Page 160 of The Robin on the Oak Throne

“I do, but…”

“We broke him out,” Kierse interrupted. “Enjoy!”

Corey pulled her into a hug. “Thank you. The Roulettes owe you one.Iowe you one.”

Kierse would have gladly accepted a favor from the Roulettes, the gang on the Lower East Side that Colette partnered with for protection for the brothel, but she didn’t feel that this was an owed moment. “I just want you both tobe happy.”

Kierse left them alone, grabbing a snack from the bar as she wandered deeper into the bar. She’d been so hungry lately. Using her magic all the time was exhausting.

She surveyed the room, finding the leader of the Roulettes, Carmine Garcia, perched on a chair some distance away. He had smooth, light-brown skin and wore his thick, black hair slicked back. He was leaning toward Colette as if she were his entire world. They had been having an affair for years. Colette never admitted it was exclusive, even though Kierse suspected it was, aside from client work.

And there was Madame Colette—the earth and moon paused in their orbits to revel in her loveliness. Gen was so much her mirror, and so much a mashup of whoever her father was. Colette wore a flattering maroon dress with little tassels that swayed with her figure. Her milky skin was unlined and her lids a deep blue of the ocean right before a storm. When she set those eyes on Kierse, it was like coming home.

“About time you showed your face,” Colette said as she rose to her feet.

“Did you need someone to properly pour your brandy?” Kierse asked with a smile.

“At least you remember your place.”

Her smile stretched wider.

“Did you bring my daughter with you?”

“Genesis and Ethan both,” Kierse told her. “Though they each got a bit…distracted.”

Colette’s gaze followed her to where Ethan was in deep conversation with Corey. She sighed as if aggrieved. “Youth.”

Kierse extracted herself from Colette and went to congratulate Nate and Maura. They were seated at the front of the room surrounded by Dreadlords and a handful of Maura’s nursing friends, who kept eyeing the wolves with interest.

“You made it!” Maura cried as she jumped up to hug Kierse. She was dressed in a stunning salwar kameez—a two-piece garment comprised of long, flowy pants and a knee-length sheath of off-white and gold, embroidered with shimmering beads. The sleeves were sheer with intricate embellishments. A cream shawl draped across her narrow shoulders. Matching dangly earrings and bangles completed the ensemble.

“Good to see you,” Nate said with a grin. “I see you got Ethan out, too.”

“We did.”

“Any trouble?” he asked.

“Always.”

Maura laughed. “You should know better than that, Nathaniel. This is Kierse McKenna we’re talking about.”

“If you weren’t my favorite kind of trouble,” Nate said, pressing a kiss to Maura’s wrist, “it would certainly be Kierse’s bullshit.”

Maura rolled her eyes and yanked her arm away. “Where is your plus-one? Tall, dark, dangerous.” She waggled her eyebrows. “I thought you’d bring him along, too.”

“Uh, yeah. He’s not like…social.”

Nate coughed into his beer. “That’s a word for it.”

Maura pouted. “I wassolooking forward to meeting him.”

“Next time,” Kierse said uncertainly.

Even though she very much doubted that Graves would brave a wedding, either.

She was about to change the subject when the front door opened again, letting the last lingering bits of daylight into the darkened room. Kierse only turned because the rest of the room had gone quiet.

A nightmare had walked into their midst.

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