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“You fucked her, didn’t you?” I can’t help but ask.

Kieran’s jaw clenches. “Like I said, I want you to take in this night without judgement.”

“Maybe she’s dead,” I say lightly. When I meet his eyes, his stare is not amused with my joke.

“I can guarantee you, not one person you met, is dead.” His words are barely audible over the swell of music.

“Why would they be?” I ask, playing into his antics.

“Nothing, just⁠—”

The volume of the music increases.

“Don’t listen to anything Cassandra says, she’s harmless.”

“I’m not afraid.” I shrug. “Not of her.”

Are you sure you’re not afraid of anything? We only have one chance to make this right.

“You should be wary,” Kieran murmurs, gaze flickering around the room.

“I’ve been talking to a dead woman for weeks. I think I’ll be fine.”

Irene approaches with a tray of champagne, disrupting our conversation.

“One last drink before the festivities begin.”

“Festivities?” I echo. “I thought this was the festivities.”

There’s a hunt.

Kieran exhales, there’s a slight quiver of his fingers. He stuffs them into the pockets of his slacks before I can comment. “The hunt begins soon.”

“The, what?” I act like Christian hasn’t already told me this.

“The hunt,” Cassandra’s voice answers through a curl of candle smoke, though she stood nowhere visible. “A tradition. A cleansing. You will enjoy it.”

“Will I?” I ask.

“Oh yes,” she whispers from behind me, though when I turn, she is perched again by the shadows poised like an ancient doll. “It is positively exhilarating.”

Kieran takes my empty glass and sets it aside. “Stay close. There will be danger tonight. And it’s time for you to see a real Lazarus tradition.”

“More dangerous than the other nights I almost died?”

Kieran fights a smile. “I’m happy you’re here.”

“Charming,” I offer.

His eyes soften a fraction. “Come on trouble, you’re with me. You’ll learn all you need to know about these creatures tonight.”

The candles dim, holding their breath for what’s to come. I exhale. A few bells tinkle. Killian’s holding small brass bells in his hands. The room stills. Irene lowers her fan. “It is time.”

Irene had forced me into a change of clothing, an ensemble of body-hugging slacks and a jacket impervious to the night’s chill. Right now as I stand with the wind at my back, and the unknown at my fingertips, I know I’m swimming with the current, allowing the night to lead me into Kieran’s arms, and then hopefully the relic.

The faceless attendees of tonight’s grand affair were relegated to the ballroom with the strict instruction of ‘enjoy the night’. Kieran sprinkled a line of thick salt at the threshold and shut the doors tightly. I don’t know how anyone—even souls—would enjoy the night knowing we’d be in the forest killing already dead experiments that could have been them.

I kept Misty safely tucked into a bed of blankets behind the fronds of a monstrous plant. She’s already faced enough dangerous situations with me for a lifetime.