The parlor was fairly empty save for a few men chatting in low voices gathered around an antique mahogany hutch housing a litany of aged bourbon bottles, and three women giggling opposite them, feigning interest in the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
Although her head spun with intoxication, Tethys’spresence still commanded the attention of everyone in the room—men and women alike. Her face may have been glamoured, yes, but she still gleamed with an unmatched beauty like a polished gemstone in the sunlight. Typically she shied from the attention, hating the way those around her carried out head to toe inspections like she was an artifact on display.
Tonight, however, she’d use it to her advantage.
Tethys took a seat on the sofa adjacent to the other women glaring daggers toward her. She chose her seat strategically, sitting directly in line of sight of a certain thin, tall man. He wore a simple white mask that contrasted the jet black hair at his earlobes. Their eyes connected and she tossed him a casual, toothless smile. Another in hopes of maintaining anonymity wouldn’t ask too many questions.Perfect.
The gemstone burned holes through her thin linen skirts, but she washed the thought of it down with another swig of brandy. The room spun slightly and glimmers of stars lined the edges of her vision. Maybe she’d numbed herself too much in the drink, but it was too late now.
She’d made her decision…even if she danced between bubbly and sloppy. Reckless or no, this reprieve from life’s austerities felt good, and she couldn’t stop herself from reveling in a drunken stupor.
“Have you lost your way, or have you found yourself here on purpose?” the man asked her, his voice like velvet along her skin. He took a seat next to her so close his pant leg brushed against her. The glamour of a new flirtation, the mutual consent of two strangers sharing a glass or two of brandy, was a refreshing change from reality. She could feel the other sets of eyes lingering on her skin.
If they wanted a show, she’d give it to them.
“I have yet to decide, sir,” she replied, bringing her brandy glass to her mouth. He watched as intently as a hawk as she parted her lips and took a sip, entirely captivated by her sheer presence.
Little did he knowhewas her prey. For the first time in a long time, she was in control.
“May I ask your name?” he asked, extending his arm around the back of the sofa.
“No, you may not,” she responded, smirking at the slight amusement rippling in his electric blue eyes.
“What a curious little thing you are,” he mused, leaning so close his lips brushed against her ear.
Tethys felt the warm exhale of his whiskey-stained breath down her neck and steadied herself against the cushion. Heat pooled in her low belly. Her body hadn’t been excited like this since her first arrival in Venia. There may have been a lord’s son or two she’d taken to bed, but that part of her life felt worlds away.
Tonight, though, the familiar flutter of seduction felt like an old friend. She could feel the cocoon spun around her heart loosening. After so much time of molding herself into the desires of others, here and now, she was free to be whoever she wished. She didn’t have to be Tethys, Venian Queen, and Patron of Dawn. She could be just a simple, consenting woman looking to satiate her desires. Her blood warmed.
“Although I’m enjoying this banter of ours, I think I’d prefer a bit more…intimate of company,” she said, her voice low, rough and unfamiliar.
“Lead the way,” he said, tracing a fingertip across the curve of her collarbone. The man rose and offered Tethys his outstretched palm. She took it, smoothing her skirt and followed him out of the parlor. The gemstone blazed in her interior pocket, demanding her attention again, but she tucked those mysteries away.
They were tomorrow’s problem.
A woman scoffed at the couple as they passed. Perhaps she had an eye on this handsome stranger. Tethys imagined the calculating preparations the circle of womenmade in support of their friend.
The couple followed a candlelit hall past the kitchen and Lord Ophis’s back office. With each step the anticipation of what was to come built within her, tightening in her belly, leaving her breathless.
The man motioned to the open doorway at the end of the hall and they entered the library. Tethys stood before the roaring central fireplace. She wasn’t sure if it was the fire’s dry heat, the drink, or the click of the lock behind her that caused sweat to bead at the nape of her neck. Her head buzzed with blurry thoughts as the man approached, his swaggering stride both excited and terrified her.
She closed her eyes as rough hands swept away the curls that hung loose down her back, tucking them over her shoulder and exposing the sensitive flesh of her neck. Sucking in a breath, she tilted her head as cool lips brushed over her skin, throwing shivers down her spine. Utter desire pooled between her legs.
She let out a short, drawn out breath as the man wrapped his arm around her waist and tightened his grip.
“I think…” he said, running his hand down her breast. She threw her head back, entirely overwhelmed by the sensations kindling within her. “That perhaps…” His hand was low now, trailing fire down her belly, across her hip. “You’ve lost your way.”
Cold, sharp steel pressed against her neck and her eyes shot open.
She choked against the pressure of the man’s silver blade and squirmed under his grasp. With every inch of movement, however, he pushed the dagger’s edge further into her skin, cutting off her airway, on the verge of drawing blood.
She was a trapped dove, frantic to fly, and entirely at the mercy of her captor.
“What—what do you want? Please, let me go,” shebegged.
“My brothers and I have been attending Ophis’s parties for months, but never did I think you’d walk right into our palms. What a stroke of luck, don’t you agree, Goddess?” The man’s words were an arctic blast through her veins. Warmth dripped from her neck as he dug the blade’s edge into flesh.
“Let me go. I’ll pay you handsomely. Whatever you request, please,” she whimpered, flinching from his touch as he brushed his fingers against her cheek. The back of his hand, so delicate pulled? something like that along her skin, left a trail of frigid ice.
