Page 191 of Gates of Tartarus

“No. Christ. You’re... Kai, you look fucking stunning.” He moves up to me and presses his forehead gently against my own. “Do we have to do this? Can't we just leave this all and go somewhere else? Because all I want to do is kiss you until you can’t breathe, but I’m not allowed to mess up your makeup.”

Smiling, I pull back and look at him, breath catching slightly as I take in his appearance. His dark hair is down, adding a dash of wildness to his fitted tux, which hugs his surfer’s body in almost decadent ways. Clearly something of my appreciation is showing in my face, because his smile changes to a smirk, and then a laugh.

“What?” I ask.

“Oh, I’m just going to enjoy the next few minutes,” he replies, taking my hand. “The benefits of being your public boyfriend are going to kick in in three… two... one…” Kissing my cheek gently, he spins me around, causing my dress to swirl, and I grin over my shoulder at him before landing, dress floating around me, to face the tight expressions of the rest of the team. My smile fades under their scrutiny.

“Aw, fuck,” Walker groans under his breath. “Fuuuuuck. This isn’t going to work. Tanaka?” I have no idea what he’s talking about as he turns to Hideo, but Deo’s eyes are locked on me like lasers, his jaw cut-glass, flexed, and his expression barely controlled as he steps unhesitatingly toward me, hand outstretched, before Walker grabs his arm.

“Down, boy,” Walker growls, and Deo visibly shakes himself. Jonah grins smugly and presses against me from behind, wrapping his arms around me. “Shotridge, you’re on your way to a beating if you keep this up. Kai? I get first dance,” Walker commands, and J moves to protest but is interrupted by a chaotic God of Thunder and War in the face of Maddox, who looks like he’s breaking apart, an earthquake of unknown emotion erupting through his skin and fragmenting bone.

“Enough,” he snaps quietly, the tone in his voice pulling everyone up short. “Unless you want to risk Reed’s safety, get your brains out of your dicks and back in your heads.” Despite himself, a ghost of a smile passes over his face, parting the clouds briefly. “Tether your tallywackers,” he says, a teasing glint flashing in his eyes, before the storm returns to his expression, and he looks at me, almost apologetically. “Not that you don’t look... But you… you’re distracting tonight. You look like… Just... we have to focus.” He exhales heavily once through his nose, checks his watch, and shakes his head. “We need to go find Fallon and the Brits. Shotridge, lead the way.”

The men roll their eyes at each other, giving me a brief moment to take in the wealth of tailored elegance in front of me. They’re nothing short of heart stopping, each pulling their masque into place and disappearing behind a frozen visage. Jonah is wearing a black half-masque, covering down to the generous curves of his mouth, sweeping ravens’ wings flaring back from the sides. Deo is in a full-face gold filigree which leaves only his eyes exposed. Madds and Walker have matching, fierce features, metal filigree that curves up like horns and down like fangs, one in silver and one in gold. Together they all look like messengers of Death and Destruction, twin wolves with sharp teeth ready to be bloodied, and shivers run down my spine as thunder cracks in the distance, the sound clashing with the rich tones of orchestral music pouring from the golden light of the hall inside.

Jonah turns to lead, and Deo and Walker follow, glancing back briefly to make sure I’m falling in line behind them, but Maddox grabs my hand gently before I can, pulling me to a stop. “Kai,” he says quietly, almost a whisper, and he moves into me, close enough to feel the heat from his body, but not touching, not quite. “Be careful tonight. Please,” he adds, almost as an afterthought. I nod, the strange energy radiating off of him making it hard to speak, and he picks my hand up, turning it over, and places a kiss in the palm before folding my fingers over it as though to trap it there. I stare down at my hand, then look up to meet his conflicted eyes.

“After tonight, everything changes.” It is a promise and a warning, but I don’t know what either means. “We’ll figure it out, but we have to get through tonight first. And then we’ll talk.”

Crooking his arm for me, he waits for me, then leads me into the swirling sounds of music, money, and mayhem.

