The first few reached out to Kieran, already moving to keep pace as he passed them. An older woman on my side reached out as well. Those behind readied to touch the living as we moved through.

They wanted our energy, that was clear enough. It was equally clear this wasn’t their first time haunting these halls, waiting for a feast of energy. Judging by their expectant expressions and the excited anticipation in their eyes, this was a regular occurrence. Lydia gave them the living, and they gave Lydia weakened guests, tired and weak from the spirit siphoning.

Some fucking welcome.

I scanned faces quickly, my heart thumping, wondering if I’d see Mia or any of the others stuck within these spirits—wondering if it was Lydia that had nabbed them or if they headed for eternal rest. Not one face was familiar, however. Not one soul.

I gritted my teeth but refrained from blasting out my repellent magic. I could send all these spirits hurtling through the hall and out of sight easily enough, but it would be equally easy for them to collect themselves and wander back. That was no good—Lydia had pushed these spirits at us, and now she could either collect some more, or go fishing in the spirit realm to retrieve them.

Still walking, putting in the barest amount of magic into keeping the spirits off us, I pulled up the power of the Line. It pulsed to life, the bruise-like colors flaring from a strip of black. Little soul ribbons waved from the various spirits, and I grabbed them all up as they scrabbled to get away. On an impulse, I grabbed Lydia’s as well, fluttering in spirit like everyone else’s. Demigods had souls, too. They were not immune to my tampering—they could just withstand it better than everyone else.

I tied all the soul ribbons together with Lydia’s, using power and spirit to do so, Harding’s teachings feeling incredibly natural at this point. Once I had them in a big knot, I strained, shoving all but Lydia’s spirit through the Line and deep into the beyond. I pushed them as hard as I could without losing my body.

They sailed out of the room, swallowed by the abyss. The ribbons connected to Lydia went taut, yanking at her center. She staggered to the side, as though an anchor had just been dropped on a moving ship. Her face came up, and she looked into the Line—probably looking Beyond, following the line of soul ribbons that had caught her up.

I moved the spirit around the room, letting the wind catch my dress and my hair and fling them in the opposite direction, just to make a statement. Yeah, I did that. We both know it, and now I’m showing that it was on purpose.

Lydia’s eyes narrowed as she looked back at me. The spirit wind around me calmed. The soul ribbons dragging at her snapped.

She was very good with her magic, and I felt like a novice again. I barely stopped from gulping.

Without a word, she straightened up and continued on. But while I could feel her trying to pack the Line away, it didn’t fade or diminish. It was as if it had chosen which master to listen to—and it had picked me.

I wondered if that was my imagination getting the better of me.

“I’ve prepared a small supper for you.” Lydia put out her hand, directing us through another set of double doors to a sort of parlor, comfortable couches and chairs arranged on thick rugs. A card table sat off to the side and a grand piano adorned the center of the room. She continued on through another set of double doors.

“Is she expecting a crowd of elephants?” Daisy murmured to Mordecai.

“Why have just one door when you could have two?” Mordecai whispered. “I wonder why there is only one card table.”

“I wonder why all the upholstery is either pink or purple,” Daisy said. As we walked into the dining room, she added, “Ah, here is some obnoxious red, what a nice surprise.”

“Shh!” I said, glancing back with a scowl.

The dining room could’ve easily sat thirty, and the spread of food could’ve fed twice as many. The long oak table was laden with meats, cheeses, breads, and fruit—so much food it nearly put me off eating. It was like an entire buffet restaurant had been laid out for a handful of people.

“Here we are.” Lydia stopped at the head of the table, laying her arm across the chair delicately. “My men will attend to you. If you need anything, just ask.” She looked at Kieran’s guys, her gaze appreciative as it traveled across shoulders and lingered on handsome faces. When it came to good looks, the “birds of a feather” rule definitely applied to Kieran and his guys. Except for maybe Jerry, who was looking at Lydia like a mongoose would a snake. “Anything at all.” Her gaze found Dylan last, lingering in the back. Lust lit her eyes and her tongue darted out, wetting her lower lip. “Hmm, you can stop by at any time. I’ll make time for you all night.”

Dylan went rigid, and though he didn’t visibly quail, his eyes said he wanted to. Flashbacks were probably hounding him.

A surge of protectiveness stole over me. I was essentially forcing him to deal with his past by dragging him into this new life. I would damn well make it as easy for him as possible.

“Gross. That’s not appropriate.” I curled my nose at her. “Don’t address Kieran’s guys like that. It makes you look desperate. Have a little respect for yourself.”

Dylan’s eyes widened. Thane, Boman, and Donovan all grinned.

Silence hung in the room, and Lydia’s eyes beat into mine. I held her gaze, knowing I’d just totally screwed up the status quo, but honestly, I didn’t care. She was gross. Dylan didn’t need yet another creepy woman seducing him, and I didn’t want to spend the next week listening to double entendres. It was best to nip the situation in the bud. If she took offense, well…she was already on thin ice, given the way she’d greeted us. We didn’t need friends like her.

“Well. I’ll leave you to it, then. Kieran…” Her smile was sweet, her voice still held a note of seduction, and that thin ice was starting to crack. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She slipped her arm off the chair and sauntered out of the room, her dress swirling, her probably real diamonds sparkling, and her presence tedious. A door closed with a deep thud and an echo, and we were alone. No souls existed inside or directly outside the lofty dining room. I said as much.

“Daisy, Zorn, Henry, scan for electronic surveillance,” Kieran said.

The three moved off, Daisy doing a bad job of hiding her delight at being included.

“That was…” Donovan burst out in laughter. “There are no words.”

“Lexi, Lexi, Lexi,” Thane said, his eyes sparkling. He shook his head. “Only you.”

“It isn’t uncommon for the resident Demigod to overtly proposition the staff of a lesser Demigod,” Bria said, laughter riding her words. “Or to assign them menial chores. Shining shoes or doing laundry. The resident Demigod is basically making a statement. They hold the power, they hold the status, and the staff of the visiting Demigod are no better than playthings or hired hands. That’s the message, anyway. Usually the visiting Demigod just handles the taunting in silence.”

“Usually the visiting Demigod doesn’t bite back and make the resident Demigod look about two inches tall.” Boman laughed. “What happened on the walk in here? Did you do something, Lexi?”

I paused behind a chair in the middle of the table. “This won’t be poisoned, will it?”