Page 57 of The Rose in the Shadows

“She’s here for the Alchemist, not as a party guest,” Mara explained as she tugged me along.

The man pursed his lips with a dramatic whimper while he held his right hand to his heart in mock injury. Mara only rolled her eyes at him and muttered something about greedy men.

“Where will we find the Alchemist?” I asked her when we crossed the threshold into the building.

“I will take you to him now,” she assured me.

The estate was by far less grand than the castle, but still covered in dark marble and gilded bronze furnishings. Masked individuals crowded from corner to corner as they laughed and drank with each other. Across the space, a band played soft music while servers brought forth trays of appetizers.

But despite how refined the party seemed, there was an overwhelming metallic smell that strangely filled the air, leaving me on edge.

“That smell,” I mused.

Mara laughed. “It’s mortal blood. The Alchemist diffuses it into the air. It’s not often that Descendants make their way here, they have little need for his services after all, but he prefers an even playing field. The blood in the air has the effect of temporarily numbing their powers.”

That… wasn’t ideal. I reached for my magic, longing for its comforting tingle, only to findnothing. There were no sparks, no electric awareness of it. I was as powerless as I had been those first few weeks at court, and that sensation was unbearable.

“That wouldn’t be a problem for you, now would it?”

Her smile was venomous and her grip on my arm tightened until her nails dug into my flesh in small crescent-shaped stings of pain. I jerked my arm from her, but she held fast, picking up the pace of her steps as we moved through the party.

“You’re hurting me,” I growled.

“And what can you do about it to stop me?” Her eyes were knowing as she met my gaze and my heart fell through my stomach.

I was so stupid.

The sudden knowledge that I had made a mistake in trusting her overwhelmed me. “You know?”

Her laugh was vicious. “I suspected. You confirmed. Which God do you come from, girl?”

I bit down on my lip aggressively, drawing blood, thanking the Gods that my dress covered my Descendants Mark. My only saving grace in that moment was that they didn’t seem to know exactlywhoI was. I could only imagine what they would do with me once they found out I was the precious last Descendant of Hyrax.

I was so foolish to have trusted a stranger in a tavern. I’d allowed my desperation for knowledge to blind me. And now, with Mara’s nails digging into my arms, I suspected I was about to pay the price for that stupidity.

Clay was going to be furious when he eventually found my suites at the castle empty.

She led me away from the party and down a staircase into a dimly lit hallway. I stumbled on the bottom step and her hand slipped from my arm as I fell. Unwilling to waste the momentary advantage, I pulled from her, scrambling back and sprinting back up the staircase. I needed to get far away from herebeforeI found out what these kinds of people did to Descendants.

I should have known running was futile the second her laughter began to echo around me.

At the top of the staircase, a brute of a man with dirty boots and a deadly sword stood with arms crossed against his chest. His shoulders were wide enough to fill the entire frame.

“Please try to run.” He grinned. “Please give me the slightest excuse to put my hands on you.”

Gasping, I stumbled back directly into Mara’s arms once more.

Stupid. I was so stupid. They could engrave that on my tombstone when all this was over. Here lies Theadora Moore, the girl who stupidly put herself in danger and effectively ended the line of Hyrax forever.

“No one touches her!” Mara snapped, shoving me forward. “No one but the Alchemist.”

“He’s going to love this one,” the man replied from behind me, a smile clear in his voice. “Think he’ll keep her?”

Mara shrugged. “She’s worth a pretty penny. The Alchemist enjoys making money.”

“He enjoys fucking more.”

Good Gods.

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