested." He smiled, a small, tight smile as brief and quick as a flash of lightning. A cold sensation rushed across my skin. His smile didn't reach his eyes. In fact, it looked practiced and forced as if he was a wolf in human skin and he'd remembered just in time to act human around us. Zielenski continued, "Jurgana is settled within the Emporium and word has reached the Houses."

Jurgana. Oh, gods.

Just hearing the witch's name had fear strangling my nerves.

"Thank you. Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated," Valarie replied, inclining her head.

Zielenski's gaze flicked from her to Lila's profile, tracing the sensual curve of her lips. "Blue," he murmured. I suppose his nickname made some sort of sense with the way she looked. When she met his gaze with inquisitiveness radiating from the Prussian-blue depths of her eyes, he canted his upper body down and whispered something in her ear. Something that lowered her lashes and pinked her cheeks. He straightened and cocked an eyebrow, angling his head behind him. "Shall we?"

My blood chilled when Lila's gaze, swimming with concern, darted to me before meeting her bosses.

What the fuck was about to happen to me?

Lila nodded, her dress billowing when she spun around and followed Zielenski's languid stride. As they disappeared into the shadows Caidan emerged along with the one person that had my teeth grinding more than any other member of the family. He was going to be the first person I'd incinerate with an exhale of wyrmfire when I was finally free of Zrenyth's noose.

Jett Crowther stalked toward me.

His hair spilled like black ribbons over his shoulders. He looked sharp in a flashy business suit, despite the combat boots. My ire spiked at his stupid ass grin as he glanced over my practically see-through dress. "Perfect," he said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together gleefully when he came to a halt.

I snarled back, baring my teeth. I hated him. I hated his menacing taunts and yesterday's game of cat and mouse. He'd guided me exactly where he'd wanted me: beneath the Keep. He had no idea I was terrified of the dark, however, he knew that by going down there I'd discover the escape tunnel was blocked, and he hoped it would break me. Not that he was aware of it, but he'd succeeded. My spirit had shattered in hopelessness, but Graysen had reforged me and now I was stronger than him, than all of them.

Valarie toyed with the pearl pendant hanging around her neck before lowering her hand to her waist and gesturing toward him. "Jett, this is your idea, so you take the lead."

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Of course," before looping my arms over my chest and tapping my foot in irritation. Of course, all of this was Jett's fucking idea.

Violet eyes slid my way. Darkness and candlelight warred across Valarie's face and softened her stern features. And for a stumbling heartbeat, I saw behind the severe expression. It happened so swiftly, like the light of a streetlamp blurring past a speeding car, that I wasn't sure if I'd actually witnessed it. If I truly had seen how lost she was, the regret, the anxiety.

She tore her gaze from mine, glancing down at her hands and lacing her fingers together. "You all know what's at stake here," she informed her nephews in a low, husky voice, the tone dire. "We need this to work. This is our only chance."

Jett's boots scraped against the gritty stone floor when he braced his legs wider apart. "You both know what to do." His cocky gaze slid from one brother to the other and he clapped his hands together once more. "Let's get this fucking show on the road!"

Jett's gaze returned to his aunt, so he didn't see Caidan pale and shift uneasily. The way that Kenton swallowed, hooking a finger into his tie to loosen the knot. The brothers exchanged a look. A score of shared emotions. Confliction. Disquiet. Doubt. I bit down on a victorious smile and relief soothed the irritation. Maybe whatever shitty plan Jett had cooked up for me was going to be derailed by his brothers.

"Follow me," is all Jett said to me, spinning around on his heels, about to strike forward toward the rooftop of the Emporium.

The fine hair on my body hackled. I ignored him and burst into a hurried march. "I follow no one, you fucking asshole!" I spat over my shoulder as I shoved past. He could go to Nine Hells. Throwing back my shoulders, I stalked ahead of all the Crowthers and I did it with my chin held high. Behind me, I heard Caidan's soft laughter at his brother. He could go fuck hellsgate as far as I was concerned, however, I had been delighted to see his resolve, as well as Kenton's, crumbling.

The closer we came to leaving the foyer area the louder the music became. The swaggering beat of Billie Eilish's 'Therefore I Am' thumped against my body as I strode past the tall columns bracing the awning and stepped onto the rooftop.

The moment I stepped outside, a crashing wave of immense power pounded into me and I almost stumbled under the intense sensation. Dark magic, tremendous and menacing, vibrated through the air, trembling beneath my high heels, soaking my lungs with every inhale. With so many Horned Gods in attendance and their powers contained within the Emporium, their might was amplified.

Gods, it was intoxicating. A desirous temptation.

It sang to me a sinister melody that whispered through my blood.

No, no, no...

Bunching my hands into fists, I shoved back at the craving, instead turning my curiosity to the bell tower and needle-like spires that surrounded the rooftop. A wall of smoky shadows churned upward and arced above us like a dome of darkness. In awe, I tipped my head back to stare up at the strange new sky above us, at the mist hovering high above with electric pops of pink and peach like a nebula was buried in its cloudy center.

I swung my gaze wide to an area sectioned off with lace curtains that barely concealed those tucked within the private alcoves. Their silhouettes were shadow puppetry caught in lewd positions. Ahead of me and to the side was a raised platform, a semi-circled dais where courtesans lounged on chaises or perched themselves on the rolled arms of leather chairs. Some were entangled together on silken couches. My glance was fleeting and I caught a glimpse of flushed cheeks. Heavy eyelids. Silk and leather and glistening flesh. Hands stroking thighs, lips ghosting another's.

Kneading my fingers into the long skirt and lifting it, I pushed off into a walk. My high heels clipped across the stone rooftop, the beat of the song matching my pace as I struck out for the only cluster of seating that was free and available, set up near the courtesans. It took an effort to ignore the godsdamned noose. The end that Valarie had added to my collar was heavy and its weight dragged the looped rope up against my throat.

