The Lawson family manor reminded me a little of Woolworth House if Woolly had gone on a rampage through downtown, eaten all the other historical homes, then vomited them in a heap at the end of a rolling lawn. The architecture clashed so loudly, my ears rang looking at it.

Federal. Georgian. Italianate. Regency.

The manor couldn’t decide what it wanted to be, so it was a bit of everything.

The parallels I could draw between Linus and the house where he grew up were endless.

For all its faults, the Lawson manor cut an imposing figure, and the extravagant landscaping went a long way toward drawing the eye, well, away from said figure.

Tonight, the various garden paths glowed with twinkling fairy lights, and soft spotlights lit the way to the front door where I would soon be positioned to greet everyone as they arrived. I would smile, shake hands, and act like Maud could be in the next room, like nothing had changed. And they would laugh, squeeze my fingers, and pretend I hadn’t been cast into a black cell to be forgotten, pretend their skin didn’t crawl at the sight of me, a reminder of what could happen to them under the right—or wrong—conditions.

“We’re sticking close,” Lethe promised me, probably scenting my nerves. “We won’t let you out of our sight.”

We exited the van, and Hood tossed the keys to the valet on his way past.

Waiting until Lethe threaded her arm through his, he fell in behind me. “After you, Grier.”

Palms damp, I took the stairs leading up to the front door, which stood propped open to the night. A pair of Elite sentinels dressed to the nines stood to either side, thankfully no one I recognized, and they checked our invitations.

“Dame Woolworth,” the man on the left drawled after reading my name. “You’re expected in the library.”

The Grande Dame wasn’t wasting any time positioning me under her thumb for the evening.

Oh joy.

“Breathe,” Lethe whispered in my ear. “You got this.”

There were no other guests to hide behind, so they didn’t bother pretending to be anything other than what they were—my bodyguards. Tonight, I had no problem with that label or their presence. After kicking the wasps’ nests, I needed all the swatters I could wrangle.

Polite smile tacked in place, I knocked three times. “The guard said you were…”

Linus answered the door dressed in a black tux that did lethal things to my salivary glands. I gaped at the striking figure he cut with his hair slicked back and his signet ring on his finger. This wasn’t a mask, despite the sculpted black leather molded to one half of his face. This was Scion Lawson in the flesh, fully realized, and he set my heart pounding.

Lips parted, he drank me in, and there— Right there. A crack, a glimpse of the real Linus.

“Grier,” he breathed, his eyes clear and blue. “You look…magnificent.”

Blushing, I twirled for him. “This guy I know loaned me some bling.”

“The belt has nothing to do with it.” He touched one of the pins in my hair, almost brushing my cheek with his knuckles. “You’re exquisite.” I leaned into the touch before he lowered his arm, and his thumb stroked dangerously close to my bottom lip. “I don’t want to ruin your makeup.”

“Neely promised I would have to sandblast it off when I get home.”

Aware I was a nervous muncher, he had armed me with the most durable cosmetics in his repertoire.

Booming laughter shriveled my gut, and I turned toward the door to see exactly who I expected. “Boaz is here.”

Linus shrank from me, nothing sudden like a flinch, but a slow withdrawal into himself. “I wasn’t aware he would be working tonight. I can speak to Mother, have him reassigned, if you’d like.”

“Don’t put yourself out.” I would get to the bottom of this on my own. “It was unexpected, that’s all.”

Black tendrils turned his eyes smoky. “I understand.”

“I don’t think you do.” I took his hand in mine and threaded our fingers, locking him to me, palm to palm. “I can’t do this without you, Linus, and I don’t mean facing Boaz. I mean this—all of it—is too much for me to handle alone.” I searched his face. “I need you.”

“I’m here.” He brought our linked hands to his mouth and brushed a light kiss across the backs of my knuckles. “I’ve always been right here.”

The urge to grip his lapels, yank him to me, and find out how he tasted loosened my fingers from his, but his mother sweeping into the room to confer with the guards worked miracles on my superheated libido.

I couldn’t tell if she was happy to see our fingers interlaced or not, and I didn’t care one whit.

I was done assigning her motives to his actions. I had to be if I wanted this, wanted him, and…I did. I think I had been craving him for a while now, and not in a morning-smoothie kind of way.

“I regret I wasn’t there to escort you,” he said softly, drawing my attention back to him. “There was a mix-up at Rochester’s. They delivered my tux here instead of Woolworth House.”

