“Please forgive me,” he insisted. “I loathe rude people.” When he briefly took my hand again, I felt nothing. Not even a hint that he was a Mage with the energy that usually buzzed in a person’s aura.
My gaze wandered over his shoulder. Lenore held a glass in her hand while talking to a masked man. It was getting easier to spot my Vampire maker these days. Not just because of his white hair and black ear studs, but I’d familiarized myself with his straight shoulders and regal stance. Now it made sense why I’d seen Houdini at these parties. He wasn’t your typical criminal—he knew people. Important people. Lenore being one of them.
I flicked my eyes back to my dance partner. I could have said it didn’t matter, but it did, and he needed to know. “I’m not sure what kind of women you’re accustomed to, and maybe that’s the old way, but I’m a newly minted Mage,” I said coolly, deciding anger wasn’t the correct emotion to show. “Apologies are for people who make mistakes, but a better man doesn’t make them. I find it hard to believe that this is the first time you’ve ever overstepped a woman’s boundaries, so I won’t accept an apology. Instead, I’ll take a favor in my pocket.”
He dipped his chin, surprise rounding his dark eyes. “Did your Creator not teach you how favors work?”
Usually favor trading involved an agreement, but guys like this needed consequences. This currency was new to me, but maybe I could figure something out. “There are no set rules. Only customs. Maybe it’s time for those customs to change.”
He adjusted his mask. “That’s an unreasonable request to hold on a person for the rest of their life.”
“Then the favor is only good for tonight. How’s that?”
“Agreed.”
I grinned sublimely and did a curtsy. “I have somewhere to be.”
He bowed.
Well, at least I didn’t stab him in the eye with a fork. Maybe Keystone had turned me into a new woman after all. I weaved through the crowd, curious about Houdini’s presence. When he spotted me coming, he took Lenore’s arm and led her away from the party.
Damn.I only wanted to eavesdrop.
The music abruptly cut off, and everyone searched the room to see who was clinking silverware against a glass.
The man who had called himself Mr. White used a chair to step onto a table. “May I have everyone’s attention? I have an important announcement.” He pulled off his mask and flicked it onto the floor. It seemed my mystery man was young. Maybe eighteen or nineteen when his Creator made him. Though youthful in appearance, there was nothing boyish about him. His long black hair and pale complexion made him stand apart from the others. His brown eyes seemed deceptively kind.
“Please raise a glass in honor of our host, Lenore Parrish.”
Those who didn’t have a glass took one off a tray.
“I’m afraid I’m not as eloquent as she, but I think I speak for everyone when I say that Lenore has truly raised the bar when it comes to magnificence. She has impeccable taste in friends, and I’m honored to be here tonight.” He raised his glass higher. “To unforgettable parties.”
Instead of cheering and toasting, they murmured quietly to one another and drank.
He seemed slightly irritated at their lack of enthusiasm. “My name is Godfrey Edmond Sparrow III. But you can call me God.”
Eyes rolled, and people set down their glasses to move away.
Sparrow drew a sword from inside his long white jacket and drove the tip of the blade into the table. The sight of his sword quelled the room. It wasn’t fashioned from steel but pure energy, and he had created it from his own hand.
He gave the room a sardonic smile as he rested his hands on the pommel. “I would like to use this opportunity, surrounded by suchnobility, to formally announce my betrothal.”
When people moved toward the exit, Sparrow suddenly threw his arms out. An unpleasant feeling prickled across my skin. Energy pulsed from all angles, and a clap of thunder shook the house, rattling chandeliers and glasses.
Gasps sounded from small pockets of people gathered by the windows. Unable to see the source of the blue light, I shouldered my way to a small window. Outside, an inexplicable wall composed of pure energy surrounded the property, trapping us.
“How is that possible?” a woman screeched.
The wall reached the treetops, and a wave of terror came over me. A panicked man fled the party and ran outside. We could see him through the window as he walked around the house. When he attempted to flash through the wall, light engulfed him. I flattened my palms on the glass and watched in horror as he struggled like a fly in a spider’s web until his bones disintegrated.
Words were thrown around: Unique, Shielder, Wielder. But no one seemed to understand this power.
Sparrow cleared his throat. “Now that I have your undivided attention, it is with great pleasure that I announce my intentions toward a special lady. Someone recently told me that it’s time for customs to change.” He locked eyes with me and winked. “I couldn’t agree more. You see, I’m a man who requires a worthy companion, but who has time for dating rituals? So I’ve used this party to vet the finest women in Cognito, and one of you lucky ladies will join my side forevermore. Doesn’t that sound delightful?”
Many women drew back when he scanned the crowd. Gem’s twinkling dress stood out, so she quickly reached down and switched off the lights.
Sparrow once again rested his hands on the pommel of his glowing sword. “There’s only one woman here who’s my equal in every way, and that woman is our enchanting hostess, Lenore Parrish. Let’s give her a hand for this decadence. The swans were a nice touch.” Sparrow clapped all by himself. “If there’s any man here who wishes to challenge me for her hand, speak now or forever hold your peace.”
