Chapter Fifty-Five

"Greetings, my fellow monsters," King Louis crowed.

Kierse met Graves's eyes, and together, they took a step farther from the ring of monsters. They were supposed to be gone before Louis's big announcement, but Graves had been delayed. And now she was finally getting her first look at the monster.

King Louis was larger than life in every way imaginable. From his over-the-top seventeenth-century Sun King outfit, complete with a long golden waistcoat, puffy sleeves, knee-high tights, and heeled boots, to his long, curly-haired powdered wig, his look reveled in the moniker he had taken for himself. He held a staff in front of him and strut forward to his awaiting audience, who cheered wildly.

Graves sighed at her side. "He couldn't even get a historically accurate wig."

Kierse forced her face neutral to keep from laughing. "What?"

"They weren't powdered for another hundred years."

She shook her head at him. "Only you would know that."

King Louis continued, raising his arm and gesturing into the air. "Welcome to my Winter Solstice celebration!"

Despite the ridiculous powdered wig, he cut a formidable figure. He had a manic look in his eyes, and power radiated off of him—it was easy to see how he had come to rule despite his eccentricities. His very presence exuded authority and danger, as if he might start murdering everyone in attendance just for looking at him wrong.

"The longest night of the year belongs to us," he said, tapping forward with glee. "It belongs to the creatures of the night. Those who have fought to claim their rightful place."

Another cheer went up in the crowd hungry for his approval.

"Only to be cut down by the insidious human hand. To be cut down from power by the insufferable Monster Treaty. As if being stronger, faster, and living longer than the humans were some sort of illness rather than what we all know it to be." He paused for dramatic effect. "Salvation."

The response was deafening. All manner of monsters cheered for his glory and his promised salvation. This was what they were all drunk on. Not promised blood or entertainment. It was about reclaiming what they believed had been taken from them. And it made them ravenous.

Then, her eyes found Walter at the base of King Louis's dais, staring up at him in concentration.

She nudged Graves. "What's he doing?"

"He's protecting King Louis," he breathed against the shell of her ear. "His force field encircles them both."

Kierse's eyes narrowed as she focused on Walter's magic. She could see a shimmer of gold shadowing him and weaving around King Louis, too. They'd have to take out Walter before getting to him. "Did you know he could do that?"

The flicker in Graves's jaw was enough to say that he hadn't known. Another new ability. Walter was shaping up to be more than Graves had ever anticipated.

King Louis continued. "You already know what I believe, what I stand for. This isn't an election, where I recite my triumphs for you to know that I am strength. I am the height of vampire strength, the height of all monster strength! I will not back down. I will not fall. Not like my brothers before me. I will fight for our rights, for our ability to live our lives how we see fit. Not how the baser, lesser humans deem to be fair." King Louis held up his hand as the crowd foamed at the mouth for his offer. "They want us to grovel at their feet when we are the apex predators in this world."

Kierse turned her focus to the humans in the room. The meals these monsters had purchased for the night. Most seemed just as enthralled, but Kierse found a few humans who looked as disgusted as she felt. They didn't deserve this. None of them did.

"We are the Men of Valor! We will not grovel. We will not compromise," King Louis shouted to his supporters. "We are the rightful rulers of this world. It is time to take it back!" The crowd cheered, and King Louis called over them, "Feast tonight, brothers and sisters. Enjoy the spoils of our war. Tomorrow, the real work begins."

Everyone cheered for King Louis, chanting his name.

"The doorways are clear," Graves said.

Kierse turned to leave, but Graves went suddenly still. "What?"

And then she saw Dr. Mafi at his back, a gun pointed at his spine.

"Not so fast," Dr. Mafi said darkly.

"What are you doing, Emmaline?" Graves asked.

"You are here to kill me."

"I'm not."

"Liar," she hissed.

"Let him go," Kierse growled, retrieving a knife from her boot and positioning it under Dr. Mafi's ribs. An easy shot upward would drive it into her heart.

Mafi froze. "Kierse?"

"We're not here to kill you. Now, let. Him. Go."

"I can't," she whispered.

Kierse dug the knife in deeper. "I don't want to kill you. Let's go somewhere and talk about this."

"To give him a chance to kill me?" she snarled.

"Emmaline, I am not here for you."

"You sent your dog after me," she said in fury. "I came to Louis, knowing you wanted me dead."

"I sent Edgar to offer you protection."

She laughed. "I don't believe you."

But Kierse saw the truth in his words. Mafi might be holding him at gunpoint, but Graves had magic. She didn't doubt for a second that he could have gotten away from her if he wanted. Which meant he wanted to talk. So, even though Kierse hadn't known that he'd sent Edgar after Dr. Mafi, she wasn't surprised by it, either. There was no reason to lie here.

"He's telling the truth. We're not here for you," Kierse said.

"We're here for something else," Graves said.

"Something... not someone?" Dr. Mafi asked.

"Yes," Kierse said. "Now, drop the gun."

Kierse saw the pain war through her features.