“We didn’t make any plans.” I rubbed my thumbs over the rubies at my waist. “You’re free to do as you like.”

“No.” He searched my face. “I’m not. I haven’t been in a long time.”

Throat tight, I wet my lips. “There’s something we need to discuss.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” the Grande Dame said from behind me. “Join us in the library, won’t you?”

She breezed past me, pausing to kiss her son on the cheek, before settling into a wingback chair.

Warily, I stepped into the room, taking comfort from the brush of Linus’s fingers against mine in passing.

“I won’t ask you to sit,” the Grande Dame began. “You’ll wrinkle, and that won’t do.”

At least she had her priorities in order. “No, ma’am.”

“Five minutes ago, security personnel were given an RSVP to pass along.” She leaned forward, eyes bright. “The card was signed Gaspard Lacroix.”

“There’s no Gaspard Lacroix on the guest list.” Linus shared a lingering glance with his mother before looking at me. “Only one invitation was sent out without a name.”

That meant… “He’s coming.”

“It appears so.” The Grande Dame vibrated with anticipation. “I understand you have personal reasons for extending this invitation, and I’m willing to facilitate your reunion, provided no threats are leveraged against your person.” She leaned forward, nails sharp on the arms of her chair. “However, I would have a word with this master vampire who flaunts his rules as law before he eludes us yet again.”

“I mentioned to Linus it was my hope the two of you could meet and perhaps come to an understanding regarding the state of the Undead Coalition.” I felt Linus’s eyes on me, and I wondered if it looked to him like I had pulled on a mask. That’s how Dame Woolworth felt to me. And realizing that, I understood his need to partition the roles he was meant to play so that none of them overlapped. “I will do my best to convince Mr. Lacroix, if he is indeed the master vampire we seek, to speak with you in private.”

“That’s all I ask.” She rose to her full height, reminding me so much of Maud, I ached. “I’ll see you in the receiving line. I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t welcome your guests to my home.”

“Actually…” I cut off her escape. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about Boaz Pritchard.”

Thanks to an extension on her business trip, she was just getting home and hadn’t returned my calls yet.

The picture of serenity, her expression gave away nothing. “What about him?”

“Our paths keep crossing,” I said just shy of making it an accusation. “When I confronted him about it, he claimed he’s been assigned to me.”

“You invited him into our confidence, Grier.” She scanned my face. “That doesn’t go away because you’re no longer friends. He keeps an eye on you, and I keep an eye on him. I am sorry if that’s uncomfortable for you, but he’s a dangerous man with sensitive information and a rebellious streak.” Her gaze locked with mine. “Your falling out requires me to keep him closer than is comfortable for us both, but he was your friend, and I’m sure you want to keep him safe.”

I pasted on an appropriate smile, waiting until she was out of earshot before I exhaled in a rush.

“She just threatened his life.” I sought out Linus. “You heard her.”

“She won’t move against him.” Linus kept his distance while he gauged my mood. “She wouldn’t have brought him into her home, made their association known, if she intended him harm. She’s bluffing.” He ventured closer. “Mother would have given him a similar talk to ensure his compliance, and it’s obvious he still cares enough about you for her leverage to work.”

“I’ll take your word for it. You know her better than I do. We’ll have to keep an eye on him, just in case.”

Muscles fluttered in his jaw. “I won’t let any harm come to him.”

“Thank you,” I murmured. “I know that’s a tough promise for you to make.”

The tension broke, and he gifted me a tiny smile. “I would do worse to make you happy.”

Sometimes Linus really did say the sweetest things, but I wasn’t going to push my luck on that topic.

“Gaspard Lacroix,” I said, switching topics to give us a breather. Turning the name over in my head, I kept waiting for recognition to kick in, but no epiphany struck me. “We’ve got a name. We can start digging.”

“All we have right now are assumptions.” He rubbed his hands up my arms. “We’ll know more after Mr. Lacroix arrives.”

Assuming he put in an appearance, that this wasn’t a ruse. “Any word on the Marchands?”

“They’re staying at a hotel in town.” He glanced past me, through the open door. “They haven’t left their rooms since their arrival late last night. They’ve ordered all their meals in.”

Their paranoia was understandable considering the last Marchand to enter my city had left in a body bag.

My city.

I had been hanging around Linus for too long.

“What are you looking at?” I peered over my shoulder in time to watch Abayomi Balewa, the former Grande Dame, the woman who had sentenced me to Atramentous, stroll into the foyer like she had every right to crash my party. “She was not on my guest list.”

