Chapter Seven
Gage’s total disregard for upholding the terms of our bargain on day one made planning his demise easier.
It helped that I was well aware of the number of lives his brutal business had claimed. He was responsible for putting trinity on the streets. The drug claimed lives daily. He didn’t deserve to live thousands of years.
Which meant tonight was the night. Right now, Gage and Roark were the only people—or fae, rather—who knew who I was here. How long would that be true if I had to come here every night? And if there were others visiting the court tonight, everyone would be distracted, especially if the party was anything like that smoke-filled bar at the Avalon. It was now or never, most likely.
I would wait until the party started before slipping out. I’d explored the living areas of the house yesterday while trying to find a way to leave. No one had followed me or watched me. I guess I must not seem like much of a threat. Tonight, though, I planned to find the other bedrooms through whatever means necessary. I needed Gage to be alone and unguarded, and since he even ate breakfast with armed guards, that was going to take some arranging.
Once the party started, I would find his private quarters and hide there. And when he was asleep, I would take the gun from his holster right before sunrise and…
I didn’t think about that part. I could do it. I had to. And as soon as the magic sent me home, I would run. Haley would keep tabs on Channing for me, and when he was better, I’d get him out of New Orleans, too. I had no idea if the plan would work, but I couldn’t trust Gage. He’d tricked me once. I couldn’t make the same mistake twice.
I didn’t bother to leave my bedroom. It was better if he thought I was sulking.
But staying inside was an exercise in patience because everything about the space tempted me to relax. If the bedroom was show-stopping, I didn’t have words for the bathroom. There were the obligatory sink and toilet on one side, but on the other, there were more tall, elegant windows, and buttressed beneath them waited a sunken stone bath surrounded by four pillars. The ivy that clung to the exterior balcony had crept inside, covering the walls and wrapping its lush tendrils around the columns. Candles flickered from a bronze fixture overhead, as if the room had been waiting for me. But that bathtub…
Grumbling over the unfairness of having all of these things at my disposal when there was no way I’d ever use them, I stuck my head under the sink’s faucet and quickly washed up. The only thing worse than letting my guard down would be being naked while I did. At least my hair felt clean if not the rest of me.
I paced the bedroom until twilight. The sunset was unlike anything I’d ever seen, as if to remind me that I was in another world. The sky faded into bottle green, stars winking into existence while a sliver of light divided night and day on the horizon. I stepped onto the stone balcony to watch it. As if on cue, music spilled into the night along with the sounds of laughter and conversation. Lights twinkled in the growing dark.
The party was starting.
I stretched over the railing, trying to catch sight of the guests, but the wild vines blocked everything save for those dancing lights.
It was time.
But before I reached the door, someone rapped on it. Anger flamed inside me. He really thought he could just show up and drag me to this party. I marched to the door and threw it open, poisoned words on my tongue, only to find a fae woman standing there, holding an armful of delicate pink silk. Her long, black hair was at odds with her ice-pale skin, a faint rose flush the only color on her striking face. She surveyed me for a moment, her lips pursing with unmistakable disapproval.
“You look like a wet dog,” she muttered as she pushed past me.
I tucked a strand of damp hair behind my ear and forced a tight smile. “Can I help you?”
“I got the short straw,” she informed me, holding up the gown in her hands. “I’m here to dress you for this evening.”
“I’m not going. He knows that.”
She rolled her eyes, turning her attention to the dress as she began fussing over a few wrinkles. “You’d really rather spend all night pouting in here?” She gave a disapproving cluck. “Fine. I’ll tell your guard. He’ll be thrilled to hang out here and miss the Equinox.”
Guard? My heart sank as the foundation of my plan crumbled. Until I figured out a new way to get Gage alone and unprotected, there was only one option. Maybe I should play along—hopefully I could lose my guard in the chaos of the party.
Crossing to her, I thrust out my hands. “I can dress myself.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged a petite shoulder. “But it will take magic to do anything with that hair.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” I grabbed the dress and waited for her to leave. When she didn’t, I nodded toward the door. “A little privacy.”
