Iris held Lilith’s arm as they approached the large double doors. Every muscle in her body felt tense. Not only was this embarrassing, but being in crowded rooms always made Iris nervous. Lilith squeezed her arm softly as if she were trying to comfort her.

  “Just remember what I told you and you’ll be fine.” She said quietly as the doors were opened for them.

  Warm light spilled in from a large ballroom. Gazes turned toward them as they entered, and Iris did her best not to lower her head.

  As Lilith led her farther into the ballroom, it became impossible to lower her head. The room was beautiful, sure, all ivory, gold, and crystal, but that wasn’t what held her attention. The servants all looked normal enough, but the guests were far from it. Some of the guests looked normal at first glance, but when she looked closer, there was something off. A woman’s eyes reflected like a cat’s, a man’s smile revealed sharp fangs, and a couple whose limbs didn’t move quite right and whose heads turned too far. Other guests were more obviously not human. Too tall with antlers, too short with wings, and a shadow wearing a dress.

  Lilith pinched the skin on Iris’s arm enough to sting. She looked towards her.

  “Staring is rude.” She whispered into Iris’s ear.

  “Sorry…” Iris mumbled as she tried to focus her attention on something else.

  “Lilith, darling! You made it!”

  Iris’s eyes fell on the woman approaching them—tall, beautiful, almost angelic. Within seconds, she was in front of them, kissing Lilith’s cheeks.

  “Of course I did.” Lilith smiled warmly, her hand settling on Iris’s lower back. “I’d never miss one of your parties, Catrina.”

  Catrina’s smile brightened, her eyes shifted, curiosity flickering as they fell on Iris.

  “Oh,” she said softly. “I didn’t know you were bringing someone.”

  Her eyes drifted over Iris. It didn’t feel cold and calculated like Lilith’s gaze. Instead, it was kind. Genuine interest. “She’s lovely.”

  Her eyes moved back to Lilith, amused but not demeaning, “Is she a friend? I didn’t know you kept company with humans.”

  Lilith laughed, subtly moving her hand to Iris’s waist to pull her slightly closer.

  “This is my pet,” she said lightly. “Her name is Iris.”

  She leaned closer, as if sharing a secret, but spoke loud enough for her voice to carry. “And she’s not just a human. She’s a witch.”

  Catrina’s composure slipped.

  “A witch,” she repeated, genuinely surprised.

  Her gaze returned to Iris, warm and more curious than before. “Well,” she said after a second, “that is impressive.”

  After a moment of studying her, Catrina smiled warmly, meeting Iris’s eyes.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Iris,” she said, making Iris smile softly back. “You’re quite striking.” The compliment made Iris’s smile widen slightly.

  Iris’s smile faltered as Lilith’s fingers pressed firmly into a bruise on her side, a quiet reminder of who she belonged to. Iris braced herself as pain flared through her ribs, careful not to let it show on her face

  If Catrina noticed the little show of possession, she didn’t show it. She simply turned her attention back to Lilith.

  “I’d better go finish making my rounds.” She plants a soft kiss on Lilith’s cheek. “We’ll catch up later.”

  With that, she was gone, weaving gracefully through the crowd.

  Iris stole a glance at Lilith as she guided her toward a nearby table of refreshments.

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  Lilith handed her a glass of wine. “Drink slowly,” She warned.

  “Yes, Mistress Lilith,” Iris responded. Just as they had practiced.

  Lilith was on edge—she could feel it in the way her grip lingered, in how her gaze swept the room too often. Maybe she was already regretting bringing Iris out like this. Iris knew better than to test her now. Obedience was safer.

  It was time to act.

  The next hour or so of the party blurred together.

  Iris stayed close to Lilith, her gaze kept carefully lowered. She’d learned quickly what happened when she stared too long at another guest. Lilith’s fingers would press into bruises, a quiet correction. It was easier to focus on her wine instead, sipping just enough to steady her nerves and give her somewhere to stare so her eyes wouldn’t wander.

  And it was hard not to stare, especially as Lilith spoke with the guests. She introduced Iris sparingly, allowing a select few partygoers to marvel at the witch she had claimed as a pet. Each time, Iris felt the weight of it, the way Lilith displayed her, the unmistakable pride in her voice. Beneath it, there was something else. A flicker of soft affection that Lilith wouldn’t allow to linger masked the moment Iris noticed it.