“No,” he said, a threatening rumble in his tone, “she wasn’t.”

“She’s not dressed for the ball.” She wore a simple black trapeze dress with natural makeup, and a scarf wrapped her hair. Her flats didn’t make a sound on the marble. “She must have come to visit your mother.”

“Perhaps,” he said, but I could tell he wasn’t sold on the idea, even after she set out in the direction the current Grande Dame had gone.

We didn’t have to wait long for a definitive answer. An expletive rent the air, and two Elite escorted Dame Balewa out of the house. The easy gait of the taller man while he performed an unsavory task would have betrayed Boaz’s identity even if I hadn’t already seen his face to know he was here.

Trailing after them, the Grande Dame spared us a pointed glance that announced it was time to begin.

As we made our way to the door, toward his formidable mother, I wondered when I had started relying on him to get through the hard parts. I couldn’t pinpoint an exact moment when my reflex became turning to him for comfort. Honestly, he still wasn’t very good at it, but he was learning.

Whatever the night brought, I knew I could weather it with him by my side.

Two hours after the stated time on the invitation, Mr. Lacroix had yet to arrive. The Marchands were also noticeably absent. Face aching from holding a polite smile, I gritted my teeth when I really wanted to scream and hide under the refreshment table.

Without meaning to, I tripped up the stairs to the doorway in my mind and watched the proceedings from a safe distance. Seeing the faces of those who hadn’t spoken up for me in the Lyceum but eagerly welcomed me home hurt less this way. Here, I could be objective. I could go through the motions. I could—

“Grier,” a soft voice murmured in my ear.

Descent was a slow process, each stair a land mine waiting to explode beneath my weight.

“It’s time to come inside,” he said again.

Sinking back into my skin took time, and each second that ticked past offered a chance to retreat again.

“I’ll be right here.”

Linus.

“I’ll hold you to that.” Finding us alone on the steps, I flushed brightly. “Sorry, my mind drifted.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

He offered me his arm, and I accepted his escort through the bustling crowd into the ballroom. The musicians I had painstakingly selected gathered on a small balcony overlooking the inlayed floor. A mirroring balcony opposite theirs sat empty, but I could imagine the lady of the manor presiding over the festivities from there, a great bird of prey ready to swoop down on revelers at any moment and peck out their eyes if they saw too much.

“Darling,” the Grande Dame cooed, latching on to her son. “Dame Austen brought her eldest daughter for the sole purpose of meeting you.”

“Mother,” he warned.

“I’m not asking you to marry her.” She smoothed her hands down his lapels. “However, I do expect you to be sociable.”

Eyes weary, he looked to me for permission I granted with a nod, and he promised, “I won’t be long.”

“I’ll graze until you’re done.” I released him before she finished snatching him away. “I might as well enjoy the spread considering how much it cost.”

Linking arms with Linus, the Grande Dame led him to a gathering of young women. The centermost one, an effortless beauty, sparkled when he joined them. But his mother ignored her in favor of a woman ten years his senior, her beauty acquired through artful makeup application.

Hidden behind the comfortable mask of Scion Lawson, he blended in with ease, falling into old habits.

Or so I thought until our eyes met, and he tugged on his left ear.

One rescue coming right up, I vowed with a grin that hurt my already sore cheeks.

The tuxedoed man stationed behind the elegant bar would provide me with a perfect excuse.

Strolling over, ready to claim two flutes of the free-flowing champagne, I took my place in line.

“Tell me you didn’t get inked for this,” an amused voice initiated to my right. “The invitations were nice, don’t get me wrong, but tattoos are for life. For us, that’s a long-ass time.”

“I’m not that dedicated.” I turned and smiled at a tall blonde with hips I envied. “The ink came first.”

The modest cut of her sleeveless gown indicated she was Low Society. The style appeared a few years out of date judging by the other Low Society guests, but she wore it well. The neat chignon pulled the hair from her face and emphasized her high cheekbones and wide eyes. Her lips were slashes of red to match her ensemble. The lines bracketing her thin mouth made it easy to tell she spent more time frowning than smiling. A pity since amusement suited her, lit up her face and bumped her from pretty to stunning.

“It’s a lovely piece.” Her grin revealed a dimple in one cheek. “Who’s the artist?”

“The shop’s in Atlanta,” I demurred. “I can give you their number if you’re interested.”

