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I am not a child.

“Can we just go to a different room?” My back straightens. “This is the purple room, right?”

Charlotte nods. “It is, and of course! We weren’t planning on staying in here anyway.” She winks, pulling me through the room. “Would you like a drink? If you’re feeling nervous, I’d strongly recommend taking a black cup and only having a few sips. I needed the bliss the first few times I came here.”

My insides flip at the thought. I’ve no idea what bliss is or what it does to a person, but after the night I’ve had, I’m tempted to just down the whole goblet. “Where are the drinks?” I hug my chest.

“Through here.” Charlotte guides me out of the room. As we pass the moaning guests, the bare skin of my ankles brushes a woman’s gown that’s been left on the floor.

Oh no.

I barely have time to brace myself before my magic gift slams into me. Heat rushes through my body, intense enough to make me gasp.

For a few moments, her lust is all I can feel. My heart pounds, my head spinning. Warmth floods to my core, pooling in a shameful wetness between my thighs.

Thankfully, her emotions are gone as quickly as they came, but the heat still lingers, and my bodice feels uncomfortably tight.

Stars, I hate my gift.

Charlotte leads me to a small hallway that leads to at least a dozen closed doors. A small wooden sign hangs on a few of the door handles with either ‘we like to share’ or ‘privacy please’ painted in curly red letters.

Before the doors, two long tables stand on either side of us. One is covered in glittering black goblets. The other is covered in pretty crystal wine glasses. All of the cups are filled with a dark crimson liquid. And with the intense moaning coming from behind one of the closed doors, I’ve never craved the sweet taste of wine so much.

“The bliss will make you feel better,” Charlotte says, directing me to the black goblets. “Just make sure you only have a few sips, enough to take the edge off.”

I don’t need to be told twice. Grabbing the nearest cup, I bring it to my lips and swallow deeply. I don’t know what I plan to do at this ‘party’ tonight, but I can’t be sober here for another minute.

“That’s enough.” Charlotte swipes the goblet off me. There’s still far more than half left, which I definitely would’ve downed had she not stopped me. “Bliss can be intense, and I don’t want you feeling so out of it that you can’t consent.” She winks at me, before finishing the goblet herself.

My brow shoots up. At least if this stuff kills me, I won’t die alone.

William smirks as he takes the goblet from her, placing it on the designated tray for empty glasses. Panic flares inside me as Charlotte sways a little, her eyes turning glossy.

“Hello, gorgeous,” she purrs at William before turning to me. She smiles, and suddenly it’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. “Hello, angel,” she speaks in a lovely voice. “Would you like to join us?”

“Yes.” The word tumbles out of me. Stepping towards her, I can’t help but stroke her hair. I wish I had hair as pretty as hers. She looks like a goddess from a painting.

She giggles as if I just said that last part out loud. I probably did.

“Shall we, ladies?” William takes my elbow, guiding me along with Charlotte.

I glance up at him. His short blonde hair and piercing gaze looks nowhere near as intimidating as it once did. “Where are we going?” I smile.

“We’re going to have lots of fun together,” Charlotte replies. “And it’s going to feel so good for you.” Her fingers brush my arm. “William is really good at threesomes.”

I tilt my head. “What’s a three⁠—”

“Eden.” My stomach drops as a growl fills the hallway.

The three of us turn slowly. A tall man dressed in expensive clothes with a black and gold masquerade mask stands behind us. His dark eyes sear into me.

When he catches my gaze, he scowls. “You gave her bliss?” he snarls at Charlotte.

Drawing closer, he grasps my face. Citrus teases my nose as the realisation hits me. I’ve seen that dark perfect hair before. I almost ran my fingers through it a few hours ago.

Prince Castor.

“She only had a drop. Lottie made sure she didn’t have more than that.” William folds his arms.