Page 39 of Veil of Death and Shadow

Ren laughed, the sound dark and deep. “I think she’s wondering if you wanted more than just an escort, Mareena.”

Oh.

I glanced back at the bar, but the man was gone.

Dammit. What was with his constant disappearing act?

I scanned the floor, but I couldn’t spot him in the sea of bodies. I did, however, spot Sora. She was seated at one of the tables, her arm around a girl, both laughing as they whispered to each other. Even from here, I could see her eyes sparkling, her entire face lit up with excitement. She was having fun. I didn’t want to interrupt that. Sora needed to let loose as badly as I did.

But I also needed to find this guy.

I shot Ren and Lenora a quick smile. “No, I’m good. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I left them to each other, then made my way to the edges of the crowd. When I glanced back, they were both entwined together, dancing as if I was never there between them, their lips fused together.

Fuck, they were hot.

I momentarily resented myself for getting distracted by the stranger.

The bar had a line now, so I let myself watch them until they were swallowed up by the crowd.

When I got to the front, the bartender handed me another glass of water before I even had a chance to ask him for it. A god amongst mortals.

“Bathrooms?” I asked, guzzling it until all that was left was ice.

He nodded behind the bar.

I pressed the cool glass against my neck, savoring the sensation. The chill of it was like a balm, settling me back into myself. After the initial shock of the place, it was easier to focus—where the room had felt like being hit with a harsh wave ofpower at first, now it was more like a still swimming pool, one I could wade through easily.

There were two separate halls back here, but I took the first.

It was quiet and dim, lit only by the back glow of some red sconces, their flare flickering along the black walls like fire.

A familiar song started, but it was softer here, muted. No louder than I’d typically play music in my room.

Humming along to the slow, sultry lyrics, I trailed my fingers over the wall, the glass still pressed against my neck with my other hand. Though I was more used to it now, I could still feel the buzzing power ebb and flow through the building, its lure gentle but unmistakable.

The bathroom was giant. The sort that had individual floor-to-ceiling stall doors and, judging by the moans coming from a few of them, I was pretty sure they were currently occupied for more than peeing.

I splashed some water on my face, taking care not to ruin my makeup any more than my sweat already had.

With a deep breath, I leaned against the sink, steadying myself. Thank god I stuck with water tonight. This place was getting under my skin, burrowing deep.

When I caught my reflection in the mirror, I jumped.

It was my face, of course, though I looked a bit more disheveled than I had when we got here. My pupils were blown wide, the eyeliner I’d been so careful to apply now slightly smudged.

The problem though, was with the scene reflected behind me. It wasn’t the ornate, gothy vibes of the luxurious bathroom. Instead, the color was flattened, like the saturation had been sucked out of the room. Dark, dead-looking trees surrounded my reflection—trees that were absolutely not in the room with the me standing in front of the mirror.

I blinked, focusing on the familiar gold ring of my septum piercing, using it as an anchor.

“It’s not real. It’s not real,” I muttered to myself. Even after six years, I still hadn’t grown accustomed to these occasional visions—their distortions bled with reality until it became nearly impossible to identify the real from the not.

It was truly such a useless side effect of The Undoing.

I would’ve much preferred teleportation or the ability to fly.

Instead, I got two-toned hair and double vision.

---