“Yeah,” Selene sighs. “Unfortunately even the best dress can’t fix that.”
A knock on the door makes both of us stiffen.
“It’s time,” a male voice says from the hall.
Selene rolls her eyes. “They’re very big on timing,” she mutters. Then, to me, more quietly, “Stay near me when we go down. If anyone makes you uncomfortable, squeeze my hand. I know who’s safe to snarl at.”
“That a real category?” I ask.
“In this place?” She shrugs. “Safe-ish.”
We step out together. The same suited man from earlier is waiting. His gaze flicks over me, then to Lily, then to Selene. He doesn’t comment. He just turns and leads.
The walk feels longer this time. The house is awake now, voices drifting from below, the faint clink of glass, distant music. As we reach the top of a wide staircase, I see the glow from the main hall spread out beneath us—chandeliers, polished floors, people in dark suits and glittering dresses.
It looks like every glossy magazine photo of old money I’ve ever seen.
Selene leans in. “Keep your head up,” she murmurs. “They smell fear.”
“I don’t have to pretend I’m not afraid,” I whisper back. “I just have to walk down these stairs without falling.”
“That too,” she says.
Conversations don’t exactly stop when we appear, but they stutter. A few heads turn. Curious eyes track us—me with a child on my hip, Selene at my side, the unknowns in a room where everyone knows everyone.
At the bottom of the stairs, Irina is waiting.
Of course she is.
She’s in black, simple and severe, a thin necklace at her throat. She looks like a judge about to call court to order. Her gaze sweeps over me, then Lily, then back up to my face.
“Good,” she says. “You clean up well.”
I bite back the first response that comes to mind.
“Why am I here?” I ask instead.
Irina looks me over. “Because people need to see you.”
“See me for what?”
“A reminder,” she says. “That choices have consequences.”
“A reminder for who?”
“For everyone watching,” she replies. “Some of them forget fast. I’m correcting that.”
I hold Lily tighter. “You’re using us.”
“I’m keeping you alive,” she says. “And making a point. Both can be true.”
“I don’t belong here.”
She nods once. “Maybe. But you’re here. That’s what matters.”
Selene touches my arm. “Stay with me,” she says quietly.
Irina steps aside. “Go in,” she orders. “Keep your head up.”
