Cassius helps me out of the car and leads me inside. “That’s happened in the past, but for you, no. You’re not being sold into the life. You’re going in voluntarily. I’ll take you to a party. You’ll introduce yourself to the madams. If they like you, they’ll offer you a position.”
“So it’s like a job interview. Should I have dressed up?” I’m wearing jeans and an emerald-green sweater. Nothing embarrassing but not an outfit I’d wear to impress someone.
“No one will care what you’re wearing.” His eyes darken. “All they’ll care about is the scent of your blood and your ability to be agreeable. You can pretend to be agreeable, right?” He grins.
I feign offense. “When have I ever not been agreeable?”
He chuckles. “Tony and Jared Denardi might remember a time had they lived to tell the tale.”
I shrug a shoulder and smile wider. “You mess with the bull, you get the horns.”
We exchange smiles. He guides me to the lower level, sticking to the shadows before stopping outside a conference room. “This is where I leave you.” I can’t hide my surprise or disappointment. I thought he’d escort me inside. “I’m not supposed to be in this territory.”
I blink back the sting of tears. “Of course. You’ve risked enough.” I give him a swift hug and close my eyes when he hugs me back. “Thank you, Cassius, for everything.”
“I hope to see you again soon and with Damien at your side, but if not, then later when we meet in the Darklands.”
“What are the Darklands?”
He glances down at his toes and then gives me a sad smile. “That is the name we call the place shades go in the afterlife.”
He means if I die. I force a smile at the sober thought. “But I’m not a shade.”
His eyes crinkle at the corners. “In Tenebris, we worship a group of gods and goddesses. The goddess of death is called Thanesia. It is said she favors brave warriors and loyal mates. As you are both, I must believe she’d welcome you with open arms.”
I sigh. “I hope not to give her the chance.”
He nods and takes my pale hand in his dark one. “One more thing, Eloise. If you have the option, choose Marabella’s. She treats her wards well, and the brothel is the closest to the palace. It will give you the greatest opportunity to serve members of the royal court and learn when you might find an audience with the queen.”
I swallow hard and nod. “Marabella’s.”
With one more bow, he breaks apart into shadow and slips from my fingers.
And then I’m alone.
23
The Red Door
ELOISE
The voices that filter into the hall from the meeting room don’t sound afraid or depressed; they sound excited. As I pull open the door and enter the brightly lit room, I’m surprised to find servers mingling among the participants with trays of canapés and champagne. Men and women are gathered around small tables, caught up in animated conversations with people holding clipboards. I assume those are the madams. I pause in the entryway, wondering which table is Marabella’s.
“It’s strange how you can see it,” a woman beside me says. Dressed in a white sundress with tiny red flowers, the petite blonde seems better suited for Sunday brunch than an interview for a blood brothel.
“See what?”
An eerie intensity slips into her expression. “The thirst for death. You don’t choose this unless some part of you longs for the end.”
I gulp. I’m here for Damien, but she’s right that I’m willing to die rather than let him go. What has happened to her to bring her to this point? I force a shallow smile. “Well, my Grams always said the end of one thing is usually the beginning of something else. Maybe for some of us this isn’t about longing for death but for change.”
She shrugs. “What is change but a sort of death?”
I lick my lips. “Nothing to be afraid of then. I’ve been through my fair share of change.”
Now she gives me a certain nod. “I’m Olivia.”
“Eloise.”