"How can I trust you?"

"Don't trust him," Kierse said. "You know he could stop you at any point. If he hasn't, it's because he doesn't want to hurt you. Neither do I. Please, trust me."

Mafi glanced at her, and whatever she saw there made her lower the gun a fraction. "I have a room nearby. I will take you there." Graves turned to face her, and she said, "Don't think about reading me."

That was the moment Kierse realized... Graves wasn't wearing gloves.

"After you, Emmaline," he said darkly.

Dr. Mafi looked like she wanted to raise the gun again and shoot him, but instead, she pocketed it inside the folds of her black-and-gold-trimmed abaya. "Follow me."

They moved to the exit like specters in the night, stealing away in the hallways and maneuvering through the sprawl of King Louis's house. The enormity of it hit Kierse in the chest. Not because she wasn't aware of how big the location was, but because the longer they followed Dr. Mafi, the farther they tracked from the vault.

Finally, Dr. Mafi stopped in front of a door. Her fingers rested upon the handle, and she spoke a few words. A stream of silvery light encased her hand, the lock clicked, and she pushed the door open. Kierse had known Mafi was a witch, but it was the first time she'd ever seen her use magic.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Parlor tricks," Graves scoffed before striding inside.

Mafi had already entered the bedroom, and she closed the door behind Kierse. The room was sparse: just a small bed in one corner, a side table, and a desk across the room with two chairs.

"If you're not here for me, what are you really doing here?"

"First, can we discuss you selling your soul to King Louis?" Graves said.

Mafi looked like she wanted to rake his eyes out with her nails. "I did no such thing."

"No? Just your medical integrity?"

"What are you talking about?" Kierse asked in confusion.

"Emmaline sold your blood to King Louis," Graves said.

Kierse felt sick. "You sold my blood?"

Mafi sank onto the bed across from them. "It wasn't like that. I was doing some under-the-table work for some politicians. Louis got wind of it and blackmailed me. I would have gone to jail. He had me under his thumb, and there was nothing else I could do."

So she was just like everyone else in King Louis's world, beholden to him and unable to escape. It didn't excuse her giving King Louis Kierse's blood, but it made her just another victim in a long line of victims.

"What did he want with her blood?" Graves asked.

"He was looking for blood with magical components. He believed it would make him stronger, enough to win this war. So, I told him that I would find candidates with different blood from people who came through the hospital."

"And does it make him stronger?"

Mafi rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Her blood is like any other blood, but he wouldn't listen to me."

Graves paced away from her. "Why didn't you come to me?"

Mafi laughed. "I owed you a favor. I couldn't owe you a second."

Graves looked like he wanted to say more, but Kierse stepped between them. "The world is a hard place. It makes monsters of us all."

Mafi's face fell at those words. "It does, doesn't it?"

"We should tell her," Kierse told him.

Graves shook his head. "We've spent enough time here as it is." He turned to Mafi. "You should get out of here while you can. Get to my brownstone, speak to Edgar. He'll give you everything you need."

"Why are you helping me?" she asked skeptically. "You only ever do things for your own aims."

His gaze cut to Kierse's, and she nodded, understanding sinking into her stomach. "Because I should have done more the first time."

Mafi reared back in shock. Her eyes flickered between the pair of them. "Maybe you have changed," she said thoughtfully. "Fine. I'll get out of here. But you two should as well."

"That's the plan," Kierse said. "We just need one more thing before we do."

"I can't change your mind about whatever you're about to do?" Dr. Mafi asked.

Kierse shook her head. "We're set on it."

Dr. Mafi sighed. Her gaze cast to Graves. "How much of the blueprints have you seen?"

"I know my way around," he assured her.

"Of course you do." Then she stood and held her hand out to him. "Just in case, check against my map."

He stared down at her hand as if he couldn't believe she was offering it to him. "You want me to read you?"

Dr. Mafi tipped up her chin and met his eyes. "I want you to get her out of here so she's not more collateral damage."

Graves stiffened. "She isn't."

"Then let me help."

He straightened to his considerable height and then slowly wrapped his hand around her wrist. This was the first time Kierse had ever seen Graves read from someone, since it never worked on her. She knew that he did this as part of his business, but now she could see it.

The gold light of his magic flared to life at the contact: a shimmering, mesmerizing aura that smelled strongly of leather with just a hint of fresh paper. Kierse could hardly fathom that he was currently reading her mind. Even if he claimed it wasn't that. That he could only skim what people were thinking, and Mafi was clearly showing him a way through the hallways. Laying a map she was familiar with over the one they had been studying to get inside.

But what else could he skim from her in this brief contact? What else was she thinking even subconsciously that Graves could learn? No wonder he was so powerful, if he could gain access to people's minds.

Graves released her a moment later. The light and fire and smell dissipated all at once. "Ah, it looks like some of our information was out of date. But our pathway is still clear."

"Thank you," Kierse said to Mafi.

She just nodded gravely. "Be quick. He intends for tonight to be a slaughter."