Gregory Montague sidered the person across from him in the carriage as they rode, while a discordant orchestra pyed in his head.

  Rebecca Barnes had talked to him only a little sihey’d ehe carriage, mostly very inappropriate suggestions that he could only assume were because of his reputation.

  Holy, the way she’d suggested a few things, it was as if she expected him to try kissing her as soon as they were out of public view. Gregory was in the business of romance, which, yes, sometimes meant women who may or may not already be iionships.

  Tarver liked a specifiand enced it. It just was the kind where jealous family members of whomever you romanced got very angry at you. Most of the time for even daring, and some of the time for making their family member realize something about themselves they didn’t want to.

  But fetting that, Barnes had never oopped smiling siering the carriage. It was…unfortable, especially the rge, toothy ones where the ers of Malvia’s mouth threateo go beyond his view, they stretched so far from side to side.

  Malvia smiled, to be sure, but after her entire rant about masks, how many of those had been genuine, he couldn’t say. When speaking at the party, with Lady Karsin, with others. He’d assumed all of those pleasing smiles had been fake. The smaller ohose he liked to think were real. He’d been there for a few of those in private. Smug satisfa when things were going her way.

  But, that expression was anything but smiles. Anger, frustration, worry. Malvia seemed to scowl at near everything in the world at times, and she never seemed to realize she was doing it either.

  Anger was the first emotion he’d seen on her face, a much different face thahey’d first met. He’d been poking around a ransacked apartment on an errand to make sure Edward would stay alive when she’d stormed onto the se. All scowls, she’d barely given him a ce to talk before wrestling him to the ground.

  Not the best way to meet. Certainly not the worst way he’d met people. A few foul notes from the violihey’d met, a little signal from his god. He hadn’t even been ied then, just focused on staying alive and with his throat unbitten.

  He’d thought it just a little joke to make back then, about ending up iew pot. That had been before he watched her tear someohroat out with her teeth.

  Barnes’ grin shrank a little, just so she could talk. “I hate t it up again, but I really would appreciate if you’d let me adjust my clothes some.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Like the st two times, no, I do mind being in the same carriage when a dy I am not currently c-”

  “Liar,” Barnes interjected. “Also, she’s not a dy. Also, from your reputation-”

  “You assume an awful lot between me ahat hasn’t happened yet,” Gregory said. “And just because I sleep around doesn’t mean I’m fih everything, especially when you’re not in a body that’s yours. And I didn’t mean dy in the noble sense.”

  “her did I.”

  Gregory frowned. “Why do you hate her? I thought her words earlier perhaps a little cruel, but hardly deserving of this.”

  Barnes was quiet, eyes unfocused before she spoke up again. “She has something deo me, and doesn’t even realize what a gift she has. But also I am chafing against something else as well. But all barbs aside, I do think I o adjust my undergarments.”

  “There’ll be rooms at the Maldern’s house where you do that.”

  “You have already seen her with quite a bit of skin bared by your culture’s standard,” Barnes quipped, the face-splitting grin somehow stretg wider. “What’s a little more.”

  Gregory didn’t respond, mind going back to when he’d seen that skin. The massage yes, but aime, scorched red and blistered, practically charred at his own hands. He’d been so worried she’d be dead, and what she might think when she rose up to see all of her fellow Infernals buro a crisp around her.

  He hadn’t expected a joke, not with the smell of cooking flesh filling the room, not with his stomach roiling at just the thought of how many lives he’d just ehat night…Cab’s body, the assault on the guests ending with blood and burnt corpses everywhere, crashing down on that horrific thing the shapeger had bee through the roof. A night of horrors.

  She’d wao dan the remnants of all that, among the dead bodies.

  There were so many moments like that. She could be so witty, charming, open, and vulnerable and then she was cag on top of a ey while p acid into someone’s face. So seemingly eager to ‘actally’ arrange for them to end up in a private er while subtly encing him to kiss her, then threatening to stab his brother with a knife just based on suspis.

  It was, to be pletely ho with himself, the kind of behavior that should not have him so tempted to go along with her in those moments when she seemed to be ag out a romanovel.

  He shouldn’t be ied. She’d as good as told him not to be ied during that rant in the manor where she’d practically spilled Diabolism all over the room. A diabolist and a cleric. A noble and a oner. An Infernal and a human. So many things stating this shouldn’t work, that it would be better to find someone more outgoing. Tarver’s ideology was to make sure as many were as happy as possible, and he didn’t even know where to start with Malvia.

  So why did his thoughts keep turning to her all the damn time? Maybe it was just the amount of time they’d been near each other, the strange impact she’d made in that short of a time. He’d dealt with those less fortuhan him at the temple so many times, including those who’d been involved in a life of crime.

  This was different.

  Musings on Malvia and all the strahings she caused to float through his mind aside, there was one part of Barnes’ ent he hadn’t missed.

  “My culture’s standard?” Gregory rephrased her earlier statement. “I take from that ent you aren’t from anywhere in the Anglean empire.”

  “Oh yes,” Barnes replied. “I assenger just passing through this little try of yours-” Little? The Anglean Empire resent on three tis alone! “-and I got entangled in a web. Until I get myself free, here I remain it seems.”

