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“The terms don’t say I have to spend my evening with you,” I pointed out.
“It wasn’t a request.” His voice was low. Lethal.
I reached for my own goblet and lifted it to my lips, pausing to repeat myself. “No.”
He pushed his chair back with a loud screech. Rising, he planted his palms on the table and glared down at me. “You will attend, or I will drag you.”
My heart began to pound, but I didn’t look away from those murderous eyes. “I dare you to try.” I lifted my chin. I’d done what I had to do to protect Channing, but I drew the line at spending time with this monster. “I want to go home now. That is the arrangement.”
His jaw worked for a moment like he was chewing on a decision. “I will see you tonight, princess.”
Before I could argue, he snapped his fingers, but he didn’t send me home. Instead, I found myself on the floor of my new bedroom, still in the Nether Court.
I grabbed the pendant. Send me home now.
When the demand didn’t work, I closed my eyes and wished myself home. No luck there, either. It was clear he was ignoring me despite the stupid necklace. I’d gotten under his skin, and that was a dangerous place to be. I’d seen what Gage was capable of, and that left me little choice in what I did next. He had told me exactly how to break the bargain and protect Channing at the same time.
I had to kill Lachlan Gage.
Chapter Seven
Gage’s total disregard for upholding the terms of our bargain on day one made planning his demise easier.
It helped that I was well aware of the number of lives his brutal business had claimed. He was responsible for putting trinity on the streets. The drug claimed lives daily. He didn’t deserve to live thousands of years.
Which meant tonight was the night. Right now, Gage and Roark were the only people—or fae, rather—who knew who I was here. How long would that be true if I had to come here every night? And if there were others visiting the court tonight, everyone would be distracted, especially if the party was anything like that smoke-filled bar at the Avalon. It was now or never, most likely.
I would wait until the party started before slipping out. I’d explored the living areas of the house yesterday while trying to find a way to leave. No one had followed me or watched me. I guess I must not seem like much of a threat. Tonight, though, I planned to find the other bedrooms through whatever means necessary. I needed Gage to be alone and unguarded, and since he even ate breakfast with armed guards, that was going to take some arranging.
Once the party started, I would find his private quarters and hide there. And when he was asleep, I would take the gun from his holster right before sunrise and…
I didn’t think about that part. I could do it. I had to. And as soon as the magic sent me home, I would run. Haley would keep tabs on Channing for me, and when he was better, I’d get him out of New Orleans, too. I had no idea if the plan would work, but I couldn’t trust Gage. He’d tricked me once. I couldn’t make the same mistake twice.
I didn’t bother to leave my bedroom. It was better if he thought I was sulking.
But staying inside was an exercise in patience because everything about the space tempted me to relax. If the bedroom was show-stopping, I didn’t have words for the bathroom. There were the obligatory sink and toilet on one side, but on the other, there were more tall, elegant windows, and buttressed beneath them waited a sunken stone bath surrounded by four pillars. The ivy that clung to the exterior balcony had crept inside, covering the walls and wrapping its lush tendrils around the columns. Candles flickered from a bronze fixture overhead, as if the room had been waiting for me. But that bathtub…
Grumbling over the unfairness of having all of these things at my disposal when there was no way I’d ever use them, I stuck my head under the sink’s faucet and quickly washed up. The only thing worse than letting my guard down would be being naked while I did. At least my hair felt clean if not the rest of me.
I paced the bedroom until twilight. The sunset was unlike anything I’d ever seen, as if to remind me that I was in another world. The sky faded into bottle green, stars winking into existence while a sliver of light divided night and day on the horizon. I stepped onto the stone balcony to watch it. As if on cue, music spilled into the night along with the sounds of laughter and conversation. Lights twinkled in the growing dark.
The party was starting.
I stretched over the railing, trying to catch sight of the guests, but the wild vines blocked everything save for those dancing lights.
It was time.
But before I reached the door, someone rapped on it. Anger flamed inside me. He really thought he could just show up and drag me to this party. I marched to the door and threw it open, poisoned words on my tongue, only to find a fae woman standing there, holding an armful of delicate pink silk. Her long, black hair was at odds with her ice-pale skin, a faint rose flush the only color on her striking face. She surveyed me for a moment, her lips pursing with unmistakable disapproval.
“You look like a wet dog,” she muttered as she pushed past me.
I tucked a strand of damp hair behind my ear and forced a tight smile. “Can I help you?”
“I got the short straw,” she informed me, holding up the gown in her hands. “I’m here to dress you for this evening.”
“I’m not going. He knows that.”
She rolled her eyes, turning her attention to the dress as she began fussing over a few wrinkles. “You’d really rather spend all night pouting in here?” She gave a disapproving cluck. “Fine. I’ll tell your guard. He’ll be thrilled to hang out here and miss the Equinox.”