But Shaw held tight. “I beg of you not to give me reason to hope.”
Lux choked at the same moment Corvin intervened. His laugh cutting between them was not at all kind. He made a show of drawing her nearer. “Death to the Devil, don’t you work quickly? You’ll have to excuse us, Roser. It looks like the mingling portion of this night is ebbing. Dinner is set to arrive. Enjoy the Hallowed Banquet and have a blessed Hallowed Eve.”
Corvin turned them both, and she caught the return of Shaw’s terrifying grin. She scowled after it, but it was entirely too late. Lux was about to be transported into a sea of riches; she would be lucky just to stay afloat.
Chapter forty-six
Thesecondfloor’scorridorwas dim. Even when it opened up onto an inner balcony, the light did not return, feeling instead as if it’d all been siphoned down into a room which glowed coolly with all that it hoarded. She’d not ever entered the ballroom. In truth, she didn’t know of its existence until several hours before. A haunting melody rose to greet her at the balustrade; she peered over it.
The room was darkly exquisite with its crowd of sharp coats and expensive gowns. The chandeliers here were comprised of onyx, same as the walls, and their candlelight lit the wooden floor into a syrupy brown. Studious musicians were sat upon a dais at one end of the room; their instruments shone in brilliant silvers and golds. Opposite them were three long tables bare of all adornment but for matching candelabras, thick crystal goblets, and silver dinnerware.
It was a rich, mesmerizing sight; better than anything the dead mayor would have done.
Alcoves lined the perimeter. Lux’s gaze skipped over each shadowed space, over every urn spilling with purple dahlias, searching for anything that lurked. Corvin led her to the top of the wide staircase.
The collector’s fingertips lifted, trailing along her braids fallen from an attempted chignon, and she couldn’t tolerate his nearness anymore. She flinched. His fingers inadvertently dropped to the bare skin of her collarbone.
“Devil—” she gasped, and flung her own fingers to cover the space.
“Something wrong?”
Lux couldn’t raise her eyes. If she did, they would give her away. The horrifying dream pulsed around her. The stench of smoke and blood filled her nose.
Saints above, devil below. I might really die here.
Corvin’s touch. It wasn’t natural. Not at all.
It was cold.
Colder than Riselda. Colder than the mayor.
Colder than those unforgivingtrees.
Her chin trembled.
“Riselda Grimrook never denied her madness. It is in us, in our blood. We and our mother are the same.”
Lux managed not to grab hold of her hair, but it was a near thing.I am not broken. I am not broken. I am not—
She braved to look again at Corvin’s mouth. Would it be dripping same as the dream?
“I do have a headache after last night,” she managed.
She stood beside him still, and when her eyes finally lifted higher to meet his, she searched for some hint of his corruption. Her own soul had once been overgrown with guilt. So had Shaw’s. Viktar had been steeped in hopelessness.
If I were to dig inside him, what would I find?
“I hope you’ve accepted my apology,” said Corvin, his expression dipping into a frown. “I let my worry over your safety lead me, and it wasn’t the right choice.My philanthropic nature is sometimes a curse in itself.”
Vile idiot,she fumed. Worry over her safety?
Never had she been more set on burning something down than in this moment. No, she knew what they really cared for. And it was to see her tied up with strings, and him controlling them.
She had to escape.
“Did I exaggerate the banquet’s intrigue?” he asked over her silence, leading her promptly onto the stairs.
Lux drew a slow breath, the music a melancholy thrill that enveloped her. “I see why you look forward to it. This room is like a dream.” It was no lie on her part, but she couldn’t help adding a second small truth. “Though I still would have preferred to hide away on a balcony than this.”
