His lips parted as the carriage door swung outward, bathing them in soft light. He smiled, straightening. It was an expression brimming with retribution.
“Never mind. Let’s not keep the mayor waiting.”
Chapter fifteen
The mansion before themglowed like a beacon, every cross-barred window illuminated from within. Lux gazed up the expansive stone stairs, wide and gleaming from ornate lampposts, flanked by the Shield on either side. She worried her lip.
“Nervous?”
She felt Shaw’s quiet question warm the frigid air between them, heard the carriage continuing on, another taking its place. She released her lip. “I’m not sure what I am.” She studied the towering wooden doors flung wide, guests milling inside and around the pale stonework. “I don’t have fond memories of this place.”
She turned then, taking in Shaw’s appearance in the light. Dark, mysterious—dangerous. She shook her head. Certainly no ideal disguise for remaining inconspicuous.
He studied her just as closely. Though what conclusion he came to, she would never know. He held out a black-clad arm.
Lux stared at it with all the confusion of an impossible puzzle.
“Ahem.” He grabbed her hand, linking her arm with his. “Have you never been escorted anywhere before?”
The warmth of his touch crawled up her fingers, spreading outward and through her. She stepped forward, pulling him after. “No. It would only slow me down.”
To make her point, she hurried up the stairs, forcing him to match her pace. He scoffed, his long strides meeting hers, then exceeding. “It can be nice to move slow sometimes.”
The suggestive flicker of humor in his eyes caused Lux to curl her lip. “Don’t be crude.”
He only shook his head, a breath of laughter leaving his lips as he glanced over the Shield in their passing. “Spineless bastards.”
“Did you know they carry sleeping potions? Potent ones, too. I tested it out on one of them the other day. He dropped like a sack of flour.” Lux smiled at the memory, and when her gaze inadvertently found Shaw’s, she was struck by his expression. What she could see of it. “What?”
They’d reached the landing and Shaw shrugged off his coat, revealing a crisp, black shirt lined with silver buttons matching that of his mask. He handed it off to a servant with an appreciative nod, causing the girl to offer up a befuddled blink in response. Appreciation was not often found here.
“Don’t allow this to go to your head, Necromancer. But I think I could like you.”
She laughed aloud, drawing several sets of eyes before stifling it. “Trust me, I never letanythingget so far.”
He grinned. “Me neither.”
“I should probably tellyou,” Lux muttered beneath her breath as they entered the lustrous foyer. “The mayor expects a gift.” At Shaw’s quick glance of irritation, she hurried on, “A secret, a favor. Something of that sort.”
“Of course, you only tell me this now.” The arm beneath hers tightened.
“I forgot.” She lifted her eyebrows at a puffed peacock of a woman.
So much color, so many sparkling jewels. The crowded room of Ghadra’s elite preening one another was enough to make her head spin and her stomach knot. Lux noted that Shaw drew just as many stares, though most shifted from frightened shock to intrigued admiration as he led her into the ballroom. Her gaze swept over large urns spilling roses the color of blood.
“I think we made a mistake.”
Shaw’s voice darkened. “What now?”
In her effort to choose a costume that would allow her to slip easily through shadowed corridors, and to honor one very brave sacrifice, she had foolishly forgotten one thing:
Those of the Light never wore black.
“That suit. This dress…” His eyes traveled down at her words, and her skin heated.
“This can only be my Deceiver of Death!” The mayor’s voice boomed louder than necessary, drawing the attention of those nearby. As he liked it. Lux stepped closer to Shaw—and turned.
Clad in a shocking pink waistcoat with a matching mask tilted up at the corners, his gaze swept over her. “I shouldn’t have expected anything other than black, of course.” He sighed dramatically, bringing a few feigned chuckles along with him. “But I must say it suits you. A raven?” He reached forward, gripping her hands before she could dodge.
