Her words didn’t register—and not just because I perfected the art of ignoring her long ago, nor was it imagining all the unspeakable things I planned to do to the mouse-shifter. No, scanning the room, I found a face in the crowd that made my blood run cold. I could never forget him even if I tried… and I tried every damned day.
Dangerously handsome.
Magnetically charismatic.
Intoxicatingly seductive.
Undeniably fatal.
Mingling through the masses, in a masterfully tailored suit that reeked of his stolen wealth, was the man who buried me alive. The hair on my back rose as my top lip curled back in a menacing hiss. His name is Nekau, and he was once a member of the sacred magi—bound by blood and enhanced strength to act as a sentry to the Egyptian pharaohs. But Nekau got greedy. He saw the wealth of the royals he lived to serve and wanted it for himself. That’s when his evil plotting began. Wielding his charm and charisma as a weapon, he seduced noble women and men alike. After draining them of every bit of gold and power he could, he killed them. Of course, I didn’t know any of this when I fell for his act. That said, I figured it out rather quickly after he closed me inside a tomb with the rotted corpses of his previous victims. Thankfully, I was able to channel every bit of magic within me to shrink myself into a form capable of wriggling out of the trap none of the others before me could escape. Downside? I had since been stuck as a cat.
Now, that olive-skinned man with a brilliantly white smile and a tangle of silky black curls had come to haunt my one night of freedom.
On his arm, undoubtedly mesmerized by every word he uttered, was an auburn-haired garden nymph with a crown of wildflowers nestled into her wild mane. That poor child had no way to know she was flirting with death. Nekau wouldn’t attempt it at The Ball. No, such things were strictly forbidden. Here, he would enthrall her in a convincing seduction, allowing him to take what he wanted from her back on the mainland.
And just like that, my plans for The Ball changed.
First, I would save an innocent soul from the monster who led to my curse. Then, I would move on to a sweaty game of pantsless cat and mouse.
I politely let Nyx know I wanted to be put down by latching onto her forearm hard enough to feel my teeth pop through her flesh. As she exclaimed a string of expletives and loosened her hold, I planted my paws against her ribs and pushed off of her. The instant my feet hit the floor, I darted toward my target, dodging and weaving between designer shoes and beaded gowns.
As I raced headlong into my impromptu rescue mission, I heard Nyx mutter behind me, “You’re going then? Awesome. I made the shift to the crazy lady talking to herself. This seems like a good time to head to the bar.”
Drink up, Reaper. Tonight, I’m the one on the hunt for a wicked soul.
2
Now, I know what you’re thinking. I had been a cat for a few centuries. How could I be certain this was the man who entombed me or that he intended to harm the lovely young woman on his arm? To which I would respond; have you ever been buried alive in a sarcophagus by the person you believed to be your one true love? No? I didn’t think so. That makes me an expert on this matter.
The truth was that I wanted to be wrong. I prayed to Thoth—the God of Wisdom—for proof I was mistaken. Then, I could return to my plans of wild indulgence. Unfortunately, as I raced after Nekau with the pads of my paws beating a soft chorus over the dark-stained floorboards, I found patterns emerging that couldn’t be ignored.
With a gentle hand on the small of her back, the deadly Adonis guided his nymph away from the crowds, seeking out a quiet corner to work his manipulation of manufactured love. Bypassing the elevators, Nekau steered her toward a narrow crew passage that offered a lesser traveled path to the ocean liner’s hot spots. As they disappeared through the arched doorway, I pumped my muscles for all they were worth. Skidding inside, I made it through a split second before the shutting door could lop off the tip of my tail.
Finding the couple stealing a quiet moment in the stairwell, I darted behind the iron stairs to hide.
Back pressed to the wall, the nymph chewed her lower lip seductively. Her almond-shaped, amethyst eyes peered up at him from under a thick forest of lashes. “Where are you taking me, Lord Nekau? I heard there’s a burlesque show on board. Are we going to marvel at the beauty of others in hopes it will inspire you to explore my sacred garden this night?”
Gross. If this chick wanted me to save her life, she was going to have to stop saying stupid shit like that.
“My darling Princess Bryony,” he murmured, tracing the knuckle of his index fingers across the curve of her jawline. “I would not see one of those females with you in the room. What I have in mind for us is far more… intimate. I made a vow to your father, the Fae King of the North, that I would keep you safe on this voyage. I ask that you trust me as I have nothing but a glorious future in mind.”
It did not escape my notice that he said a and not our. Further proof he did not have the horny little nymph’s best interests at heart. Plus, she was a princess. It was a title he was on the hunt for.
Not that she had even the slightest notion she was in danger. Wetting her lips, the nymph I now knew as Bryony dropped her voice to a husky whisper. “Then, by all means, lead the way.”
Thankfully, they opted out of copulating on the steel staircase and ventured up two sets of stairs to the floor above. Arms locked around each other, they wrenched open the passage door and stumbled out in a fit of giggles. In full feline stealth mode, I raced after them.
The promenade deck.
A quiet little nook that was once offered to the upper crust of society as a place to see and be seen amongst their equally wealthy peers. I had no doubt that as the night went on it would be the perfect spot for couples to quietly steal away. At the moment, it was just the three of us. It would have been an ideal time for me to shift to my human form, scare the hell out of him, and warn her. To my great regret, my change seemed nowhere in sight.
Nekau snaked one arm around the nymph’s waist and steered her to the railing. There, he pointed out constellations visible overhead. Every single one he named was wrong. Idiot. Not that Bryony knew or cared. She hung on his every word, practically purring with delight when he told her none of those wonders of nature could match her beauty.
With the tips of his fingers tracing small circles on her back, Nekau whispered words in her ear that made a bright carnation-blush bloom on her cheeks. What lies he was telling, I didn’t know nor care. It was the look in his eye that made my ears flatten to my head and a hiss threaten. Welcoming pools of love and adoration were not to be found in the depths of his stare. No. His hungry gaze searched her, hunting for traces of a weakness he could exploit. It was the look of a predator. A real-life game of cat and mouse, which was a subject I considered myself to be an expert at.
And the girl? She was an idiot child falling for his act… just as I had.
Having not yet shifted, I did find myself facing a rather challenging predicament. How did I convey my fatal warning to the smitten lass? Out of ideas, I went for the eloquent approach. Meaning, I threw my head back and howled as if in agony.
Nekau’s brow furrowed. Protectively lacing his fingers with the nymph’s, my would-be murderer tugged Bryony toward the door. “Come, Princess. That sounds like a tortured beast. I would hate for anything to happen to you.”