For a moment, we just stared at each other, her black eyes on my faux blue ones. My mind raced as I tried to figure out what the Fire elemental could be doing here—and how I could get away from her.

But since Mab Monroe didn’t immediately scream for her giant guards or worse, reach for her Fire elemental magic, I assumed she hadn’t heard me kill Jake McAllister—or clean up the mess. Only one way to find out.

Somehow, I plastered a smile on my face. “Oh, hello there,” I said in a cheery tone. “How are you?”

Mab frowned. “This is one of my private bathrooms. You’re not supposed to be in here.”

The Fire elemental’s voice was soft, breathy, with just a hint of a rasp, like silk rubbing together. But there was far more power and menace in her light tone than in any else’s voice I’d ever heard. At the sound, I felt that strange, primal sensation surge through me again. Enemy, that little voice muttered in the back of my head. Enemy, enemy, enemy.

But I tuned out the voice, widened my eyes, and put on my best oh-no-I-just-totally-fucked-up face. Then I gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry, sugar. I just didn’t know. Nobody told me, you see, and this is my very first time here at one of your parties.”

Mab stared at me, her eyes dark and thoughtful. Her gaze went to the fuchsia lipstick in my hand, then moved down my body. Her eyes lingered on the damp spots on the front of my dress. “What are you doing in here?”

“Oh, just freshening up a bit. Lot of competition out there tonight. Girl’s got to look her best at one of these things.”

The Fire elemental stepped farther into the bathroom.

I gave her another smile, leaned forward, and reapplied my lipstick. Mab just stood there, staring at me in the mirror. She might be able to intimidate everyone else in Ashland with her hard stare, but not me. But that didn’t mean I was going to do something stupid, like insult the Fire elemental to her face in her own bathroom—with Jake McAllister’s cooling body lying ten feet to my right.

Antagonizing Jonah McAllister in my own restaurant was one thing. So was killing his son after he threatened to rape and murder me. But Mab—Mab was different. If only for the simple fact that I didn’t know which one of us would come out on top in a fight. But one of us would die, and I didn’t want it to be me. I had promises to keep to the Foxes, promises I wouldn’t be able to fulfill if I got into a battle with Mab.