“Now, this is the part that will make sure no one questions you in the slightest.” She held it up, and Jessamine held her breath in shock.
It was a metal rib cage. Worn with tarnished edges, the silver had turned black at the curves of each rib. It opened along the sternum, sealing itself around her in a hug far tighter than any corset she’d ever worn in her life.
When she looked at her reflection now, all she could see was a woman half in life and half in death. A skeletal creature who looked both terrifying and beautiful.
“Oh,” she whispered. “How lovely.”
“It goes perfectly with the mask.” Agnes walked up behind her and settled the mask on top of her face. It looked like a skull, but with intricate carvings all around it. Butterflies, birds, tiny lizards, everythingthat was life itself crawling all over the skull that stopped just below her nose.
The other three witches seemed to hold their breath as she looked at their final work, and then Jessamine slowly smiled. The bloodred lips were a garish streak across her face as she whispered, “What a haunting visage.”
“And what a perfect last sight for Fortuna,” Agnes replied.
Elric yanked at the neck of his ridiculous outfit as they strode down the street with all the other partygoers. There wasn’t anyone who would recognize him, so his mask covered only part of his face, but that didn’t make it any more comfortable. Just like the rest of this stupid costume.
The witches had made it very clear that he was to pay attention to his surroundings and not deviate from their instructions. He would endanger all of them if he did. That meant he had to wear the clothing they had picked out for him, and no, he couldn’t conjure his own. Someone would ask “Lord Bloodworth” where he’d purchased his outfit, and he’d have no good answer.
But why this suit? It was starched so heavily that it barely moved when he did. The creases down the legs were so sharp, he was certain they would cut someone if he got too close. The black silk shirt underneath the velvet jacket made him a little too warm, and the vest in between, embroidered to look like a rib cage, was just silly.
Still, it was quite nice to walk down the street freely with Jessamine. And she looked beautiful.
He glanced down at her again, willing himself not to get hard the moment she looked back. Those dark eyes bored right into him, and all he wanted was to strip her out of that silk and watch it pool at her feet.
He wanted to worship her like this. Worship her like he had against his own shrine. Every moment with her made him more and more obsessed, and sometimes he feared what that meant for him. For her.
For their kingdom.
Sighing, he turned his attention back to the crowd around them lest he walk into the party with a hard-on that he couldn’t explain.
“So, this is the place?” he mused, as though they hadn’t ever been inside this building before. Too many prying strangers could be listening to their conversation.
“They say Fortuna’s home is the finest in all the Pleasure District,” she said, leaning against his arm and trying to flutter her eyelashes but failing spectacularly. “Do you think someday you’ll build me a home like this?”
“Anything you want, darling.” Elric raised her hand to his lips. He could hear the couple next to them sigh in happiness at their love, but he could see by the glance they shared that their reaction was fake. Later, they would speak of the sickly romantic couple who had been so cloying to stand next to in line.
There were so many people here. Far more than he had anticipated, and quite a few who didn’t look like they were even from Inverholm. Leaning down, he pretended to kiss Jessamine’s shoulder while he murmured questions against her skin.
“Does it look like the man beside us isn’t from here?”
She glanced that way, tilting her neck so he had more access to it. “He’s from a neighboring kingdom. Not Leon’s.”
“What’s he doing here?”
“Fortuna’s net is wide.” She cast her eyes at another couple, the movement so small he might not have caught it if he wasn’t so attuned to her. “They’re also from another kingdom. Although I’m not sure if they’re together or siblings.”
He looked at the way the man’s hand hovered at the base of the woman’s spine. “I think siblings.”
“Interesting choice, then. I’m not sure why they would be here when Fortuna made it very clear she was looking for a husband.”
He shrugged, then stood up straight again. All of this still felt like a trap, and he couldn’t figure out why. Clearly, Fortuna’s party had attractedall the greatest people in this kingdom and beyond. But why on earth had she allowed both of them to enter her home undisturbed?
Gut churning, he moved forward with everyone else. There were guards out front as they had seen before, again wearing Leon’s colors. A statement of Fortuna’s favor with the king, no doubt. One that they should not ignore.
As they approached the guards, Elric could feel himself stiffening. Perhaps this was the moment Fortuna would make her move. Perhaps someone would approach them, because certainly everyone could tell that he and Jessamine were different. They were far more than any of these people could ever dream of being.
A guard placed a hand on his chest as Elric started to walk past him. He looked down at the guard coolly, hoping the hatred in his gaze would sear his face into the man’s memory for years to come. “Yes?” he growled.
“Name and…” The guard cleared his throat, looking down at the paper in his hand. “And where you are from? Sir?”