“Me? No.” She rubbed her bare arms to ward off the idea. “I’m too chicken.”

“I’m being rude.” I thrust out my hand. “I’m Grier Woolworth.”

“Yeah, I know. The tattoo.” Her grip was firm, her palm rough, when we shook. “I’m Adelaide Whitaker.”

The name struck me as familiar. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Her lips quirked to one side. “I stink at subterfuge. Mind if I drop the pretense?”

The urge to tug on the Dame Woolworth mask twitched in my cheek. “Okay.”

“You’re close to Boaz Pritchard.”

“I am.” I sucked on my teeth. “I used to be, yes. We grew up together.”

Lacing her fingers, she twisted her wrists. “I’m the reason you just used the past tense.”

“Ah.” I really wish I had used my clout to cut in line. “I thought your name sounded familiar.”

“I wanted to meet you.” Her eyes darted to the side. “I considered introducing myself and then being a raging bitch to make hating me easier. I thought it might help. Our situation must be difficult for you.”

Our.

Unsure if she meant her and Boaz or her and me or all three of us, I couldn’t peg how I felt about her ambushing me. Other than annoyed. Embarrassed. And for some reason—cheap. Like I had been one last thrill before their wedding bells tolled.

A flush swept up her throat. “I’m not making this any better, am I?”

“No offense, but there’s nothing you can say to fix this.”

“Grier—” she began, but I cut her off with a dose of reality.

“The hardest part about what happened was realizing what an accomplished liar he is,” I admitted, noticing her flinch and not feeling any better for inflicting the small hurt on a total stranger. “I was aware, of course, but I stupidly never expected him to lie to me. That was my mistake. Thinking I was special to him. I hope you won’t make the same one.”

As a business transaction, their relationship skewed expectations, but lies built weak foundations.

“Friendship is off the table for us. I get that.” She gathered herself for the delivery of her ultimatum. “I would hate me in your shoes. I would hate him too. I would hate his whole family. But Savannah is my home now. I don’t want ex-girlfriend drama or any drama period. I doubt you do either. From here, it looks like you’ve got a full plate, and I don’t want to add to that. I hoped meeting you, getting this awkwardness out of the way on neutral ground, would help us both.”

“I appreciate it.” To my surprise, I realized I meant it. “I admit, I did wonder about you.”

“I bet I lost more sleep over this than you.” Her expression tightened. “I had no idea Boaz was in a relationship when we made our deal. I can’t say it would have changed anything, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my family but…” She winced up at me. “I guess there are no buts. What’s done is done.”

Her candor was appreciated. “Does he know about this tête-à-tête?”

“Goddess no.” She belted out a laugh. “He gave me explicit instructions to avoid you at all costs.”

Defiance suited her even better than amusement. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you ignored him.”

“I hope you mean that.” Her voice softened to a breathy rasp. “I never meant to cause you any pain.”

Already, she was too good for Boaz in my estimation. She was bold and outspoken, and I liked her.

Under different circumstances, we might have been friends, and that made me think he had chosen better for himself than he realized.

“Adelaide…” Aware what I told her might get back to him, I forged ahead. “The thing about growing up with a hot guy next door, especially if you’re best friends with his little sister, is your feelings get tangled. There are so many years, and so many hormones, and so many shared experiences between you. You have so much history looking back that it’s all you see when you look forward.”

“I get that.”

“I’ve loved Boaz since I can remember, but you actually did me a favor.”

Her shock was comical. “I…did?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t have stopped my gaze from panning the room, from homing in on Linus, if you paid me. “Your engagement forced me to stop and think instead of feeling, and I realized something important.”

Arched brows met this pronouncement. “Does it have anything to do with the guy staring at you?”

The heat of Linus’s attention, the weight of it, hadn’t left me. He might stand across the room, but his focus was right here, on me.

“There’s a vast difference between loving someone and being in love with them.” I broke eye contact to focus on Adelaide. “We can love people for all the right reasons or every wrong one. We can love them despite their faults or because of them. But true love, actual love, isn’t about making exceptions. It’s about being the exception.” I made a painful admission. “I was never that for him.”

For all the allowances I made for his behavior, his past, for all my willingness to accept him as he was, he just embraced that as the status quo. I would have forgiven him anything, but not this. He had chosen a girl over me for the last time. That wasn’t bitterness talking, it was fact. Marriage was a binding contract, and he had all but signed on the dotted line.

“I’m not that for him either,” she confided. “Maybe knowing that will help you sleep at night.”

That was an impossibility, the nightmare always laid in wait for me, but she wouldn’t know. “I don’t want that for you. Or him.”

“You’re a better woman than I am.” She ducked her head. “I would want me to suffer, at least a little.”

“I’ve suffered enough.” I touched her arm. “I wouldn’t wish more pain on anyone.” I smiled. “Not even him.”

A soft laugh moved through her. “Thanks.”

Across the room, Linus tugged on his reddened earlobe with renewed vigor as the women circled him like glittering sharks gliding through perfume-scented water.

“It really was nice meeting you.” I indicated Linus. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to rescue him.”

“Sink or swim,” Boaz grated out behind me. “That’s the Society way, isn’t it?”

Adelaide cocked one hip and anchored her fist on it. “Boaz—”

“We’ll discuss this later.” His eyes roved her face. “In private.”

“I’ve already discussed this—us—with Grier.” She stared him in the eye and dared him to find fault with her. “We’ve come to an understanding. There’s no reason for you to huff and puff over either of us.”

Teeth grinding, Boaz set his jaw. “Adelaide—”

“We’ll discuss this later.” She patted his cheek with the force of a slap. “In private.”

Hips swaying, she left Boaz glaring after her while she crossed the room to mingle.

The Pritchard heir might have finally bitten off more than he could chew with Adelaide Whitaker.

The thought amused me so much I didn’t even have the heart to wish he would choke on it.

“Linus is waiting,” I said into the empty space our friendship used to occupy. “I should go.”

“He’s been waiting on you two-thirds of his life.” Boaz scoffed. “Five more minutes won’t hurt him.”

“You’re engaged.” I kept my voice low, and it came out hard. “Act like it.”

With no hips to sway, I was forced to skip the sashaying exit for a more practical one.

For the first time, I was leaving him behind, and I felt the scab on my heart loosen and start flaking.

Without the Grande Dame anchoring the gaggle of women, the hopeful brides scattered before me. The beautiful one frowned when I threaded my arm through Linus’s with an ease that conveyed I had earned his permission to touch him. The older one smiled behind her glass of champagne in a subtle toast to me, her eyes twinkling.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed foiling the Grande Dame’s schemes.

“Can I borrow him for a moment?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “Thanks.”

Inclining his head toward the women, he let me lead him away. “I thought you had forgotten our signal.”

“Sorry it took me so long to respond to your SOS. I was in the middle of a crisis myself.”

“I saw.” Linus swept his gaze over me. “I wasn’t sure if I should intervene.”

Proud of myself, I grinned up at him. “I handled it.”

“I’m sorry tonight has been awkward for you.”

“You don’t owe any apologies on his behalf.”

As if I had given a cue, the music cut out for a beat of silence before the first notes of the waltz I selected for the first dance swept a hush through the crowd. Our aimless drifting had brought us to the middle of the room, making us the center of attention, and I couldn’t breathe with all those expectant eyes on me.

“Please,” I whispered, only loud enough for his ears. “Dance with me.”

“The next one.” He glided back a step. “This one… I can’t, Grier.”

“I’m happy to oblige,” drawled a familiar voice. “We move well together, as I recall.”

There was no need to turn to know Boaz stood behind me. I could feel him. Smell him.

I wanted to hit him. I wanted to pull his hair or spit in his eye or stomp his foot. I wanted to hurt him.

But Linus was shuttering his expression, drawing up the mask of Scion Lawson, and I was done.

“I have in my possession a piece of paper,” I told him quietly, “that says you’re mine.”

The blow landed, shattering his calm exterior and his austere mask to dust. “You can’t want that.”

What I heard, clear as day, was You can’t want me.

“Grier?” Boaz rumbled, a catch in his voice. “What are you talking about?”

“This has nothing to do with you,” I said without turning. “Return to your post, Elite.”

Rage, black and boiling, simmered at my back, the inferno so intense my nape blistered. But his fury was nothing compared to the storm brewing in Adelaide as she looked on with red cheeks and clenched fists.

Head bowing, Linus retreated another step. “Don’t use me as leverage to get what you actually want.”

“I will chase you if you make me, Linus Lawson.” I prepared to kick off my accursed heels to do just that. “Wait. Please. I told you earlier—before I ever saw Boaz—I had something to discuss with you. Well, this is it. I found the contract, and I read it.”

