“You’re new,” he commented. His face was mostly hidden, but his bulging stomach and the sweat glistening along his hairline gave away more than he intended.
I stepped smoothly in front of Violet before he could get a closer look, angling my body so she was shielded without making it obvious. “What makes you think that?” I asked, trying to sound amused.
He laughed, a sickly wet sound behind the mask. “Only the new ones let their pets speak back.” His gaze crawledpast my shoulder toward Violet. “Has she had much training?”
I smiled at him, slow, friendly, the kind of smile that should’ve put him at ease. Instead, it made him swallow. Oops.
“Why?” I chuckled, my fingers tightening around Violet’s wrist, both to steady her… and to keep myself from breaking this idiot’s jaw in the middle of a room full of witnesses. “You offering lessons?”
The man snorted. “No, no. I prefer them fully trained when I purchase them. Although, she’s pretty.”
He went to touch her, but I immediately tugged her further behind me.
“Ah-ah. No touching, mate.”
His hand froze mid-reach. “Of course,” he said, lowering it. “How rude of me. Please, where did you purchase her?”
“Mr Caretaker,” Violet blurted before I could get a word out.
He turned fully to face her, fixing her with the kind of stare that made my grip tighten instinctively. His beady eyes were barely visible beneath the mask, but they lingered on her a moment too long.
“Interesting,” he said at last. “If you’ll excuse me.”
He gave me a stiff nod, then moved off into the crowd.
I waited until he was well out of earshot before leaning down to her level, my mouth close to her ear. “What was that?” I murmured.
“I panicked,” she whispered, eyes wide beneath the lace. “Shit, do you think I’ve fucked up?”
I shook my head, gripping her tighter to my side. “Maybe don’t talk to anyone else.”
Violet nodded, then immediately opened her mouth.
“Seriously?” I muttered. “It hasn’t even been thirty seconds.”
“Stop being a dick,” she growled under her breath. “I want to know why Aeris is here.”
Frowning, I turned. Aeris was like a siren with her dark red dress, the shade matching her hair perfectly. She stood talking to a man with a full skull mask.
Her eyes brightened when she noticed us, and after a practiced smile she expertly excused herself from the conversation and slipped effortlessly to our side. She was one of the few women without a choker, her features concealed behind a delicate Venetian half-mask.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” I said, keeping my voice low. “What is this?”
“I have my reasons, as you have yours,” Aeris whispered, lifting her drink just enough to disguise the movement of her lips. “Caretaker is here.”
“I didn’t think he was supposed to attend?” I kept my eyes on the crowd, irritation tightening in my chest. I hadn’t planned for him to be here, which meant I needed to adapt.
Normally, that would’ve been easy because I was a fantastic-fucking-thief. But this wasn’t a normal job, not with Violet beside me. And every change to the plan felt like another crack waiting to split everything open.
“He’s not,” Aeris admitted, her voice dropping until she was barely audible over the orchestra.
“It could be a coincidence,” Violet said, though the uncertainty in her eyes betrayed the thought. The unease in my stomach surged. I’d worked enough rooms to know when instincts were worth listening to.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” I muttered.
Aeris shifted her weight, her impossibly tall heels elongating her already long legs. A small, anxious movement. Jarring coming from a woman usually radiating confidence.
“Something’s changed, I just don’t know what,” she murmured.
