I cast a glance at my gown. It was a long, flowing number in a deep silky green. The color was the perfect contrast to my flaming red hair that I’d decided to wear in loose waves. Priyanka had come around to help with my makeup, and she’d given me a very distinct swoosh of eyeliner that made my eyes pop. I’d never made this much of an effort for a normal date, let alone a fake one.

“Thanks.” I bit my lip and tried not to stare in his direction. He looked as dangerously lethal as he normally did. Shadows curled across his jaw, and his pupils looked like pools of darkness. A sudden zing shot through my gut. That stupid thing again. It was starting to piss me off.

He turned to me and took my hand in his. “Mia, I just want you to know that—”

The elevator doors whirred open. His hand tightened around mine, and he pulled me close. Whatever he’d been about to say was lost to the sudden buzz of activity in the loft. Hand in hand, we strode into the ball.

Brilliantly-lit goblets drifted through the air on invisible strings. Intricate designs had been carved into the golden-edged walls, and butlers pranced by with elaborate silver plates topped in miniature food. The sound of harps drifted through the loft, but the thing that caught my eye the most was the far wall.

It was entirely gone.

The room faced the Uptown buildings, and a warm breeze rustled the hair around my shoulders. There wasn’t a single pane of glass. Not even a railing. Where the floor ended, it just…dropped off.

My nerves jangled in my belly as I glanced up at Az. His gaze was locked on the pane-less windows, his jaw clenched. “I believe it’s time for you to make your exit now, Mia.”

I gave a nod, my gut twisting. This was goodbye. The end to me and Az, not that there’d ever been anything more than strained lust between us. I tried to tell myself that my life would be better off without demons in it, but my heart didn’t believe a word of it.

With a deep breath, I turned to go—just as a glittering Eisheth stepped in front of me. Her gown matched her lip color. Deep red fabric that stretched across her curvy frame. She flashed me a painted smile and reached out with long, perfectly-manicured fingernails. They sliced through my hair, tangling in my curled strands.

“Don’t you look cute?” she asked in a patronizing tone of voice that made me want to punch her right in her pixie nose. “Here, have a drink.”