The carriage finally came to a halting stop, and a doorman opened the door for them. He held his hand out to Audria, who gracefully stepped down onto the cobblestone steps. Kerrigan was next, not half as graceful, and then Noda. The boys tumbled out after them.

Kerrigan sighed with displeasure at the state of the mansion. It was so large that it must have at least a hundred bedrooms. Enough space to house an entire section of the homeless population, and no one even cared. She hated this part. The belonging and not belonging.

It was Fordham who held his arm out. “It’s a bit much?”

“No different than the House of Shadows,” she countered. “It might have been worse.”

“Assuredly.”

A voice proclaimed Audria’s entrance in front of them, and Kerrigan froze, realizing that they were going to announce her.

“I don’t want to be announced,” she whispered.

Fordham tugged her closer. “We could just leave.”

She laughed. “And miss all the fun?”

“What fun?”

“Dancing. For some reason, I remember you being quite amenable to dancing and having me… take orders,” she teased.

His eyes dipped to her lips. “You were quite good at following orders.”

“I was,” she breathed. Then she winked at him. “It’ll never happen again.”

He burst into laughter just as they reached the entrance. The man at the front looked at them both in surprise at the outburst.

“Prince Fordham Ollivier of the House of Shadows,” the man called out. “And Lady Felicity Argon, First of the House of Cruse of Bryonica, now of the House of Shadows.”

Kerrigan stiffened. Lady Felicity. Everyone in the room turned to look at her in that moment. They all knew. They all knew exactly who she was. That she’d been abandoned for being half-Fae. It didn’t matter that she’d made her own way. None of it mattered. They were all staring.

“It’s Kerrigan,” Fordham growled at the man. His shadows flared in the bright room, darkening everything just a touch.

The man took a step backward, his hand flying to his chest in affront. “I must give full titles.”

Fordham’s seething was next level, and people here didn’t know him like she did. To them, he looked utterly terrifying. A frightening sight to behold on any day. That sinister energy that always radiated off of him was choking the room. All for… her.

Kerrigan tugged his arm, looking at all the faces full of fear. “Stop. You’re causing a scene.”

His magic dropped as his gaze shifted back to her. “My lady.”

Kerrigan dragged him into the ballroom and out of the line of sight. “You can’t just unleash your magic like that. It was bad enough without you making it worse.”