She rolled her eyes, muttering “humans” along with a few choice expletives, and turned around.
Apparently, that was as much privacy as she was going to give me. Ducking into the bathroom and closing the door behind me, I laid the gown on the marble counter. There wasn’t much to it. I stripped out of my clothes and slipped the gown over my head. The fabric glided over me like a delicate second skin and fluttered to my feet. Two long slits in the skirt allowed my legs to slip through, and veins of black branched across its pale silk. I turned toward the mirror, and the dress moved like butterfly wings skimming through the air. The door cracked open, and she peeked inside. The fae had serious boundary issues.
“It suits you,” she told me, but it didn’t sound like a compliment. She handed me a pair of heels. “He will be pleased.”
I barely held back a laugh. If she knew how little Gage was interested in me, that he was probably already considering giving me to one of his enemies as revenge, she wouldn’t think that. Instead, I reached for a towel to dry my hair, but she stopped me.
“Don’t bother. You’ll make it worse.” She stepped closer and lifted her hands.
I braced myself for her touch, but her fingers ghosted around my head without making any contact.
“I’m Cate, by the way,” I said to break the awkward silence.
She didn’t introduce herself. “I know. Everyone knows about Lach’s new stray.”
I decided a change of topic was in order. “Will there be lots of f— I mean, people at the party?”
“Fae? Yes. Humans? No. Well, except for you.” Her mouth twisted, telling me exactly what she thought about that.
I nodded, my mouth going dry as I realized how much I would stand out in a room full of fae. “And tonight is the Equinox. Is it a big celebration?”
I’d heard the term before, but it meant little to me.
“The fae celebrate all the old holidays,” she told me, tucking up a loose strand of my hair.
“The old holidays?” I frowned.
“Tonight is Mabon. There’s Samhain, Saturnalia, Yule.” She sighed heavily at my blank look. “Mabon is the autumnal Equinox. That’s tonight. You call the others Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas.”
I could tell from her tone what she thought of that.
“I have no idea why he wants you there,” she said, “especially with the other courts visiting.”
I plastered my lips into a bland smile. “And the other courts are here because of this Equinox?”
“It’s tradition. The fae courts gather to discuss new bargains and alliances to advance trade, political influence, and becoming even more filthy fucking rich. They party for days and shower one another with gifts.”
I barely contained a flinch. What if Gage decided to dump me with one of them like he’d threatened, claiming I was a gift? I had to find a way to dispose of him soon, especially if everyone was going to be focused on the celebration.
She stopped scrutinizing me and met my eyes. “They’ll also punish anyone who breaks their agreements without cause on this day.”
I pretended to fuss with my gown, but my mind was racing. Was that why they’d taken Martin’s hand yesterday? My stomach turned over as I considered what they might do to me if I was caught killing Gage, but what choice did I have? I couldn’t stay indebted to him. Couldn’t risk being traded to another monster. Gage had the power to destroy my life and hurt Channing. This might be my only opportunity to break the bargain and stand a chance of escaping.
But maybe more important than any of that, killing Gage would be doing my world a favor. I’d seen the bloody toll of his power in the city. If that meant facing fae punishment, so be it.
“It sounds boring.” I trained my face into disinterest. “A bunch of men getting out their measuring sticks.”
Her lips curved slightly, as if she might agree with that assessment. “That’s how it works here. Don’t be surprised if he trades you for something he wants.”
My knees buckled, and I barely stayed upright. Even she thought he might send me to another court.
“Deals and alliances,” she continued. “He wants to strengthen his ties with the Infernal Court, so he’ll need to entice their prince.”
Sweat slicked my hands, and I resisted the urge to wipe them on the beautiful gown. I felt sick. I had to get out of the Otherworld. There was no time to waste. I forced myself to laugh, trying to sound nonplussed. “I doubt he’d force me to attend this party with him if he planned to give me away.”
She paused and studied me for a moment in a way that told me she was assessing not her work but me. “Gages don’t marry for anything but power or status. You should remember that.”
