“Evelyn. Still dressing up the grey hair, I see.” Sighing loudly, I take the champagne flute from her hands and finish off her drink, “Must be draining, constantly trying to find new ways to cover it up.”
“Not as draining as being the most disruptive person in the room, I’d imagine.”
I smirk, offering the empty flute back to the hostess, “Someone has to keep things entertaining around here.”
“Mm, I suppose so.”
A soul-piercing scream has the room falling silent. Stumbling forward, a young man falls to his knees and starts clawing at his throat.
“Then again,” Evelyn smiles, watching her guest start to foam at the mouth, “I’ve always been rather good at entertaining.”
Blood pours out of a paper-thin nose, the remnants of the guest’s delicious meal discarded on the ground beside him.
“Cyanide?”
I muse out loud, watching the show take a turn for the worse when the man starts throwing up bodily fluids all over the speckled tiles.
The cleaners here must be incredible.
“Venom, actually.” Tilting her head, Evelyn watches the show with a different kind of hunger, “Evie’s been fascinated with black mambas lately. Had a boatload of them shipped from Africa just last week.”
“Boys do need hobbies.” Clearing my throat, I turn away from the massacre and face the businesswoman, “Speaking of which, mother wants a new strain ofDragon Fire. One that counteracts the party drug effects and puts the user to sleep. Single pill, heavy dosage.”
“An eternal sleep or temporary?”
“Ten hours, max.”
“Specific requirements come with a cost.” She pauses, her hazel eyes glued to the man spasming on the ground, “Tell the Dragon to expect a significantly larger bill.”
My brow lifts, “No discount for an old friend? Your longest standing customer?”
“Last time I checked, the Dragon’s daughter has no friends. Just allies and foes but at the end of the day you always go home alone.”
Evelyn smirks, tearing her gaze away from the carnage and checking to see if her shot landed. Even if it did, I wouldn’t be able to tell.
The sensitive parts of my skin got removed a long time ago.
“Well, that is terribly upsetting.” Pursing my lips, I regard her with sympathy, “The White Castle is in such rough state already. I’d hate to see what happens when you lose your only customer.”
Hazel eyes narrow, “The Dragon is not our only customer.”
“No, but she is the main one. Encompasses over sixty percent of your total revenue, does she not?”
“Yes, but that does not mean-
“Not to mention the commission I so graciously negotiated for you and your brother.” Running my tongue along my teeth, I lick off the remains of Evelyn’s champagne, “Your spending accounts would cease to exist and the White household would have to declare bankruptcy for the first time in over a hundred years. Can you imagine what the headlines would say?”
I shake my head with a laugh, “You would be crucified. A witch burned on the stand. Well, a fake witch that is.”
“How dare you-
“How dareyouinsult the Dragon by offering the highest quota possible. If she knew the kind of games you were trying to play, she would put you on the cross herself.”
Flicking my wrist, my knife slides easily into my palm. A simple nick is all it takes to turn porcelain skin red, and for someone like me, the temptation is too sweet to resist.
“Remember your place, Evelyn.” Slicing into the back of her neck, I let the metallic liquid spill over the chain wrapped around my fingers, “Or this will be the last time you receive mercy from a dragon.”
Animosity flows with her blood, the waves of suppressed fury consuming the air between us.
