“Tomorrow night.” The words left her before she could second-guess them. “The Blood Moon Club, down in the Gloam.”
The Gloam was a district that never truly slept, where the streets pulsed with magic and the air hummed with temptation. The heart of the Vale’s underbelly, it was where deals were struck in shadows, where black magic thrived behind velvet curtains, and where Ursula ruled, a spider at the center of a gilded web.
“I’ll be out dancing with friends. Join us… if you dare.”
A low thrum vibrated in his chest, something dark and promising flashing across his expression.
“Oh my!!!” Jenni clapped her hands, pressing a fist against her mouth like she was physically restraining herself from squealing again. “This is better than Love in the Vale!
Emmaline groaned, half turning toward her. “You can’t possibly watch that drivel.”
But before she could fully look away, Deyric’s hand caught her chin, guiding her face back to him.
“I dare,” he murmured.
She half-expected him to kiss her, to claim her in that same reckless, consuming way he had done before. But instead, he leaned in, and with devastating gentleness, he grazed his lips across her forehead. A breath, barely a whisper against her skin—
“I’ll see you then, little killer.”
Emmaline barely registered the familiar hallways as she strode toward her office, still flushed and distracted, her thoughts a tangled mess of Deyric’s hands on her skin, his mouth at her ear, and the promise of tomorrow night at the Blood Moon Club.
She was a disaster, completely useless for anything resembling rational thought.
Gather your things. Go home. Get your head on straight.
But just as she rounded the final corner, she collided hard with something solid wrapped in silken material. A hand gripped her arm to steady her, and she jerked back on instinct, heart lurching into her throat as she looked up straight into Lord Caelith’s face.
“My Lord!” She stumbled back, pressing a hand to her chest as if she could calm the sudden erratic beat beneath her palm. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Clearly not.” Caelith’s breath left him in a sharp exhale as his eyes looked her over with thinly veiled impatience. “I swear, I don’t know where my father finds you all.”
She flinched, something harsh and ugly turning in her stomach.He doesn’t even know who I am.
“Apologies, my Lord.” She bowed her head, already sidestepping to get around him.
“Wait.”
Halting, she slowly turned but kept her head low, forcing herself still and small as his blue eyes swept over her, lingering.
Her breath stuttered.Could he tell what she had been doing with his stablemaster? Did he see the faint flush still staining her skin, the way her lips were slightly swollen from Deyric’s teeth?
“My Lord?” She wrung her hands behind her back, keeping her posture perfectly deferential, anything to mask the sudden unease churning in her stomach.
Caelith’s head tilted, his gaze narrowing in mild curiosity. “You… you’re my father’s secretary.”
It wasn’t a question.He knows me.Her heart fluttered, but almost immediately, Deyric’s voice rang in her mind.He cares for none but himself.
As if sensing her thoughts, his scrutiny darkened into something sharper, more calculating. “You were there.”
Her stomach dropped, and her throat went dry. The words drifted through the air, closing in like a noose.
“An unfortunate accident, my Lord.” She forced a smile—thin, meaningless. Her pulse roared in her ears, her body screaming at her to move, to get away. “One I would never mention to anyone under any circumstances.”
She took a step back, then another. Her lungs locked, and she thought she might actually be afraid of him.Get away. Now.
But Caelith moved, blocking her path. And for the first time, he didn’t dismiss her or rush past her as if she were just another inconsequential figure in his orbit. Instead, his eyes tracked her retreat, something unreadable and assessing creeping into his gaze, shadowing the usual aristocratic boredom.
“You’ve been scarce today.” The words were casual, but his voice carried a weight she couldn’t quite place.
