“Here’s one for free,” offered Lila through gritted teeth, dragging her head up as far as the working would allow. “Go fuck yourself.”
Berras smiled, tight and humorless. “You know, of all the elements, bone really is the most useful.”
There was an audible crack as he said it, and one of Lila’s lower ribs snapped in two. Her jaw was locked shut, but a scream still tore between her teeth.
“The ability to control another person’s body.”
A second rib snapped.
“Even break it.”
And a third.
Lila cried out, gasping as a splintered edge dug into her lungs.
“Oh,” she hissed, her breath uneven. “I can see why Alucard hates you.”
In answer, an invisible hand cupped the back of her head and forced it down, pinning her gaze to the floor.
Something swung there, like a pendulum. A black ring on a leather cord. Her ring. Kell’s ring. She cursed herself for not wearing it like he’d wanted her to.
She strained, fingers twitching feebly on the wood.
Lila focused all her strength into one hand. If she could just reach …
She heard the chair scrape against the floor as Berras righted it, and then she was being dragged upright, and shoved roughly back into it, her ribs screaming as they hit the wood. But the weight on her bones disappeared, and in that stolen moment, Lila grasped for the necklace, her bound hands halfway to her chest before the wood of the chair reached out and caught her fingers.
“So much power,” said Berras as branches of wood grew around her arms, forcing them down. “Wasted on you.” The wood wrapped her shoulders, pinning them back to the chair.
“Fuck,” she hissed, clawing uselessly at the air. At the ring swinging just out of reach.
Berras noticed. “What’s this?” he asked, fingers closing around the blackened band.
And for the first time, Lila was glad Rhy had married such a clever queen. Glad she’d designed the rings so that they worked no matter whose hand was holding them.
Lila knew the spell, of course. Kell had told her the words, the day he’d given her the ring. She’d pretended not to listen, but she’d still committed them to memory. Now, for the first time, she said them aloud.
“As vera tan.”
I need you.
The words came out, barely a whisper, and Berras leaned in, those eyes—a mocking shadow of her Alucard’s—stopping inches from her own.
“What did you say?” he asked.
Lila drew in a breath, ignoring the scrape of bone on lung. “I said, all the magic in the world won’t make you less of an ass.”
Berras Emery frowned, and tore the ring from her throat. The cord snapped, coming away in his hand. He straightened, and walked away, taking her magic with him. He flung open the door, and vanished into the house beyond. As he did, she heard him cast the ring away. Heard it bounce, and roll down the hall.
Lila closed her eyes, and smiled to herself, even though it hurt.
* * *
Alucard Emery was well versed in the city’s many sources of debauchery.
He visited the brothels for their information, but he’d always favored the drink and entertainment of the London pleasure gardens. In his younger years, he’d prided himself on his knowledge of them all, but Lila was right.
Marriage had clearly made Alucard a bore.
He’d heard of the Veil, of course—a traveling garden, one that descended on a different place every time it opened—but he’d never visited, and had to admit, he was impressed. Not just by the décor, the offerings, the discretion, but by the idea.
It was the perfect place to hide the Hand. He cursed himself for not thinking of it sooner.
Alucard held a long-stemmed pipe in one hand, an untouched drink in the other as he drifted through a crowded chamber, trying to hear something, anything of use. Kell had hovered at his arm until he’d sent him off, insisting they’d have more luck if they split up. It wasn’t a lie. Not entirely.
He checked his watch. It was half past ten. He knew that Lila was here—she had to be—but he’d skimmed the rooms, and so far, found no sign of her. Or the Hand. Which meant they were either hiding somewhere else, or right here, mingling in the sea of masked faces.
Kell returned to his side. “Nothing,” he growled, and Alucard threw an arm around the prince’s shoulders as if they were the best of friends, enjoying a night on the town. Kell, idiot that he was, recoiled. Alucard tightened his grip, leaning his weight onto Kell, as if steadying himself.
“Have you been drinking?” hissed the prince, and despite the black mask that covered his face, Alucard could perfectly picture the way Kell’s features were twisting, his brows drawn together, his mouth turned down in that perpetual scowl.