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CHAPTER 42
Rook
“I have something for you.”
We’d come to a stop at the back of the large mansion, where several limos were lined up, waiting for the men in gray suits to usher people inside, one car at a time.
It was the Shadows and Lace Soirée—the masquerade ball where Summer would officially be introduced as a member of the Magnolia to the society of Greybone Island.
The Veritas put up a big fanfare about their new recruits. One by one, they announced the new members, all women, accompanied by men who paid for their souls, presenting them in front of the crowd like a new adornment for their society.
I hated the procedure and, even though I was required to attend, would usually skulk in the shadows until I'd seen enough to leave their charade.
But tonight, Summer was my charge. Nothing mattered except for her. Helping her navigate through the ball, keeping my eye out for her safety.
The whole way here, she’d been staring out the limousine window, her eyes studying the tangle of moss hanging from the large oaks lining the road. Or the fog rolling in from the swamp, with stark glowing eyes from within—opossums, raccoons, or alligators.
But my voice had broken her from her spell, and her shoulders tightened as she turned towards me.
“Relax,” I breathed, and she shivered as my fingers brushed over her skin, moving her hair over her shoulder. Then kissed it. “Everything will be fine.” Pulling her gift from my pocket, I clasped it behind her neck. She glanced down at the necklace and froze.
My heart, the uncomfortable, tight feeling in my chest—anticipation and worry for what she thought—was foreign and strange. I didn’t like feeling this vulnerable.
“Rook.” Her voice was a whisper.
She finally looked up at me, wonder and awe and appreciation in her expression. “But how did you…?” She clasped her hand over the large diamond, her eyes framed by a delicately embroidered, black silk lace mask and matching rabbit ears.
My own matching wolf mask sat on the seat beside us.
“Where? How did you…My mom’s necklace…” she continued, not finishing.
“You happy?” I asked, my pulse still thundering.
“Beyond words…I don’t even know how to tell you…” she continued. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much it means to me. I could never repay you for this.”
“It belongs to you.” I scowled at her need to ‘repay me’, but flicked her nose playfully, my chest humming with her approval. “It was your mother’s legacy to you.”
“But you found it, gave it back.”
The moment I’d discovered she’d pawned it to pay her real estate taxes, I’d immediately bought it, waiting for the right moment to return it to her.
She brushed her fingers lightly across my cheek. “Really. It means so much.”
“I know.” I clasped my hand over hers, turning it to kiss her palm. At the sound of the couple in front of us leaving their car, I drew her attention back to the task at hand. “Remember, don't be fooled by what you see tonight. It’s a game, and we're all playing our parts. They’ve given us the rules and demand we play. We may wear the masks, but tonight, we will win, not them. You trust me?”
She inhaled a deep breath, worry creasing her features at the reminder.
We both suspected Saul would make his move after tonight.
I’d still been feeding him small bits of information on the phone he gave Summer, holding him off for long enough. But his texts had become more and more threatening.
She slowly nodded. “Yes.”
“And you’ll give them my name. When they ask.”
She hesitated now, her, ‘yes,’ small and meek.
“That is not a question, Summer.”
