And it is fine. However I feel about this house, it’s been clear from the moment we stepped into the room that disaster is not imminent. No one is trying to catch my eye for help or to create a diversion. It’s Christmas Eve, the house is full of guests, and we’re all playing our parts tonight.

Lucian and Elaine saunter off. Behind me, my father laughs. It sounds genuine enough. He could become a problem later, but not yet. Haley leans in close, looping her arm through mine, and looks up at me with her huge, blue eyes. The hope there is a sweet, soft carol. I’m not supposed to be in the business of wanting things that are sweet or soft.

Too late now.

The ring I gave her glitters on her finger, and underneath her dress are fading bite marks and bruises that she begs me for more of. I’d be lying if I said she makes me feel calm. She makes me feel alive, and awake, and intense, all of it focused through her. Tempered by her, in a way. Steadied.

“What do you think?” I gesture at the decorations. The chandeliers. The gold accents. Miles of holly. “It’s not as fancy as the Constantine parties.”

Haley bursts out laughing, and it’s such a beautiful sound. Pleasure answers in my heart. “Not as fancy,” she whispers. Several deep breaths later and she’s settled, leaning into me again, leaning close. “Where’s Eva?”

“I don’t know.” There are people everywhere. I would expect Eva to be in the middle of them, now that there’s no receiving line—part of the crowd, but in sight of the entrance. I take out my phone and send her a text.

Leo: ?

Her reply arrives almost immediately.

Eva: Kitchen

“Let’s go on a tour.” I keep Haley close and turn toward the far end of the foyer. I can feel her relief. Haley loves parties. She dreams about them, in fact. This one’s not as straightforward as a dream. We reach the end of the space, where there’s a door no one notices except for staff. The staff, and the children of the household.

This hallway runs along the side of the house and lets out closer to the back, where the kitchen is. It’s crowded with servers and all the many people who make a party of this size possible. None of them pay any attention to us. That’s where we find Eva.

She’s in her element. I have no idea what she’s fixing down here, in the middle of all these caterers and cooks, and I wish things were different for her. Perhaps it’s a foolish thing to hope for.

Eva turns her head at our entrance. “You’re here,” she says. “How are things upstairs?”

“Fine. I thought you hired caterers.”