Twilight faded into night astheir carriage rolled through the open gates of Evenshold Palace, the polished gold gleaming in the light from lanterns hung along it. They still had a way to go along the drive to arrive at the palace, as Jade already knew from experience. She had come here on surveillance missions several times—not always able to get inside due to the numbers of Lord Grannam’s guard—so she was quite familiar with the palace and the grounds. It would be about another ten minutes before they laid eyes on the glittering building.
At long last, the carriage passed under a gold-and-stone archway, and Jade caught her first sight of the palace that night.
The creamy stone walls stood five stories high and extended at least four hundred meters across before turning at right angles, creating separate wings. Windows all along the first floor and several on the second were brightly lit, their light a warm, welcoming beacon.
Theo joined the long line of carriages waiting to drop off their guests, and Jade inhaled deeply through her nose before letting it out slowly and tipping up her chin.
She was Lady Elena Tavigne, a lady of noble birth and an attendee at tonight’s ball. This was her first event out in society. Even from inside the carriage, Jade took on the role, staring up at the lamps lining the drive and craning her neck to see the palace, her lips curved in an open smile.
As long as she could get inside, the rest should be a breeze.
When the carriage had reached the spot to unload, the door swung open and a palace footman offered a white-gloved hand to Jade. She took it delicately, stepping down onto the stone drive and steadying her stance in high heels. The footman wore a deep blue coat and white pants and had a blood red rose pinned to his lapel—the colors of the Evenshold house crest. Jade turned to the footman to offer her thanks, but he merely dipped his head and gestured to the front door.
Jade glanced back over her shoulder at Theo at the front of the carriage. Their gazes met for only a second before he set the horses into motion, making way for the carriage behind them. He wouldn’t be far, circling around the drive to a designated spot for the drivers to park while their attendees enjoyed the night. And he would have eyes on the palace the whole night, ready to come to Jade’s aid if necessary. He might not have been undercover quite the same as her, but he was still an intelligence agent, and he was still on duty.
She grasped her skirts enough to allow for movement up the wide stone steps and approached the massive double front doors, swung open to the party beyond. Scents and sounds wafted outside, laughter and music and clinking of glasses along with aromas that had Jade’s mouth watering.
Two guards stood on either side of the doors—the only obvious ones, but Jade had already spotted four clandestine others on her walk up the steps—and a doorman stood just inside with a small stack of cards in his hands.
“Welcome to Evenshold Palace,” he said in a higher-pitched voice than Jade expected for the size of his frame. She handed him her invitation, which he accepted without question, and gestured for her to continue inside.
Jade glanced around the magnificent entrance hall with awe and wonder as though seeing it for the first time. Her eyes trailed from the portraits on the walls and the flower arrangements on columns lining the room up to the carved doorframes, gilded trim, and painted ceiling. Two rows of lanterns hanging from the ceiling illuminated the hall, guiding the way to the different doors and passages leading beyond.
How familiar might such a sight be to her if she’d grown up the daughter of a lord and lady? Attending parties such as this may have been as normal as breathing. She may have even been invited to this one.
An invisible hand seized Jade’s heart for a fraction of a moment as the words from her informant’s note returned to her mind’s eye.
Lord Grannam is going to make a move at the masquerade. Be there.
In the midst of playing her part and mingling with the nobility, searching out any information about the killer, Jade had to be on high alert. If Grannam had something planned, Jade needed to find outbeforeit happened.
But Grannam’s possible next move hardly contributed to the rush of anxiety that passed through her body like an ice-cold ocean wave. Her informant could be at the masquerade too, lurking in the hidden corners and keeping an eye on things from afar. How else did he get his information and leave Jade tips?
Would he recognize her? Would he be watching her dance and chat and pretend? Would he expect her to be a shadow, as she usually was, and not a guest at the ball?
The uncertainty of not knowing where he would be or what he would be doing sent a shiver up her spine in spite of the warm summer night. He had given her no reason not to trust him—in fact, he’d only ever proven himself a source of true information. But that didn’t change the fact that shestill knew nothing about him or his motivations for being involved in this conflict. Most of the time, his notes took her by surprise. She couldn’t predict when or where he would show up. Going in knowing he might be watching her every move raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
She followed the sounds of music and voices that beckoned her to the right, finding the grand ballroom off the entrance hall, the doors flung wide. Crossing the threshold, she joined the hundreds of bodies laughing, chatting, and dancing. Now she just had to keep her cool and play the part.
Bits of conversation met Jade’s ears, and she filtered through it for anything important.
“We’re spending the season at our summer home. It’s so quiet out in the country.”
“Why did it have to be a masquerade? How am I supposed to find people with their faces covered?”
“Lady Arabella’s not one to take something like that lightly.”
Jade’s ears perked, and she slowed her pace as she meandered through the ballroom. A man Jade recognized as one of Arabella’s advisors and supporters was speaking to another man in a pale blue coat and blue and yellow mask. She had a hard time placing him, not allowing her gaze to linger on the conversing men for too long.
“I imagine not. But I’m afraid she doesn’t have a choice in the matter.”
Was this man not on her side? Jade tucked away the mental note and moved on as the men changed the subject of their conversation, as though realizing they were being overheard.
The height of the ballroom drew Jade’s eyes upward to the intricate designs covering the ceiling. Much of the ornamentation was trimmed in gold, boasting the wealth of the palace. Enormous golden chandeliers dripping with crystals filled the room with electric light, another indication of their affluence. While electric lights were becoming more common, and even the military bases were fitted with them, to have all the many chandeliers transitioned to electricity was quite the statement.
In the center of the room, women twirled and fabric swirled as they were led around the dance floor by their partners. Gowns of all colors filled the space, a true spectacle as the skirts and suits mingled and melded with the movement. Jade pushed through the stagnant crowd surrounding the dance floor, the guests who had chosen conversation or people-watching over actual dancing. Everyone wore a mask, some more outlandish and overstated than others, and it added a slight degree of difficulty in placing each face with a name.
Jade grabbed a glass of something bubbly from a nearby footman and plastered that same expression of wonder on her face again, her mouth in a slightly open smile, her eyes wide. Hopefully, anyone who saw her would believe she had just come out into society. Jade scanned the sea of faces, searching for other royals among the crowd. She had been spying on them so much for the past six months that she knew the face of every member of the extended royal family.