It wasn’t what I expected her to say. I blinked, puzzling out what she meant before shock dropped my jaw. She assumed I meant he wouldn’t trade me because he was attached to me. “I’m not interested in Gage, and he’s not interested in me.”
She let out a slight hmph that only made new questions form in my mind but changed the subject. “You were stupid to make a bargain with him.”
I gritted my teeth. It wasn’t like I needed the reminder, but I wasn’t about to argue that I hadn’t actually intended to make a deal with him. I doubted she would be sympathetic to my cause, especially since she clearly disliked me. “I don’t know. That bathtub is pretty spectacular.”
This time, she actually smiled. “Enjoy it while you can.”
That sounded like a threat if I’d ever heard one. I tried not to let fear take hold, but its oily tendrils snaked through me, and I forced myself to turn around and look in the mirror—to do anything but meet her cold eyes. But what I found was nothing like I could have imagined.
The delicate dress clung to my curves, its pale color bringing out the warm hue of my skin. My usually unruly hair was up in a pile of curls, tendrils spiraling around my face, which was bright with highlighted cheeks and red lips. My lashes, thick and fluttery, framed my eyes so that they seemed larger and brighter than normal. I wouldn’t have been able to make myself look like this with hours of trying, and she had done it in minutes.
“How?” I breathed.
“I said it would take magic. It’s a light glamour.”
“Glamour?”
“Think of it like a veil. It can hide or disguise, but in this case, it just accentuated what was already there.”
“Like magical makeup?” It had to be what made Gage and the others look like humans in the real world.
“But better for the skin. It will fade overnight, so don’t stay out too late,” she warned me. “It’s simple magic that can be done when you wish. You just have to ask.”
I was slightly relieved that I wasn’t expected to look like this all the time. I couldn’t imagine going to work looking like a TikTok filter. “Thank you,” I said, actually meaning it. If I had to get close to Gage tonight, I needed every advantage I could get.
“Any servant can help you. I’m not around the court much. I’m only here for the Equinox.”
I might have been disappointed if I planned to stick around.
“Your escort is here,” she announced, drawing me from my doomed thoughts. How she knew, I didn’t ask. Maybe those fae ears, so different from my own, heard things I couldn’t.
I braced myself for Gage, for enduring his insufferable presence, but another woman waited at the door. Unlike my annoyed attendant, she squealed when she saw me.
“I could not believe it when I heard my brother had a date!” She threw her arms around my shoulders, dragging me into a suffocating hug that was nearly as shocking as her words. I knew the Gage family by their names only. That meant she was either Ciara or Fiona. She pulled back, a dazzling smile on her face. She was a delicate version of her brother, all curves and softness swathed in a sheer lace gown. Her hair was pinned half up to cascade over her bare shoulder, a few glossy black curls escaping to frame her heart-shaped face. But it was her eyes that she shared with her brother—brilliant, glittering green that glinted with secrets like the facets of cut emeralds.
“Ciara.” My attendant said the name with disapproval. “You’ll fuck up her glamour.”
Ciara released me with an apologetic grin, but it soured as she looked at her.
“Fiona,” she said coolly. “Why are you here?”
No. It couldn’t be. Not some random fae sent to assist me with my hair. His sister. My head started to swim.
“I volunteered. The servants were busy with the party, and if I have to spend one more minute with Oberon and his sanctimonious bullshit, I’m going to murder him. I figured I’d find something more constructive to do before I got marked by the Wild Hunt. Getting to meet Lach’s new pet was just a bonus.”
I blinked. That was way too much information to unpack. Half of it might as well have been in another language. Probably the one scrawled across Gage’s skin.
Ciara’s eyes narrowed. “And what lies have you told her?”
She laughed. “I didn’t need to tell her anything. She reeks of fear. Good luck with that one.”
“You aren’t a servant,” I accused.
Ciara shot a glare at Fiona. “We’re Lach’s sisters.”