  The versation lulled, while the discordant orchestra pyed. A little gift from Tarver, just a hint, a warning. Ever since he’d met Malvia a single violin pyed off-key inside his mind.

  However, every time he looked at Barhe discordant strings were worse than ever before—far more of a warning than the seemingly bloodthirsty Infernal Diabolist.

  He didn’t always listen to his god’s warning about who he courted and seduced, half the fun was those Tarver sidered the most dangerous. After all, the warning was o go his one, more to just be aware of what you may be getting into.

  If Malvia Harrow earned a very discordant violin, Barnes having a whole orchestra erhaps a sign to leave well enough alohe attempted flirting and innuendo tinuing after they’d left had put to bed the idea that it had only been to mess with Miss Harrow.

  “I don’t suppose they have something special on the menu for this meal?” Barnes said as she looked outside into the streets. “Beef of some kind perhaps? I o get into character. What’s that phrase she uses? ‘Put on the mask’?”

  The ce of that squabbling before being some kind of charade ht teasing disappeared further into the ether.

  “You heard about the i with the cows?” he asked, tone carefully guarded. There were many questions he had about that particur i, especially since Malvia had seemed so relut to answer anything, which left a dozen different expnations fighting for why she’d seemed so embarrassed and horrified when he and Elise had ehat abattoir.

  Had it been of the horror of what she was doing? Or just because she’s been caught? Was it something she o do, or wanted?

  “Of course I did,” Barnes said dismissively. “Who do you think helped bring the cows in? They also had to help them up?”

  “I imagi was quite a mess,” he said carefully.

  “She’s not the most of eaters, no,” Barnes said. “You were in the room after. Did she say why she wao eat ten cows raw?”

  “No, although I assume she didn’t literally eat them,” Gregory said.

  Barens snorted. “Of course not, she didn’t suddenly gain several hundred pounds. Devil’s magic, more than likely.”

  “She uses it often?”

  Barnes smiled. “Lord Montague, are you fishing for information on Miss Harrow?”

  “I think asking how often a Diabolist I work with is using the Infernal arts might be perti information,” he said. “But yes, I am fishing as well. Although I’m not sure if I’ve caught the kind of fish I want.”

  “But too much of a pull on the lines?” The fake Malvia said, that face-splitting grin ba, poieeth far too close a reminder of what that pull was.

  He smiled slightly. “I’m used to pulls, Miss Barnes. Even a full-on war with the fish at times. This is…I suppose it’s not antagonism from her that is the issue.”

  “You’re worried you fell in love with a crazy person,” she said ftly, eyes gleaming. “I suppose I could ahat, but you probably see me as biased already.”

  “It’s hard not to.”

  “Well, at the end of the day, I’ll be truthful if you still want to ask. You judge then if I’m lying.”

  ***

  Within half an hour, they’d arrived and been escorted to a small, two-person table at the outskirts.

  “Lovely day for a party, isn’t it?” Barnes asked as she sipped a cup of Duke Beige.

  Gregory snorted. Above them, rain spttered hard against a magical shield, a dome projected by the Maldern’s house mages to keep the rain off their guest's heads while another kept a jured fake sun io give the illusion of a normal day.

  Unfortunately, being so close to the outskirts, particurly violent drops of water were sending water spttering over his and Barnes’ shoes.

  Their p this had been carefully picked out, Gregory was sure. Father had a det enough retionship with Lord Maldern te seating, so shock of shocks, they weren’t just oskirts of the party, but led between people who were more focused on staring daggers at him instead of drinking tea and socializing.

  Well, most gred daggers. Triss Bellman, Jaandrake, and Mary Fellstone all were looking very cordially at him.

  Less so for the person sitting across from him. For her pretty much everyone had angry gres. Close to.

  “You seem to have made quite a number of friends,” Barnes said as she gave the surrounding families a friendly grin. “Let me guess, this is all because of yhtly activities?”

  “Some of them,” he admitted. “Others are a little less about what I d my nights and instead what I d the day.”

  “Weird, I’d think this crowd would find a cleric of Tarver a popur person,” Barnes said, leaning ba her chair.

  “Really? You wonder why a bunch of the nobility, who are friends with my father, would find me objeable?”

  “Most nobles I’ve dealt with tend to be on the more libertine side I suppose,” Barnes said, giving one of the Fellstone daughters a wink that got a fair fes from shocked family over that Infernal’s daring! Unfortunately, it looked like some of them were tempted to get up and drill what a bad idea that had been into Barnes’ head personally.

  “Don’t start a riot,” Gregory said. “And ease off that. You’re not doing a good job at impersonating her.”

  Malvia’s faed into that more familiar scowl she wore when she didn’t think anyone was looking. Barnes snapped her fingers, and now a different voice spoke in Gregory’s ear, much higher in tohan Malvia’s and with an at he couldn’t pce.

  “Do not start hinting that I’m not Malvia, no matter how low you think your voice is,” Barnes hissed in his ear. “And don’t question my methods. All you o know is they’ll work.”

