BONUS EPILOGUE
ISABEL
The first time I wore a mermaid costume, I didn’t know I was walking into the jaws of a legacy soaked in blood and obsession.
I didn’t know I’d survive it.
This time, I wear it like armor… and bait.
I’m in a seafoam slip dress again—even thinner and sluttier than the last. Pearls glint between my breasts. The skirt rides high, and my thighs still bear the bruised fingerprints of the three brothers.
Madhouse is still empty—just us upstairs in the playroom. The Halloween party doesn’t start for another hour, but the air already tastes like smoke, sweat, and sin. Candles flicker in rusted sconces, chains hang like ornaments from the ceiling, and leather straps dangle from the Saint Andrew’s cross near the mirror. The playroom breathes darkness. It always has.
Maxwell leans against the wall in black slacks and nothing else, his tattooed chest streaked in chaotic red, like claw marks dragged down over his heart. There’s glitter in his hair, and a blood-red grin painted on his mouth. His gaze drops and his tongue brushes across his bottom lip like he’s already tasting me.
Julian is a fallen angel, shadowy wings stretched across his back, black pants hanging low, his sculpted, inked torso dusted in silver. A single black chain hangs from his neck, glinting with a halo. He watches me like I’m something sacred and he’s deciding whether to worship me or tear me apart.
Theodore is the devil himself.
Black velvet suit. Horns curled low over his head. Tie undone. Eyes sharp. His mouth is stained from the Iron Veil whiskey he’s been nursing, and his gaze says: You're not walking out of here unscathed. He hasn’t stopped staring since I stepped into the room.
“ A siren luring monsters with a mouth too pretty for prayers and a body built to be bred,” Theodore says, and my entire body shivers.
Maxwell whistles. “ You trying to get fucked right here in front of the mirror, Starling ? ‘ Cause that’s how you get ruined before the party even starts.”
I smile. “ What if I am,” I murmur, stepping closer.
Theodore growls. “ Then get on the fucking bed.”