Chapter 15
Nelle
The suffocating heat hit me first, as if the afternoon’s warmth had sealed itself in here.
We stepped into an open foyer where an awning, braced by slender pillars, stretched into the swirling shadows beyond.
Tall candelabras and fat candles cast the only light, melted wax splattering upon the stone floor as their glow revealed ancient statues of naked lovers entwined together, their mouths parted in silent ecstasy, while leafy flowers climbing the walls and pedestals lent the space an air of softness.
But it was the man waiting for us who arrested my attention, heightening the threat of the Emporium. His gaze lingered on Lila before sliding to me.
Zielenski.
There was a casual sophistication about Zielenski’s emerald attire, so dark it was almost black. He didn’t move to greet us either, he simply stood between the twin pillars and waited for us to reach him.
He had a first name, but no one had used it in years.
Here he was known only by his family name.
He’d lived here since a teenager and taken over the Emporium after his great-uncle’s death—no one left the position unless they were in a casket.
If he didn’t marry and produce an heir, one of his brothers would choose among his children to replace him, just as Zielenski’s own father had done with them.
Commanding the Emporium wasn’t a position any parent would want for their child, and I couldn’t imagine the anguish Dimitre Zielenski must have felt when forced to decide which of his children would inherit this place.
As I approached, I took in the relaxed line of Zielenski’s tall frame.
The smoky green eyes fringed with golden lashes.
Brown hair swept artfully across his forehead and the scruff shadowing a strong jawline.
Suave, yet rugged. A merciless businessman with the looks of a charming scoundrel blended with the air of an assassin.
Kenton and Valarie stepped aside, dappled shadows dancing all around them, while Lila moved to stand beside Zielenski, hands clasped at her middle.
Zielenski bowed. “Miss Wychthorn.” Candlelight glinted off the rings on his fingers.
As he straightened, I noticed the gold chain around his neck, dragged down by the weight of an amulet peeking through his open shirt.
The metal rim looked splintered, like seasoned firewood.
I frowned. It was adamere and it should be impervious to aging.
Blinking away the confusion, I greeted him airily.
“Zielenski.” I rarely attended House Gatherings, and from what I knew of him, neither did he.
But I’d been at his mother’s birthday celebration several months ago, the same event where I’d met Lila.
Graysen had accompanied me as my intended, and we’d spent most of the afternoon bickering.
Since Zielenski ran the Emporium, he was an unofficial member of my father’s inner circle, occasionally present at meetings in our home.
My father knew him as well as anyone could know a man who revealed nothing of himself.
He was close to Lise’s age, and one time long ago, when we were children, she whispered to me of a rumor spreading amongst our peers, that he was the dead brought back to life.
I could believe it with the way nothing moved behind those hard, lifeless eyes.
His gaze slid over Furyos Bonefall, and like Lila, he didn’t mention a thing.
“Welcome to the Emporium,” he said.
“It’s a pleasure,” I replied flatly
He half-twisted toward Valarie. “Everything has been arranged exactly as you requested.” He smiled, a small, tight thing.
It looked practiced, forced, as if he were a wolf in human skin, remembering just in time to act human around us.
“Jurgana is settled within the Emporium, and word has reached the Houses.”
Jurgana. Oh, gods.
Just hearing the witch’s name had fear strangling my nerves.
“Thank you. Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated,” Valarie replied, inclining her head.
Zielenski’s gaze flicked from her to Lila, tracing the sensual curve of her lips.
“Blue,” he murmured. The nickname suited her.
When she met his gaze, inquisitiveness shining in her eyes, he leaned down and whispered something in her ear.
Something that lowered her lashes and pinked her cheeks.
He straightened, cocked an eyebrow, and angled his head behind him. “Shall we?”
My blood chilled when Lila’s gaze, swimming with concern, darted to me before she followed her boss and slipped into the shadows.
What the fuck was about to happen to me?
As they vanished, Caidan emerged, along with the one person who made my teeth grind more than any other member of the family. He’d be the first I’d incinerate with an exhale of wyrmfire when I was finally free of Zrenyth’s collar.
Jett Crowther stalked toward me.