Shall We Dance?

Saturday, 15 December – Maela

“My feet hurt. And if I have to smile anymore, my face will crack and fall off.”

“Una tragedia.”

“Yes, it would be. And then would you want to date me? I don’t think so.”

He smiles, tapping me on the nose, but I can tell he’s feeling tired too. It’s been a long evening. We found Fallon in the Drawing Room, a confection of crystal, green, and gold, talking to the American team. Somehow, although she’d dressed up, she looked even drabber than usual, the charcoal ensemble washing her out.

“Ah, Ms. Driscoll, I was just asking about you. Ms. Cole would like me to show you and Ms. Reed where you can go if you need a break from socializing. She wants to make sure you’re comfortable and well looked-after. If you’ll come with me?”

Jorge, Jonah, Kailani, and I dutifully followed her through the Dining Room, richly dramatic with Gobelin tapestries, rust-red walls, and gold coffered-ceiling lined with coats of arms, and past the guard into the Luncheon Room, a bijou of a space with low tables and comfortable chairs, some already occupied. Here, Fallon informed us, was where we could retire if we wanted a little privacy. And the room next door? Just an administrative space, nodding at a server who appeared at that moment at the door, carrying a tray. Now, sir, if you’d like to follow me? We traipsed after her to the ground floor, where she pointed out the Warden’s Room and the Garden – inspired by Cromwell’s original design, ma’am – reserved for our special guests.

“Well, that was a little anticlimactic,” I whispered to Jorge. “After all the cloak and dagger freak-outing, I expected something a little more villain-y.”

He just shook his head at me. “You have such a way with words,querida. Although,” he frowned, “there seem to be a lot of administrative rooms.”

“Guess they need somewhere to prepare the food and drink. And store the desks and computers. Filing cabinets hardly say ‘luxe’.”

We spent the next couple of hours circulating. Kailani and Jonah would go first, and then Jorge and I would try to strike up conversations with anyone Kailani “marked”. I’ve never shaken hands with so many men or air-kissed so many women. “Aargh,” I groaned after the tenth group, “lifestyles of the undeserving rich and vapid. I’d better get some visions out of this.”

Partway through the evening, we run into Elizabeth, chatting with a sullen-looking gentleman, thin-lipped and cold-eyed behind his mask. “Maela! Do come and meet Edwin Barrow, one of our most generous benefactors.”

I hold out my hand with a polite “how do you do?” Mr. Barrow brushes my fingertips and gives a brief nod. He isn’t particularly tall, but he’s solidly built, which, combined with his overtly supercilious air, makes him intimidating. I half-wonder if Elizabeth called out just to be rescued from the conversation, but she’s smiling with what appears to be genuine enjoyment. Jorge narrows his eyes and inclines his head the merest fraction, drawing an unwilling twist of the lips from Elizabeth’s companion.

“Edwin’s in mining,” she tells us. “Child labor is a particular problem in some countries, and his company has been working with us to root out the practice. Their local affiliates act as our eyes and ears on the ground, so to speak, and let us know where children are being abused.”

“Mmmm,” he says, looking bored.And I’m sure for you it’s all about the children and nothing to do with taking out the competition,I think tartly.You’re all heart.

“As well as giving to Gaia, Barrow Holdings has set up schools in the local communities, to give children alternatives.” He shrugs, and she gives him an arch look. “Of course,” she observes drily, “you plutocrats do have a duty to give back.Noblesse oblige.”

Barrow simply raises his brows, and Elizabeth laughs. “A man of few words but sterling action,” she informs me. “Alright, Edwin, let’s get a drink inside you and liven you up. Thisissupposed to be a party, darling. A little glass of Louis XIII? I’ll catch up with you later, Maela.” Giving me a nod, she sweeps away, and I grimace. “Well,” I say, “he was distinctly unpleasant.”

“And evil to the core. His signature is putrid.” Jorge’s lip curls. “That one is not saving children but enslaving them himself.”

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