Page 42 of Liars and Liaisons

“Talk about fucking vanity, Grayson. You’re a self-centered piece of shit who only cares about the music that can be bled from a person, and you always have been. Like father, like son.”

My eyes dart around the room, cataloging the masked faces of every person bearing witness to my brother’s uncanny outburst. I roll my shoulders and straighten my spine.

“Do you want to talk about why shereallydied?” I ask in a low voice.

His gaze widens slightly.

“Whoreallykilled Sydney Scott, Nathaniel?”

A short, collective gasp comes from a corner of the room. I don’t turn toward it though, keeping my focus on the man across from me. Priya shifts, her discomfort with the change in plans palpable.

“You aren’t the only one who lost something,” he answers instead, and I bite back a bitter laugh. “Someone. You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“I know I want you to leave.”

Silence floods the room while a different beat pulses in the air from another section of the southern wing. I wonder if Violet’s still waiting at her door, praying I’ll release her soon.

He just looks at me.

“Leave now,” I say, keeping my voice purposely low so the others don’t hear. “Or I’ll shove those pills down your throat and watch your heart give out in front of everyone. Then, I’ll roofie every single guest, just so they’ll have no recollection of what happened to you.”

I flick the collar of his shirt as we come face-to-face, mask-to-mask.

“Just like you did to Sydney.”

* * *

Melodies have filledmy life for so long, blanketing every facet of imagination I’ve ever delved into within my brain, that silence should be welcome. In theory, my sabbatical would have rejuvenated a love for music, and I’d be back at the university with an even greater appreciation for my craft.

That hasn’t happened though. Each day, the silence grows heavier. More aggressive in its stale state, and any music I enjoyed in the past is drowned out by my ghosts.

When the party’s over, hours after I kicked Nathaniel out from the premises, I walk through the halls in a slight daze. The walls creak as I pass—phantoms trapped within seeking my attention, but I don’t give it to them.

Bodies lie everywhere. Some driven unconscious by the laced stimulants, others too weak from dancing and sweating to move. A few don’t appear to have made it at all.

Janus works on extracting them quickly from the rest of the guests. There’s no concrete timer on how long anyone will be passed out, so it’s best to drag the ones who won’t be leaving the estate out as fast as possible to avoid potential witnesses.

Priya finds me among them, folding her arms over the bodice of her red sequined party dress. “This might be getting out of hand.”

“Janus and Arsen will take care of it.”

“When does it end though?” Big brown eyes swing to mine. “I can tell you’re not yourself, you know. The bags under your eyes tell me you’re not sleeping, and Willow says you don’t eat the food they have sent to your room. No one hears music around here even though you told everyone you came to study and play in peace.”

I glance toward the exit. My body suddenly yearns to pass through it. “It’s a slump. Creatives fall into them all the time. If I can’t make something decent, worth listening to, then I have difficulty concentrating on other mundane things.”

“Except the parties,” she notes. “You haven’t missed one of those since you came to Duris.”

My jaw tightens. “What’s your point?”

She just shakes her head. “I hope you find whatever it is you’re searching for. Before the corpses in your yard become too plentiful to bury.”

With that, she walks off, heading for Arsen in the corner. She loops her arm through his even though he’s about a foot taller than her, and they leave the area together, likely to check on the status of the burials out back.

Regardless of her personal feelings, Priya will do as I say. She, like the others I surround myself with, has very little choice in the matter.

Crushing their lives would be entirely too easy. I wouldn’t even need to leave the property.

A single phone call could devastate any one of them.

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