His hair spilled like black ribbons over his shoulders. He looked sharp in a flashy business suit despite the combat boots. My ire spiked at his stupid-ass grin as he glanced over my practically see-through dress.
“Perfect,” he said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together gleefully.
I snarled back, baring my teeth. I hated him.
I hated his menacing taunts and yesterday’s game of cat and mouse.
He’d guided me exactly where he’d wanted me, beneath the Keep.
He hadn’t known I was terrified of the dark, but he’d known I’d discover the escape tunnel was blocked and hoped it would break me.
And it had. My spirit had shattered in that hopelessness, but Graysen had reforged me, and now I was stronger than him. Stronger than all of them.
Valarie toyed with the pearl pendant at her throat as her gaze darted to mine.
She blinked, hesitating. Darkness and candlelight warred across her face, softening her stern features. And for a stumbling heartbeat, I saw behind the severe expression. How truly lost she seemed. The regret. The anxiety.
It happened so swiftly, like a streetlamp blurring past a speeding car, that I wasn’t sure if I’d seen a shadow slinking along her shoulders, its fingertips clawing in.
Swallowing with a start, she tore her gaze from mine and handed something to Jett. A matching set of bone-bracelets. “Jett, this is your idea, so you take the lead.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course,” I muttered, folding my arms and tapping my foot in irritation. Naturally, this was Jett’s fucking idea.
Jett slid them on. Between the tiny bones, a filmy sheen of magic curled. Crossing his wrists, he swiped at a darker, mottled pair of bones and suddenly the Bonefall brightened, answering the surge of magic.
A few of the bone-chains locked upward, arcing around my head like ribs, like the high collar of a queen’s mantle. And my breath snagged hard in my throat, more so at those trilling fingers creeping about my neck for a better hold.
“You all know what’s at stake here,” Valarie told her nephews, her voice low and husky. “We need this to work. This is our only chance.”
Jett’s boots scraped against the gritty stone floor as he braced his legs wider. “You both know what to do.” His cocky gaze slid from one brother to the other, and he clapped his hands again. “Let’s get this fucking show on the road!”
His attention returned to his aunt, so he didn’t see Caidan shift uneasily. Or the way Kenton swallowed, hooking a finger into his tie to loosen the knot. The brothers exchanged a look—a score of shared emotions. Confliction. Disquiet. Doubt.
I bit down on a victorious smile, relief soothing my irritation. Maybe whatever shitty plan Jett had cooked up was about to be derailed by his brothers.
“Follow me,” Jett said, spinning on his heel and striking toward the rooftop.
All the fine hair on my body hackled, and I burst into a hurried march, spitting over my shoulder as I shoved past. “I follow no one, you fucking asshole!” He could go to Nine Hells.
Throwing back my shoulders, I stalked ahead of the Crowthers with my chin held high.
Behind me, Caidan’s soft laughter drifted after us.
He could go fuck hellsgate, but I was delighted to see his resolve, and Kenton’s, crumbling.
As we neared the edge of the foyer, the music grew louder. The swaggering beat of a Billie Eilish song thumped against my body as I strode beside the tall columns and stepped onto the rooftop.
The moment I stepped outside, I almost stumbled. Dark magic, tremendous and menacing, vibrated through the air, trembling beneath my high heels, soaking my lungs with every inhale. With so many Horned Gods in attendance and their powers contained within the Emporium, their might was amplified.
Gods, it was intoxicating. A desirous temptation.
It sang to me a sinister melody that whispered through my blood.
No, no, no…
Fisting my hands, I forced the craving back and turned my attention to the bell tower and needle-like spires surrounding the rooftop.
A wall of smoky shadows churned upward and arced above us like a dome of darkness.
In awe, I craned my head back to the strange new sky, at the mist hovering high above, the electric pops of pink and peach flickering like a buried nebula in its cloudy centre.
Lace-curtained alcoves edged the court where silhouettes writhed in lewd shadow-puppetry.
And ahead, a raised dais held courtesans lounging on chaises or perched on the rolled arms of leather chairs.
Some were entangled on silken couches. My glance was fleeting, glimpsing flushed cheeks, heavy eyelids, silk and leather and glistening flesh.
Hands stroking thighs. Lips ghosting skin.