There was a clear pathway between the guests who milled around tall bar tables or were seated in intimate groups. Servants flitted around pouring drinks or offering hors d'oeuvres from silver trays, while others beat the air with fans woven from dried flax.

Yet even with the promise of pleasure, the men and women from my society were more interested in what was happening in the real Emporium.

This world of pleasure was set up purely for the Horned Gods.

The rooftop, this court of Zielenski's, was cut in half and we were separated from the Horned Gods' Emporium by a long line of tall Corinthian columns that reached skyward, seeming to disappear into the hazy mist hovering above. Thick black vines studded with thorns crawled around the crumbling stone like tangling serpents. The blooming flowers with petals of midnight seemed to be bleeding. Blood-red droplets slipped off the petals to stain the pillars with tears of crimson. Beyond the pillars, almost as if a barrier of magic held it back like a glass wall, was swirling darkness with hints of lavender and indigo splashed around.

Steel-eyed guards watched everyone like hawks. They stood sentry along the row of columns, and the servants I'd watched come out of the kitchen cooler, walked between the grooved pillars, carrying silver platters of daintily sliced human flesh. Mist swallowed them up and they disappeared from sight

As I strode right down the centreline of the court I swore I heard within the swirling darkness a soft chuckle.

A moan of pleasure.

A faraway sound of a scream cut short.

Fright thudded in my chest like a terrified beast.

The wind, I lied to myself. It could be the howling wind.

I continued onward and those of the Upper Ranks who stood or sat nearest to me began to notice my presence. Heads turned my way and gazes filled with intrigue slithered all over my body. A shudder crawled up and down my spine at the unwanted, greasy sensation. The hum of chatter died as a hush and stillness came over those present. The atmosphere shifted and simmered with building curiosity as they watched me walk at the head of the Crowthers.

I held my bearing proudly as if I were wearing a mantle and an imperious dress wrought from diamonds and gold, not this flimsy thing that showed my figure beneath its sheer fabric.

I wasn't afraid. No, I burned with cold rage.

No one would see me falter. No one would see me tremble.

No one would see me rattle or bend or break.

Disgust filled me at the depraved eagerness shining in their eyes as, one by one, they noticed the Hangman's Noose tied around my throat. The collective breath they seemed to take at the way the looped, knotted length swayed with my movement. Finally, they remembered themselves and who I was. Those sitting rose.

As I swept by, everyone bowed as was expected when meeting a Wychthorn from Great House.

I ignored every single one of them and kept my line of sight on the seating near the Courtesans' dais. All of these ridiculous theatrics were to draw attention from Jurgana to me. Indeed, I had to hand it to the Crowthers, it seemed to be working. Nearby, at the rounded edge of a stately column, its stone cracked and chipped and strangled by black vines, came a flash of eyes peering out of the darkness. The pupils, slit vertically, waxed then waned, and a hand covered with downy white hair and black-tipped fingers cut through the shadowy mist, buffeting it.

A moment later they were gone.

I couldn't stop the wide grin. Maybe the stupid Crowthers would fail in this too. Maybe the Horned Gods hadn't offered an invitation to the Witches Ball because I truly wasn't of interest to them.

The noose's length gently thumped my spine when I drew to a halt at a charming rattan chair, but when I twisted around and began to lower myself, Jett stopped me. "Ah-ah," he corrected, waving a finger at me with a smug smirk. "That's not for you."

My blood festered with rising anger. "Am I not allowed to sit?"

He shook his head and pouted in mock commiseration. "You'll be standing, Wychthorn. We can't have you hiding away, not when you look so delightful."

My hands fisted by my sides. "Fuck you!" I whisper-hissed.

He only laughed and his smirk grew into a full-blown grin. When he swept his hand toward the dais my mouth slowly fell open as understanding sank through me. He wanted me seated with the courtesans? I rounded on him. "This is a joke right?"

"Not in the slightest."

I swallowed, darting a quick look at the dais and the courtesans on display for the enjoyment of the Houses. "Do I have a choice?"

"Nope."

Hissing through my teeth, I stomped past the prick, toward the dais where silks shimmered in a breeze caused by fans, and beautiful men and women lounged with desire gleaming in their eyes and lust thickening the air.

I stepped up carefully onto the dais and tried to work out where I was going to sit and how I was going to fend off those wandering hands, as a few leaned toward me reaching out to touch my body.

"Right here," Jett commanded.

My eyes rounded as I stared at the youngest brother. He crooked a finger at me before stabbing it downward, directly at a stone pedestal that had been positioned right at the edge of the dais which was designed in much the same way as a catwalk. "We want everyone to be able to have a good look at you. Zielenski's agreed to sign you on temporarily as one of his courtesans. My brothers are out there gathering bids for whoever wants to pay the price of bedding you first."

My knees buckled beneath me and my breath whooshed out of my lungs.

What the hells?

I cast my gaze across the sea of people. I realized the other Crowthers must have left us to fan out amongst the crowd. I spotted Caidan and Kenton speaking with a few older men before my gaze sliced back to Jett's. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What it meant. "You wouldn't...?"

The fucking asshole hitched a shoulder. "Oh yeah, we would."

I very nearly shrieked, "You'd dare put me to work at the Emporium?!"

"There's a bit of time between now and the Witches Ball, may as well make some money on the side," he replied casually while rubbing the tips of his fingers beneath his chin as if he were contemplating playing the stock market not whoring me out.

My entire body shook with outrage.

Graysen wouldn't allow this, surely not.

But then, I realized in growing horror, that Graysen wasn't here. He was down in the catacombs beneath Ascendria.