  This contradiction in emotions had unsettled her, so she turned her attention onto the guests Lilith was speaking to.

  Not that that was much better. Some voices sounded strange, fingers were too long, smiles too wide. It was as if she were walking through a nightmare, not a beautiful ballroom. Iris studied them only briefly before taking another sip of wine, an excuse to look away.

  Between short conversations, they danced. It was expected at gatherings like this, yet Lilith turned down every invitation that wasn’t hers, offers made for both, sometimes only for Iris. Each refusal was polite, effortless, final. Lilith kept Iris close, her attention never drifting far.

  That unsettled Iris more than she expected. Among her peers, Lilith’s hold on her felt tighter, not looser. As if the presence of others only sharpened her need for control.

  The longer Iris stood and danced, the more her body protested. The heels bit into her feet, and the bruises beneath her dress throbbed with every step. Exhaustion settled in, heavy and unrelenting. Not just physical, either. The eyes on her made her feel weighted. Pinned in place like an insect.

  Everywhere she went, she felt them. Eyes following her. Voices lowered as her and Lilith’s names passed between lips.

  Lilith’s sharp glare was enough to send most of them looking elsewhere, but stollen glances still burned into Iris’s skin. Through the murmur of the crowd, she could hear hushed fragments of conversation.

  “Lilith’s pet…”

  “A human.”

  “And a witch, on top of it.”

  “I didn’t know court leaders kept humans.”

  “Doesn’t Lilith despise attachments?”

  “Maybe she’s using the witch for something.”

  She felt like a spectacle.

  A doll put out on display.

  Exotic. Fragile. Out of place.

  As the night wore on, Iris found herself holding onto Lilith like a lifeline. She wasn’t sure if she could stand on her own anymore; if she were to let go even for a second, she was sure her legs would give out.

  She finished a glass of wine in hopes that it would ease the pain, block out the noise, the eyes, the weight of the room. Lilith noticed Iris’s exhaustion, as she stumbled. She steadied Iris effortlessly before weaving an arm around Iris’s waist. Her touch was gentle as she shifted to support Iris’s weight.

  “You look terrible, doll.” Lilith sighed softly and handed Iris another glass of wine.

  Iris bit her lip. “Sorry…”

  The word slipped out before she could stop it. Was Lilith angry? She was used to disappointing people, but she wasn’t ready for the punishment that would come with disappointing Lilith.

  “Why are you apologizing?”

  Lilith paused, concern flicking across her face, quickly suppressed. Her gaze shifted, scanning the ballroom. “I suppose I should accept an invitation or two to dance.” She said evenly. “It’d be bad for my image if I didn’t.”

  She guided Iris toward a seating area at the far end of the ballroom. The couch sat in perfect view of the room—visible from nearly every angle.

  Iris glanced up at her as they walked, trying to read her expression. Is she really not upset? Iris could’ve sworn she looked a little worried…but that couldn’t be right.

  “Sit,” Lilith ordered.

  Iris obeyed immediately. Relief flooded her as the weight left her feet. The couch felt impossibly soft, like sinking into a cloud.

  “Don’t move from this spot,” Lilith instructed. “I’ll come get you when it’s time to leave.”

  Iris nodded.

  Iris watched her leave. For once, the distance between her and Lilith wasn’t a relief.

  Alone on the couch, Iris became painfully aware of just how much attention she was drawing.

  Without Lilith beside her, the guests weren’t afraid to stare. Eyes lingered on her, scanning her up and down. Measuring. Assessing. Some slowed as they passed, no longer pretending not to look. A few brushed by too close, fingers nearly grazing her skin.

  She kept her gaze forward, fixed on nothing in particular, afraid that if she were to meet someone’s eyes, they’d take it as an invitation.

  She forced her breathing to stay even, slow, terrified someone might hear the frantic pounding of her heart.

  Almost mechanically, she took gulps of her wine, just enough to blur the edges of the room.

  She could hear whispers about her. Quiet but unmistakable.

  “Unattended…”

  “A human pet...”

  “Would Lilith be mad if…”

  Her fingers tightened around the glass as she pressed back into the couch, wishing it could shield her. The only comfort she clung to was the thought that no one would dare approach Lilith’s pet.

  They were too afraid.

  …Right?

  She swallowed the last of her wine just as a shadow fell across the floor in front of her.

  Her heart skipped.

  Someone had stopped.

  “You look… uncomfortable.” A voice said smoothly