“Grier,” he pleaded, unable to lift his head to look at me.

“In a perfect world, Maud would be here.” I lowered my voice, which kept rising with my desperation to keep him listening. “This is my first ball as an adult. She would have been announcing our engagement.” I curled my fingers into my palms to keep from latching on to him while I said my piece. “That’s why you don’t want the first dance.”

The utter stillness in the air behind me registered in some corner of my mind, but I had to keep pushing.

“I never wanted a piece of paper to be the reason,” Linus said, voice raw and aching. “I wanted a chance to earn your love, or at least your friendship.” He laughed harshly. “Our parents thought that was so unlikely, they signed papers to that affect.”

Heart breaking, I stepped up to him. “Oh, Linus.”

“Mother destroyed her copy in a fit of rage after your sentencing. I hoped I could find the original and make it disappear.” His eyes closed for a heartbeat before opening on me. “Maud never told you. You never had to know.”

“You think so little of yourself.” I took his hand. “Why do you believe you’re so unworthy?”

The question creased wrinkles across his forehead. “I…”

“Dance with me.” I linked our fingers. “It doesn’t have to mean forever to still mean something.”

Slowly, he curled his hand around mine. “Are you sure?”

“You saw the invitations.” A flush heated my nape. “What did you think they meant?”

Long before my head got with the program, my heart had made its claim for all to see.

“I didn’t think.” A corner of his lips kicked up as he eased an arm around my waist. Ever the gentleman, he kept his hand on the dress and not bare skin. “I hoped.”

As the first notes of the waltz drifted down around us for a second time, we began moving together as if we had filled the past month in the studio with our old instructor. Linus was grace personified. I…didn’t trip. His lead was so polished, so flawless, I drifted over the floor in half-forgotten steps I was quick to remember under his ever-patient tutelage.

Other dancers moved in, whirling on my periphery, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I was afraid the mask might slip back into place if I glanced away, and I didn’t want to miss a second of the quiet happiness he exuded with me in his arms.

Lethe had advised me to give him a reason to stay. I was offering him…me.

Atlanta loomed large in my mind, his duty and his career, but I couldn’t let him walk away from me, from this. Us.

“You have to work on your Dame Woolworth face,” he told me, a smile in his voice. “You’re letting the others see you.”

The lacy half mask was no protection at all from the glow I felt spreading from my chest through my limbs.

“Let them look.” I leaned in closer. “I’ll practice later, but not now. Not with you.”

As much as I wanted to believe otherwise, it was important to hide my tender underbelly in this crowd. Dame Woolworth would be a persona I crafted over time, but her foundation would be set tonight. For now, I just wanted to be Grier. And she just wanted to dance with the boy who made her heart light.

“Might I have this dance?” a cultured voice asked from behind my shoulder. “I have waited three songs, but the fourth is starting, and I am most anxious to make your reacquaintance.”

A tingle started in my scalp and raced the length of my body.

Vampire.

“Forgive me,” Linus said smoothly. “I didn’t mean to dominate the hostess.”

Gathering my nerve, I turned to face the speaker. He was young, in appearance. Maybe late thirties. His hair was long and black, gathered at his nape with a simple ribbon. His tux was custom, his shoes polished, and his collar open at the throat. Power rolled off him in waves that curdled my stomach, and I had never been more grateful for the tattoo Linus had given me.

This man was a Last Seed. An old one. Ancient.

“Reacquaintance?” I smiled politely. “I would remember if we had met.”

Until now, my skin hadn’t been trying to crawl off my bones. Kind of hard to forget that kind of first impression.

What terrified me most was he didn’t appear to even be trying, but his lure still prickled my hindbrain.

“Gaspard Lacroix.” He cut out Linus with a smooth step into my personal space that guided me into the music and away from my nearest ally. “I am here by your personal invitation.”

“Well, let’s see. I did invite the master vampire responsible for siccing Danill Volkov on me. The same man who authorized me to be drugged and held against my will at his country estate. He also encourages frequent attempts to be made against my person and my freedom. He seems to believe I’m a lost lamb in need of his shepherding.” I blasted him with a winning smile. “Are you that master?”

An infinitesimal tightening of his hand warned me I was pushing my luck with a dangerous creature.

“I am,” he said, recovering his control. “The crimes you describe may all be laid at my feet.”

A hard thud rattled my rib cage and knocked my bravado down a notch. It was one thing to suspect this was the master, another to have confirmation.