That confirmation transformed her before my very eyes. The dress she wore, while simple, was elegant…expensive. The bracelet that hadn’t been noticeable before now glittered in the light, showcasing its large diamonds. And Fiona herself, still lovely and cold, now radiated a regal beauty. Something clicked into place. “You wore a glamour.”
“At least she’s a quick learner,” she said not to me but to her sister. “Maybe she’ll live longer than usual.”
I didn’t dare ask what she meant by that. Not when I was smart enough to deduce the truth: I wasn’t the first woman to find herself trapped in the Otherworld. I added the info to my list of reasons I needed to kill Gage.
But now I’d met both of his sisters. That complicated my escape plan.
I couldn’t dwell on it. There were fates worse than death, and what Fiona had said about the prince from the other court… Even if I didn’t escape, I would rather die than endure that.
“You should go,” Ciara said, causing Fiona’s eyes to roll.
Fiona glided toward the door, tossing out a sarcastic “you’re welcome” at me.
“I hope she didn’t scare you,” Ciara said, looping her arm through mine. “She can be a bit of a bitch, but she’s all bark and no bite.”
As if there was a need to scare me. As if Fiona hadn’t made me into a beautiful butterfly just to prove how trapped I was.
I focused on the annoyance I felt to keep my fear from showing. “It was fine. Informative.” I gawked at where Ciara was clutching my arm, unsure what to make of her. At least she was friendlier than her sister. The two were like opposite ends of the spectrum. “Your brother couldn’t be bothered to drag me to this himself?”
I looked around the corridor for signs of a guard but found only shadows. A moan so soft I might have imagined it drifted through the air, and I stepped closer to her.
“He’s taking care of something,” she said brightly as we started down the hall.
“Something or someone?” Ciara might act like a ray of sunshine, but she was still a Gage.
“Our reputation precedes us.” She sighed heavily but didn’t release her grip on me. “Let me guess—you’ve been warned about the Gages your whole life.”
I nodded. Even the crowd I’d run with as a teen had steered clear of them.
“And that kept you away, right? You didn’t come to Waverly Avenue? You didn’t publicly criticize our family for fear of us retaliating or—even more terrifying—of one day needing a favor from us?”
Another nod, even if admitting to the last bit stung.
“That’s the point.” Another big smile. “It’s part of the whole glamour, so no one looks too closely.”
But I had seen the truth firsthand. Maybe Ciara Gage stayed in her own perfect bubble, maybe she could avoid the reality of who and what they were, but I couldn’t. “So you don’t run the city and kill anyone who gets out of line?”
She glanced over at me, her mouth sliding into a frown. “I didn’t say that.”
“Why bother with New Orleans when you have this place?”
“Fae are territorial,” she explained. “We don’t like other creatures.”
Curiosity got the better of me. “What creatures are there besides fae?”
“Vampires—”
“Vampires?” I gaped at her. “Vampires are real?”
“Yes, and werewolves, gods, nymphs, witches, sirens. Basically, anything you believed was from a storybook is actually real.”
My head spun. If fae were real, why couldn’t there be other magical creatures? Something about the realization made me feel very small, as though my place in the world had shrunk from its already negligible space.
“But why not just stay in your world?”
Why bother ruining mine?
“There are cracks in the veil between your world and ours. Some call them portals, entrances, whatever. Since we don’t want just anyone slipping into the Otherworld, each court’s power extends to one of your mortal cities where the veil is thinner, where there are those entrances. Our magic is stronger there than other types of magic, too.”
“Other types of magic?” I murmured, feeling a little faint. I pushed aside my unease and focused on the information. Anything I learned would help me escape. Freaking out would not. “There’s more magic in my world?”
“Of course. Every creature’s magic is different.” She shook her head like she couldn’t believe I didn’t know any of this. I refrained from reminding her that until yesterday I hadn’t even known that fae actually existed outside of stories.
I was still thinking about it when Ciara stopped in front of two black doors, carved and gilded in that strange, ancient language that was inked on Gage’s skin. “Ready or not…”
Not.