“Are you okay?” she asked gently.
I glanced up from the mirror. “Yeah, I’m fine. More importantly, are you?”
She’d known Willow a little longer than I had. A sense of melancholy had settled over the dancers, but Az had decided not to shut the place down for the night. He hoped the killer might be tempted to corner me here. And now that he’d met him face-to-face, albeit masked, Az was certain he would spot him in an instant.
Tears filled Priyanka’s eyes, but she quickly blinked them away. “No, it’s horrible. I didn’t know Willow well, but she was a nice girl. Always said hello with a smile. Never complained. Even if she was the only werewolf here. The rest of us are fae.”
I stiffened and lifted my brows.
“Az told me that you know everything,” she admitted. “To be honest, I’m glad. I hate secrets. I think it’s about time humanity knows we exist. Here, let me help you with that.”
She took the eyeliner from me and motioned for me to turn her way. I did as she asked and sat still while she flicked the edges of my lids.
“To be honest, I don’t think a lot of humans would react the way I have. A lot would freak out,” I said.
“You’re probably right,” she said, sticking her tongue out between her teeth as she did my makeup. “But that’s not why we keep it secret.”
I frowned. “Then why?”
“Ancient laws. Set forth by the Creator and Lucifer. We’re supposed to control humans for whichever side we’re on. If you know about us, it’s harder for us to do that.”
My stomach flipped. “Um, wait a minute. Control us?”
“Yep.” She dabbed on the last flick. “We’re competing for souls. It’s a game that’s been going on for centuries.”
Horror flooded through me. “You mean to tell me all of this is about agame?”
Priyanka leaned back and sighed, dropping the eyeliner onto the table. “I’m sorry. This is probably too much to unload on you.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I want to understand. Tell me about this game.”
“It was a bargain struck between the Creator and Lucifer, centuries and centuries ago. Who could win fifty billion souls the fastest?”
“And what happens when one of them wins?” I whispered.
She pressed her lips together. “This world ends, and everyone goes to the winner’s afterlife.”
My hands fisted as I shakily pushed up from the chair. “So, you’re telling me that everyone will go to Hell if Lucifer wins?”
“That’s right.”
“And you’re okay with this?”
“Absolutely not.” She patted my shoulder. “That’s why I work for Az. The Legion do most of the dirty work, but I help out when I can. Fae can do things demons can’t.”
Priyanka’s words stayed with me as I finished getting ready for my shift. Even though I’d discovered supernaturals as a child, I realized now I hadn’t known the half of it. There was so much more to this, and likely loads more that I didn’t yet know. This, the supernatural serial killer, and the sacrificial cult…I really, really needed a vacation. Preferably to a sunny beach where a hot guy would deliver me mimosas at regular intervals.
Unfortunately, I had to go dance in front of a bunch of supernaturals for the next four hours and hope a serial killer didn’t teleport into my oversized birdcage.
“Mia.” Az found me in the hallway just moments before I was due to step onto the club floor. He pulled me away from the other dancers and dropped his lips to my ear. “The vampire in charge of the invitations to the ball has come tonight.”
I stared into his ice-flecked eyes, questions rolling through my head. There was so much I wanted to ask him. The game, the souls, the afterlife. More specifically, just how far along were the Creator and Lucifer on collecting their souls? How soon would the world end? It couldn’t be far off.
Instead, I tried to focus on his words. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Good,” he said with a nod. “It means I’ve caught their attention. Now, we just need to demonstrate our bond. I need you to step out onto the floor with me and pretend like you adore me.”
“Right. That makes sense.” I cleared my throat and ignored the heat tripping through my veins. This was exactly what we needed. A chance to pretend we had a thing in front of the very person who needed to believe it. Az needed that invite. If he got it, he had a chance at stopping the sacrifices.