“I was misinformed about your marital status,” he said apologetically. “I was unaware the Lawson scion had been promised to you. Had I known he was to your liking, I would have handled things differently.”

An apology for kidnapping me was clearly not forthcoming. “How is my private life any of your business?”

“You have been my business since the day you first drew breath into your tiny lungs.” His smile was fond and genuine, the realest emotion from him yet. I could picture him ordering me around in an indulgent tone, justifying his wishes as being for my own good, so easily. “I adored you from the moment I set eyes on you, and I regret that your mother’s choices cost me the joy of watching you grow into the beautiful woman I see before me.”

The temptation to ask proved too strong. Here was the real danger. Not his lure, but his knowledge. “You were there when I was born?”

“I was away on business, but I came as soon as my son called.” Pride swelled his chest tight. “A goddess-touched necromancer. That is what your mother’s people call those with your blood. You are the first of your kind born into our clan. We celebrated your arrival for weeks.”

The discord between the picture he painted and my memories of growing up grew louder. “What happened?”

“Your father died.” His lips screwed tighter. “Your mother, in her grief, sought to flee back to her kin. But they had disowned her at your birth. She had nowhere else to go, no other family except the clan, but she refused to see reason. We were forced to confine her for her own wellbeing—as well as yours.”

Kidnapping was his go-to method for achieving compliance, then. Not a newly embraced tactic. “She escaped.”

“Your mother was a beautiful woman, persuasive too, and she convinced the guards she and her young daughter were in danger.” He kept his expression convivial. “They foolishly helped them and were punished for their crimes.”

An unsettling sensation swept through me, almost a memory, but I couldn’t pull details into focus.

“I searched for years until I heard rumors Evangeline had surfaced in Savannah. I arrived too late to confront your dearly departed mother, but I did speak with your guardian. Dame Woolworth forbade me to contact you. She threatened to disappear you again, for good, if I attempted to circumvent her wishes before you attained your majority and could make the decision to meet with me or not on your own.”

The room spun, and this time I couldn’t blame the swirling steps. The master—my grandfather—Gaspard Lacroix, had come to Savannah after Mom died. Maud had met with him, threatened him, and then lied to my face about it the entire time I knew her.

And I had no doubt he was laying it on just as thick. “How did my father die?”

Lacroix took so long answering, I could practically see him flipping through the pages of possible stories before settling on the one he told me. “He was my heritor. A cousin challenged his right to inherit. They fought. My son was slain.”

“You haven’t said…” I braced for the answer. “What was his name?”

“George,” he said, unable to hide the undercurrent of pain in his voice. “Francis George Lacroix.”

With his full name, we could start digging, figure out how much of the grim fairy tale was real.

The music tapered to an end, and I made it clear I had a different partner in mind for the next dance.

“I appreciate you sharing family history with me.” Freeing myself from him gave me new respect for flies who got trapped in spiders’ webs. “I would love to discuss this further, but I must return to my guests.”

“Of course.” He bowed to me, and I curtseyed to him. It was all very formal, and beneath it, I sensed him quietly seething as his lure hammered away at me without making a dent in my self-control. “I hope this meeting has allayed your fears and that you will accept my next invitation.”

“I’m open to future meetings held at mutually agreed upon times and locations.”

No kidnapping. No coercion. No lures. No drugs slipped into my drink or sprinkled on my food.

I let him read my list of demands on my face. He was a perceptive man. I could see he understood.

I could also tell it galled him to entertain my terms given his misconception that I was in some way his.

“I do wish to cultivate a relationship with you,” he said in reluctant agreement to my unspoken conditions. “I will endeavor to behave in a manner suitable to the sensibilities of a woman of this age.”

Practicing my Dame Woolworth mask on him, I attempted a placid smile. “I appreciate your consideration.”

“As news of this bounty on your head has reached my ears, I must insist on leaving two of my best men with you as additional security.”

The brutal nature of the bounty had left me in doubt about the master’s involvement on that front. His word didn’t exonerate him, but it lined up with what I believed. That left me with the Marchands, who would have had to set the price on my head prior to Heloise’s death, which seemed unlikely, or an as-yet-unidentified third party.

“They have already been scouting the area,” he continued, “to familiarize themselves with your city and its myriad dangers.”

The night we visited the cemetery started to make more sense. “From clan Addax and clan Mercia?”

They hadn’t been warned off by the presence of the Elite. They had been sent to get a feel for me and my habits.

