The walkway connected with the back verandah of the main house. Po Lam stepped inside without removing her shoes, so Gean Choo followed suit, wiping her soles on a mat. They passed through a dining room, and Po Lam had to turn on the light to help them navigate around the furniture. It was all made of dark wood, heavily gilded like something from another era, the chairs upholstered in damask, their frames carved with scrolls and rosettes of European design.

They stepped into a foyer where the light was already on, illuminating the white marble floor. A glittering chandelier hung in the atrium above, so out of place it must’ve come from overseas, along with some of the furniture. The chandelier was fitted with electric lights, switched on in an extravagant display of excess in this empty house, every facet sparkling, throwing tiny rainbows across the walls.

A thought occurred to her, sudden and vicious: she was the only ugly thing in this entire estate.

There was a grandfather clock below the staircase, carved wood with intricate birds and the clock face inlaid with mother-of-pearl. It was almost seven o’clock. As she watched, the minute hand ticked to twelve.

The clock tolled the hour with a deep, sonorous chime. Once the last bell had rung out, leaving only a faint ticking to fill the silence, the mem of the house appeared on the first-floor landing.

The Wicked and the Willing © 2022 by Lianyu Tan

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A book is a labor of love, and this novel was no different.

To my loving wife, I owe a debt of gratitude. Thank you for leading me to the gravity well of authordom, for nurturing my fragile writer’s ego and for believing in me, always. You have my heart.

My utmost thanks to my beta readers, Anders and Juliana, for pushing me to do better. Hades has blossomed under your thoughtful input.

Thank you to Wicked Words and Christa Cooke for your help in editing and wrangling my words into shape. I appreciate all of your insightful comments and kind feedback.

Thank you fellow authors Rae D. Magdon and Lexa Luthor for your kind words of encouragement and advice. I appreciate your support, so generously given.

And for everyone who’s followed me from my Sylvanna/Morrigan days, thank you for your trust in my work.

Sule sal harthir.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR