Home > How to Dance an Undead Waltz (The Beginner's Guide to Necromancy #4)(14)

How to Dance an Undead Waltz (The Beginner's Guide to Necromancy #4)(14)
Author: Hailey Edwards

Midas got me hot and sweaty for an hour after that. I could have gone longer, it’s not like I had anything better to do, but he claimed to have a surprise for me in the house. The crystalline laughter of the foyer chandelier as we passed under it hinted Woolly was in on the secret, and her happiness was infectious.

I trailed after Midas to one of the smaller bedrooms tucked at the very back of the house. The gym was two doors down, and I was about to break it to him that a treadmill didn’t count as a gift, when he shoved open a different door.

The queen bed and matching dresser that came standard in the unused guest rooms had been removed. I couldn’t recall which heirloom pieces fit this suite. Maud kept them off-limits when I was a kid, and I hadn’t seen any reason to air out spaces no one would be using anytime soon. But someone had been in here cleaning. And that same person had covered the honeyed oak floors with thick foam mats the color of Linus’s cheeks when he saw what I wasn’t wearing the night he fished me from the river.

“Woolly has generously donated this space as a sparring room for you,” Midas informed me. “We’re going to spend the rest of our session today installing the soft panels on the walls.”

“You sure you’re okay with this?” I curved my hand over the knob to establish a firmer link with Woolly. “The gym is more than enough.”

The bulbs warmed overhead as she gave us her blessing.

“You’re the best, girl.” I beamed at Midas. “This is overkill for someone at my skill level, but thank you.”

“You’re twenty-one,” he reminded me. “You have centuries to go. Keep training, and you’ll grow into the space.”

“I’m going to miss the grass under my bare feet.” I kicked off my shoes in the hall and padded in to try out the mats. “This is nice, though.”

“You’re safer in here than you are out there,” he said matter-of-factly.

A slow burn ignited in my gut. “I’m not going to live my life in a bubble.”

“I would never ask that of you.” Crimson bled into his eyes. “Neither would Hood or Lethe.” He pushed out a slow breath, and his gaze lightened. He blinked clear of his anger and cast me a thoughtful glance. “You know Linus pretty well, right?”

“We grew up together.” I curled my toes on the foam. “We weren’t close, but we’re getting there now.”

“I’ve watched him for years. Linus is an iceberg.”

A hard thud rattled my ribs as it sank in how well the pack knew his vulnerabilities from observing him in his capacity as the Potentate of Atlanta. He blamed the temperature of his skin on bonding with his wraith, but I decided I didn’t like them knowing even that much about him. “What do you mean?”

“What you see on the surface is only a fraction of who he is, what he’s capable of.” Midas sliced his hand sideways through the air. “There’s more to him hidden under the water, and no one ever sees it coming until it’s too late.”

The angle wasn’t the one I expected, and that kept my heart thumping. “You’re saying I should hide what I can do.”

“We might keep people off the property, but anyone can watch. Telescoping lenses, drones, avian familiars. You’re putting on a show, and you can bet your enemies are tuning in to see what happens next.”

“Enemies.” Actual, bonified Grier-haters. “How did I get here?”

“You were always going to be a target. You’ve got wealth, power, and a family name that once made the Society tremble.” He tipped his head to one side. “Actually, it still does. The Grande Dame was born a Woolworth. You’re privileged. There’s a cost for that, and it doesn’t matter if you’re willing to pay it if someone else decides you owe them for what they don’t have but you do.”

Spoken like a man with firsthand experience as a have rather than a have-not. This insight into his history made me wonder at his roots, but he would confide in me or not given time.

“I might have been targeted,” I allowed, “but the bull’s-eye wouldn’t have been visible from space.”

Midas chuckled under his breath. “You’re more deserving than most in your situation. You’ll put your resources to good use, and you won’t abuse the system. You’ll leave the Society better than you found it.”

Uncertain why it mattered so much, I still found myself asking, “What about Linus?”

“Linus is a product of the system. The mold you’re going to break is the one that’s encased him since the day he was born.” He reached for a screwdriver and a clear bag of plastic wall mounts. “There are no rungs left for the Grande Dame to climb, and that means she’s going to turn her attention toward her only son, her heir. He’s the Lawson scion, the last Woolworth by blood, and she’s going to start shopping for brides to continue her bloodline soon.”

“I thought he was safe from that fate.” A lump formed in my throat. “He’s on the older side not to be engaged yet.” The Society didn’t force marriage before the age of fifty, but older families often arranged engagements while their children slept in their cradles. “You think she waited this long to maximize his value?”

“I do.”

“I hope you’re wrong, but I’m afraid you might be right. That’s how the Grande Dame thinks.” I selected a pencil and tape measure then joined him at the wall. “How do you know so much about the Society?”

“The Faraday is home to a large concentration of necromancers and vampires.” He set down his tools to help me mark the correct placement for each mount. “I wear a uniform to work, and that makes me invisible.”

As much as I hated to admit it, I could see his point. Most High Society types wouldn’t cast him a second glance except to appreciate his beauty. Heck, most High Society types still called their staff the help.

“Years ago, I functioned as the elevator operator.” He twirled the pencil through his fingers. “Let me tell you—people treat elevators like confessionals and their operators like priests.”

“Elevator operator? Your age is showing.” I locked my jaw to keep from asking for a specific number.

“Not as much as you might think.” Amusement curved his lips at having piqued my curiosity. “It was a trend there for a while among the affluent. Bored me to tears. I begged Hood to trade with me, but he wasn’t about to give up his post at the front door. All that fresh air and sunlight. Lucky bastard.”

“I imagine Clarice Lawson was a hot topic long before her promotion.”

“And Maud, and you.” He cut me a sympathetic glance. “What happened to her rocked the foundation of the Society. Your aunt used those cracks as handholds.” He got busy with the measurements. “You’re prime real estate too. She’s going to want to marry you off as soon as possible.”

“She’s welcome to try.” As Dame Woolworth, I was free to pursue a marriage based on love or to skip the vows all together like Maud. The Grande Dame would threaten and cajole, I was certain, but I got to choose this much for myself. “Maud didn’t sell me to the highest bidder when she had the chance.” Granted, she didn’t have much use for men aside from getting in her cardio, and that was long before my time. “I’m not stepping on the auction block, and the Grande Dame can’t make me.”

Midas huffed out a laugh when I stuck out my tongue. “There’s a simple solution, really.”

“Do tell.” He passed me a hammer, and I began sinking wall anchors into the plaster over his pencil marks. “I’m all ears.”

“Marry Linus.” He caught the handle when it slid from my slack fingers. “The union would cement ties between two of the most powerful High Society families and continue the Woolworth bloodline. You might have been raised as cousins, but you’re not related. It’s a perfect match.”

“A perfect coup,” I corrected on a whisper.

Fingers numb from the wake-up call, I threw myself into the work to kill any further conversation.

After we finished securing the padding and cleaned up our mess, Midas drifted off to start his shift, leaving me to wipe down the surfaces in preparation for our trial run.

Me and Linus.

Linus and me.

Now that Midas mentioned it, I was shocked our families hadn’t hinted at our compatibility before now. But then again, I had Boaz-shaped stars in my eyes for so many years, I had yet to blink clear of them. There was a lot I had overlooked, including a freckle-faced boy with starry eyes of his own.

One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was pick up the phone and dial Cricket. So difficult, in fact, I bought myself a minute by texting Marit first with a quick apology and a heads-up I wasn’t coming back. Yeah, I took the coward’s way out, but I liked her, and I didn’t want to lie to her face. With that done, and the hour getting later, I had to bite the bullet or risk missing Cricket. She didn’t always stick around for the late-late tour. One of the perks of being the boss.

“Haint Misbehavin’,” Cricket chirped like her namesake. “How may I haunt you?”

“It’s me.” Good start, Grier. Firm. Decisive. “I wanted to let you know I won’t be returning to work.”

“I don’t get you, hon.” A long sigh blasted the receiver. “You fight like the devil to get what you want, I give it to you, and then you throw it away. Every. Single. Time.”

“Sorry I’m letting you down.” I winced. “Again.”

“Are you okay?” A door shut in the background as she closed herself in the office. “Those bruises…”

The concern shouldn’t have stunned me when I already knew she was the one who set Russo on my case all those years ago. She was most likely to blame for my current issues with the good detective too. Still, she had hidden her worry behind snark, and hearing the bite stripped from her words unsettled me.

   
Most Popular
» Magical Midlife Meeting (Leveling Up #5)
» Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up #4)
» The ​Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash
» Lover Unveiled (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1
» A Warm Heart in Winter (Black Dagger Brothe
» Meant to Be Immortal (Argeneau #32)
» Shadowed Steel (Heirs of Chicagoland #3)
» Wicked Hour (Heirs of Chicagoland #2)
» Wild Hunger (Heirs of Chicagoland #1)
» The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club
» Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #
» Undercover Bromance (Bromance Book Club #2)
vampires.readsbookonline.com Copyright 2016 - 2024