Page 34 of Depraved Royals

Dani raises her eyebrow. “You dick. How would you like it if I laughed at your family traditions?”

“We don’t have any except bitterness and grudges. What’s the point?”

Dani stares at me. I don’t like her expression - confusion with a tinge of pity. “That sounds bleak, Kal. But it’s not a surprise, knowing what I know about your father.”

“Stepfather.”

The distinction feels ever more important. The vision I hold in my mind of Erik is folding in on itself, morphing into something new. I want to ask her what she means, but I resist, pulling my thoughts back into the room.

Not now. Nothing is taking this night away from me.

I grab Dani’s hand and pull her out of the ballroom. We hang a right into a short corridor leading to the elevator that will take us both just as high as we need to go.

“Where are we going?” Dani hisses. “We can’t just leave the party!”

“We’ll be back. We have another engagement to attend.”

The guy guarding the elevator is an old friend, Lev. I give him a nod, but now’s not the time for small talk. I take out my phone, pull up the QR code on the screen, and he scans it.

“Password?” he asks.

“Mine is ‘blackout.’”

Lev presses a button on the wall, and the elevator doors slide open with a whisper. We step inside, and he leans in to push the floor number.

“See you on the other side,” he says.

Dani says nothing as we walk down the corridor. The room doors are all numbered, and room one has an additional label. It says ‘preparation.’

I get a rush when I see the masks. Every year it gets to me, and this time the feeling is amplified by the knowledge that I’m gonna be kicking it up a notch.

Dani gasps, taking in the rows of disguises.

Clown, plague doctor, jester, devil, fairy, and so many others. Some plain, some adorned with jewels and precious metals.

A young woman sits on a chair beside the masks, and I smile to see Dani gawking at her. The girl is wearing a rubber skirt with a matching corset. Her mask is also rubber and covers her eyes. The bunny ears extending from the top of the mask are a foot high.

“Choose. I’ll make a note of it.”

“What is this?” Dani whispers.

I turn to her and smile. “You’re about to find out.”

The girl in the bunny mask laughs and wags a finger at Dani.

“Woooo,” she says. “You arelucky, sweetie. I’d let this tall drink o’water doanythinghe wanted tome.”

“Fuck off,” Dani snarls at her, and that’s it.

I wanna get into the action.

I choose a green mask covered in golden leaves. Dani runs her hands along the shelf, selecting a black lace design that makes her look like a superhero.

As we secure the masks on our faces, bunny girl gives us the brief.

“No identification, okay? As far as anyone else is concerned, you’re ghosts. Each room has a safeword on the wall - know it before you begin. Anyone who disregards a safeword will get the shit kicked out of them and barred for lifeat best. Questions?”

Dani looks at me. I reckon she probably has a few.

---