“Please, dear. ‘Demon’ is such a pejorative term. Such fae have been misunderstood for far too long. Don’t let your ignorance betray you.”

Nox’s face twisted in disgust. Millicent couldn’t be serious. This was absurd. It was appalling. It was blasphemous.

“You do know you’re northern, yes?”

“I—”

“Do you possess a mirror, or did you think that you had the same pink, colorless cheeks of all of the other discarded orphans in Farehold?”

Nox blinked rapidly. She had known that she wasn’t fully southern, but little else.

“The dark fae?”

“The northern kingdom and its fae are of Raascot, dear. My, my, how poor was your education?”

The air felt as though it had been sucked from the room.

Millicent pressed her fingertips together, repeating, “How were you feeding before tonight? I’ve been thinking it over while the men disposed of your handiwork. I have a theory or two, dear. Here at the house, I’ve considered that the validation and adoration of the men may have been sustaining you, however remedially. Their praise and affections, even from behind the bar, may have kept you going, though at a fraction of your potential. Even I didn’t know why I found you so likable. I do wonder how much my own favoritism fed into your nourishment. Here I thought I’d just found a suitable protégée—not to say, dear, that you wouldn’t make a splendid protégée, perhaps now more than ever.”

Sickness struck Nox again. Just as before, it was a nausea of the heart manifesting in her stomach. Her physical body still hummed, insisting upon its contentment. Despite the fact she had just consumed a large glass of water, her mouth felt dry.

“I don’t understand.”

Millicent sighed impatiently. “Farleigh, dear. I’m asking about your orphanage. You didn’t have men fawning over you, did you? Did you enjoy some puppy love with any such fellow? I’m just dreadfully curious how you’ve managed to stay in the shadows as a damned virgin! Think of it, a goddess-damned succubus under my own roof, the roof of a brothel no less, already twenty-one, and still a virgin! I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anything as comical! Such a peculiar accomplishment, yours is, my dear.”

Nox shook her head against the cruelties Millicent was saying. The ornate walls of the office swam. What sort of horrible lies were these to tell her in the wake of such trauma? What had she ever done to deserve this brand of emotional turmoil?

“I’m part demon?”

“Well, are you part demon or are you part stupid? We’re a year in, dear, and I’ve never known you to be daft. I’m asking you a question. Do try to keep up.”