“Ah.” Interest glinted in his eyes. “I see you are better informed than I first thought.”

“While generous—” all I needed was a couple more vampires trailing me, “—I must decline your offer.”

“I insist,” he said, and there was no give. I had pushed him too far, and the glint of elongating fangs told me he would go no further. “You are my granddaughter. You are clan to me.”

“I am interested to learn all I can about both sides of my family tree.” The diplomatic response was almost automatic. An evening among the Society was triggering all sorts of old habits and behaviors. “I’m a Woolworth, and I will always be Maud’s heir, but that doesn’t mean I can’t honor my blood.”

The answer pleased him greatly if his wide grin, sans wicked canines, was any indication. Vampires were a sucker for the blood card. “I look forward to getting to know you better.”

“The Grande Dame was hoping to make your acquaintance.” I had felt her eyes on us this entire time, as well as those of the pet Elite she kept posted at her side, Boaz among them. “I’m happy to facilitate the introduction.”

“Our families will soon be connected in the most intimate of ways.” His lips thinned, but he twisted them into a smile before his slip became too noticeable. “It is right that I meet with her before you declare your intentions for her son.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I kept my thoughts on that score to myself. “Right this way.”

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Hood dancing with Lethe three couples away from us. I let my gaze slide over them so as not to tip off Lacroix to the gwyllgi stalking him then spanned the far wall where Linus’s fan club had reassembled around him.

“He is quite popular with the ladies,” Lacroix observed. “Yet his eyes haven’t strayed from you all night.”

“He’s a good man.” The endorsement wasn’t strong enough to encompass all I felt for Linus, but I didn’t owe this man validation for my choice. “Ah. And here is the good man’s mother.” The Grande Dame, given time to decide on her plan of attack, smiled beatifically. “I brought my special guest to meet the woman who so graciously loaned me her home for tonight’s festivities.”

Picking up on my cue, the Grande Dame dialed up her sparkle. “Maître Lacroix, I presume.”

“Grande Dame Lawson,” he answered in kind. “Such a pleasure to meet the woman responsible for liberating my granddaughter from the black pit into which she was cast.”

I coughed to cover a laugh at the appalled expression bright on her face before she concealed her shock that he would openly speak of such things in public. The Society never brought up unsavory topics at a social event within hearing of the subject of conversation. Unless insult was the point, that is.

For a master vampire to stomp on that etiquette? For him to offer such a backhanded compliment at their introduction? It set the tone for their relationship, and it said loud and clear that he was unforgiving of their treatment of me.

While a small part of me wanted to cheer at having a defender willing to stand up to her at long last, I had no trouble recalling this was also the master who had gifted me to one of his followers as a bride to tie me to his clan through vampire law since I existed in a gray area thanks to my mixed heritage. Allowing me to be held prisoner in his home wasn’t winning him any Grandfather of the Year awards either.

A cool touch on my elbow brought a smile to my face before I finished turning. “Hi.”

“Hello.” Linus stared out at me from behind the cool mask of Scion Lawson. For once, I recognized it for the camouflage it was and accepted his right to arm himself in his mother’s presence. I didn’t push him. I let him regard me with the aloof distance I had grown to despise from him, because his hand had slid down my arm to mesh our fingers. “I thought you might be in need of refreshment.”

“I am a bit parched,” I said solemnly. “I accept your offer of an escort.”

Once we put half the ballroom behind us, Linus chuckled. “How did you keep a straight face?”

Reaching up, I traced a finger over his exposed cheekbone. “I learned from the best.”

Mulling that over with a frown, he angled his head closer. “What are you going to do with the contract?”

“As much as I enjoy owning you on paper—”

“You never needed a piece of paper for that.”

“—I’m going to burn it.” I exhaled with relief at having made my decision. “I want us to have the choice.”

Before I could decipher his expression, a commotion at the front of the room drew a hush over the crowd as a dozen vampires mingled with the guests. Their outfits ranged from jeans and tees to suits and dresses, but the clothes were all ruined. They had bathed in crimson, and their bloodshot eyes swept the crowd in search of their next meal.

Son of a biscuit.

Lacroix had betrayed us, used his invitation to welcome his own people onto the grounds.

I wheeled toward him, fingers itching for an ash stake, but Linus caught me by the arm.

“Be still,” he murmured as Abayomi Balewa strolled in.

The former Grande Dame ignored the slavering vampires, panned her gaze across the crowd, and then she smiled.