There’s a beat where we stare at one another, and then Charlie’s expression dissolves from happiness to worry.
“Chelsea,” he calls.
I whip around, racing through the crowd. I can’t speak to him and hear his excuses. I’m not Ovie, and I’m not blind to the kind of man he is.
I scurry from the ballroom into the hall, looking for a place to settle my mind. I spot a servant. “The bathroom?”
“Third door on the left.”
But there’s a line. Of course there’s a line. There’s like a thousand women here.
I race past the door and find another one—black wood carved in silver sigils.
So I open it and charge inside. As quickly as possible, I shut it and press my back to the cold door. My heart pounds so loudly it feels like the world can hear it.
And as I release a shaky breath, a man says, “Is my party not exciting enough for you?”
Eryx
The fire crackles in front of me, throwing shadows across the dark room.
The woman exhales another shaky breath but doesn’t answer.
“Is it so terrifying coming to my house? Or is it the guests that brought you in here?”
“I’m sorry.”
Her voice is frantic.
You scared her. We’re supposed to be finding the woman, and you’re already terrifying the guests. I can’t leave anything to you.
Good grief. Can I do nothing right?
No,Nightmare answers.
You weren’t supposed to hear that.
The sounds of a rustling skirt and the doorknob turning comes from behind me.
“No,” I say, flicking my head over my shoulder. “You don’t have to leave. I’ll play nice.”
“Nice? As nice as the cold stone in your manor?”
She’s got teeth, Nightmare says giddily.Turn around. See what she looks like! I have to know. Is it her?
The voice. There is something familiar about it. But I’m not turning.
Kings don’t turn.
Nor do they bow.
I gesture to the walls. “The stone might be cold, but the fire’s warm.”
“It’s not the fire I’m worried about.”
A laugh slips from my mouth. “So it’s me.”
Her skirt rustles again, and when she speaks, her voice is closer, the sound like an intimate caress. “Shouldn’t you be out at the ball? You invited us here so you could…what? Hang out in your library?”