  He paused, a response oip of his tongue. He’d been about to chastise her for how unlike Malvia she was ag, but best to keep his mouth shut.

  “Any specific event this is supposed to be celebrating?” Barnes asked. “Because no one seems that ied in talking with each other.”

  That was true in the sense no one was venturing outside their tables to talk with each other. Discussioween people at the different tables was quite lively and spoke to good pt of the guests that people who would be ied in catg up with each other were seated at the same tables.

  Which made it even mring that he and Barnes were at a table by themselves.

  “Status,” Gregory said. “It’s just showing off what good hosts the Maldern’s are. And their social clout iing so many people involved in the most troversial event of this month to attend.”

  A fair number of guests from that party had ended up here as well. He’d traded polite nods with Daven, and less polite ones with Kalrivers. He sat with the Harton sisters, both of whom were deliberately looking anywhere but at Barnes. Kalrivers entire clique had decided against the fake Infernal accessories this time. Good, bringing them would be in poor taste. Most of them joihe Hartons in not looking at Barnes’ disguise as Malvia either, with the exception of Kalrivers who stared very ily.

  She had noticed and was busy batting her eyeshes at him.

  “You don’t seem too ied in stopping me from making eyes at yon stud,” Barnes noted wryly.

  Gregory snorted. He hadn’t beeirely sure if the btant flirting was meant to actually be serious with Kalrivers, or just trying to bait a rea out of him. He had an answer now.

  “Make eyes at him all you want,” Gregory said. “If you went through with it, I’m pretty sure you’d have your flesh torn out of you by a certain someone before the day is out.”

  Barnes’ was already sinking a rather low opinion of her with every word out of her mouth, to be frank. Sleeping with someone else in the body of another? He’d hoped that fool idea had been sunk when the sdal with the Kitsune had nearly led to a whole batch of inter-family feuds.

  Then again, she might not be a noble. But that still left the inal owner of the body to take her revenge. Whatever his feelings on some of the other things Malvia had done gested, that would not be something anyone should tolerate.

  “She’s already poisoned me once,” Barnes said. “She’ll probably just do that again.”

  That did not sound like a lie, but Gregory held his toill, the fact he could picture Malvia doing that…w.

  “Besides, I wouldn’t actually do it,” she said. “Just lead him on and see how big of an explosion would happen whe Malvia after. But you were talking about notoriety?”

  “Most of the guests from the party are here. Those willing to veo public so soon after. It’s the event of the year, and everyone being here means all eyes on this party. Again, status.”

  Barnes snorted. “Oh, so already this entire mess has eclipsed those fool youth rades of yours messing around with that Kitsune?”

  “Amazingly, I thih, destru, and diabolically allied shapegers killing and impersonating people do win the for most dramatic thing so far this year,” Gregory said. “Especially after the neers spent so mu rep it. Murder over sex sdals they weren’t even allowed to report on.”

  “You think impersonating the queen would get someone some notoriety,” Barnes said in a bitter tone.

  Gregory was about to ask what that was about when a sudden uproar drew his attention. A new coach, oh the Montague crest.

  But everyone in the family who could e is -no.

  Exiting the coach was Elise. And Edward. Both of whom were moving towards the party as excited chatter picked up. It would be the first time Edward had been in publi weeks.

  “That’s not my sister or brregory said, then began softly humming a tune. “Elise should still be at the Archive.”

  Oh Tarver, with a tune, I call upon your help, for I fear your servant may soon.

  “Hrrm, they could have finished early,” Miss Barnes replied, looking at the probable shape-ger.

  “And my older brregory asked.

  A rhetorical one, Edward hadn’t been seen siher had sequestered him ohird floor and no one had been willing to challehat. Not when Father had made it more than clear arying to sneak in would be treated as a shapeger and shot on sight. The screaming had stopped, so the hopes were for a better oute.

  Of course, if it was better, then Father wouldn’t have hidden him away. There was a small hope that maybe it was just from injury, or to recuperate from the ravages of the poison.

  If only they could see him.

  Tarver, let this just be unfounded paranoia, but your servant may need your aid, Gregory thought as Elise weaved her way through the crowd toward them. Edward hung back, talking with his father who seemed very unfortable but not shocked to see him.

  Gregory wasn’t sure if that meant good or bad things for Edward’s current state. He was more focused on the probable ger.

  “Brother, how wonderful it is to see you!” the ger said as she got closer, arms outstretched for a hug. Definitely not his sister, not so openly in publibsp;

  Gregory’s humming suddenly grew in volume as he stood up to return the hug, the divine prote of his deity ready t into being. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about hurting Malvia with it.

  “It’s very good to see you as well sister,” he said as she got closer. “I thought you were going to busy today, did things clear up?”

  “In a manner of speaking,” she said, stopping and waving her hand dismissively. Something about the motion caught his eye as she stopped.

  “Something more important o happen first.”

  One of her fingers, looking strahick suddenly shot forward, the tip refleg the sun as it stabbed forward, f into a dagger’s point. He dodged to the side, but he wasn’t the target.

  The shifting digit rammed right through Barnes’ eye.