Page 69 of Hell Raising and Other Pastimes (Grave Concerns 2)

Chapter Seventeen

Gran was right—the party wasmuchlarger than the day before.

Beyond that, they were more dressed up, too, as if the event had become a big deal all of a sudden.

There were more groups of people milling around. Elder ones stood in the corner, their pointed ears and green eyes a sure giveaway. There were even men, which I hadn’t seen before. They were lithe, just like the women, and wore suits that were fitted beautifully and embroidered along the lapels of the jacket and down the side of the legs.

Others, who at first passed as humans stood in groups. With a closer look, I noted the tips of fangs. Across the room, Fredrick, the pack alpha, stood with a few others.

Persephone left me, again. She’d come to my room to escort me to the party in an even fancier dress that dipped far lower in the front. Somehow it didn’t look slutty on her, though. She looked regal, instead.

We had made it all of thirty seconds into the party before something else caught her attention and she floated off in distraction.

I hadn’t run into Lucifer yet, but the bodies were packed in so tightly that didn’t shock me. Besides, the longer I could avoid him, the better.

“Don’t you look like a treat?” The voice was one I didn’t recognize, and I turned to find a woman with long, straight black hair behind me.

She was beautiful in a way very different than Persephone. Where the goddess was all cheer and innocence, this woman was darkness, power and lust. She wore a red suit that appeared even brighter against her black hair and matched her lips.

“Do I know you?”

“No, but I know of you.” The words felt oddly sinister, especially with her smirk. “Word travels fast, and I’ve heard about the mortal who sits beside my father. It’s something uncommon enough for even me to venture home and see.”

Father?

“Lilith.” Hunter walked up from my side, his voice careful. “I didn’t expect you to show.”

“As I was telling your pet, here, even I couldn’t resist the invitation when I heard Father had made a mortal his guest of honor.”

“And here I thought it was to watch me.”

She lifted her nails—black and filed to sharp points—and studied them. “If you believe I haven’t seen better competitors than you, you’re foolish.”

“Ouch.” Hunter set a hand on my lower back. “I’d love to hear more about how little you care about me, but I think there are others who want to meet the mortal of the hour.” With that, he steered me away from the scary woman.

“Was thattheLilith? From the stories?”

“You find that harder to believe than Lucifer?” I gave him a sharp look, and he sighed. “Yes, that’s her.”

“I thought she was Adam’s first wife? Not Lucifer’s daughter?”

“Haven’t I told you not to believe stories?”

“Come on, you can’t just leave it at that.”

“It’s too long a story for right now, and even I don’t know all of it. I promise, when we have a free moment, you can pick my brain about every last myth you want.”

I sighed, but he wasn’t wrong. Story time wasn’t a priority.

“She was right, though. You do look like a treat.” He slid his fingers along my spine, his words low and smooth and tempting. Somehow, after our talk, that word didn’t freak me out like it probably should have.

I’d gone with a dress that was more flowy than the last. It was still black and red—somehow those felt like they fit—and it dipped low in the chest, then ran down from that point to drift around my ankles. I’d skipped heels—my feet hurt from dealing with them—and had gone with flats.

“How did last night go?” I asked to distract myself.

“Fine.”

“Where is everyone else?”

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