At the end of the main hall was the dining hall, a cavernous room with walnut-paneled walls, an arched ceiling, and Gothic stained-glass windows. It was usually filled with rows of tables, but tonight, it had been transformed into a winter palace, with fake snow along the edges of the floor, on the refreshment tables, and across the stage that had been erected at the front of the room. Thousands of snowflakes in all shapes and sizes, made from some kind of glittery white paper, hung from the ceiling and swayed gently above the heads of the kids on the dance floor. From a side wall, a hipster DJ was doing a show that would rival any in the high-dollar clubs the Mephisto frequented. At the moment, he was playing Jay-Z.
He heard Jordan say, “Where did all this come from?”
Behind them, Megan Thompson said, “Eryx contributed a whole lot of money.”
Jordan immediately frowned, her obvious pleasure in the decorations and the DJ tainted because they had come from Eryx. Key wished he’d thought of it. He’d have given a boatload of money to spiff things up, but he didn’t know jack about how high school dances were done.
“Come on,” he said to Jordan, taking her hand and leading her into the room. “Do you want cupcakes or dancing first?”
“Cupcakes.”
He smiled. “Of course you do.”
And of course the cupcakes were elaborate confections, each with its own unique sugar snowflake, arranged in an enormous tower that looked like a snow-covered peak in Colorado.
Jordan looked more annoyed. “The cupcakes were supposed to come from the Women’s Center, a fund-raiser for them, and something the women could do to help boost their confidence.”
Megan was still behind them. “Eryx had this made by the cake guy in Baltimore. I heard it cost three thousand dollars.”
Key removed a cupcake from the display and held it out to Jordan. She shook her head.
“It’s not the cupcake’s fault Eryx paid for it.”
She relented and bit into it, then moved closer and said around the bite, “Best freakin’ cupcake I’ve ever had in my life.” She swallowed. “Dammit.”
Key joined her, then carried one over to Hank. He shook his head. “We never eat food served at private functions.”
“Why? Because it might be drugged?”
“Something like that.” He was looking around constantly, methodically sweeping his gaze around the room, always ending up at Jordan, who’d polished off her first cupcake and was well into her second. “That kid eats an amazing amount of food for such a small body. Wonder where she puts it?” Hank said.
“She must have an extra fast metabolism.”
“Yeah.” He glanced at Key. “You gonna eat that cupcake or stand here and taunt me with it all night?”
“Oh. Sorry.” He ate it in three bites, then went to get Jordan. She handed her tiny little silver purse to Hank, who hung it over his arm while he continued his vigil, and they went out to the dance floor. But not too far away from Hank. Gunther was on the other side of the room, also scoping out possible threats.
Key was careful to steer clear of Eryx and Tessa, not wanting to spoil Jordan’s fun. Except she didn’t look like she was enjoying herself. When a slow song began, he pulled her close, and as they moved around in the sparkles from the mirror ball above, he asked, “What’s wrong? And don’t tell me nothing. You’re sad, or worried, or something. Is it Matthew? Did it go that badly?”
She looked up at him. “It didn’t go badly at all. We’re still friends, and he’s accepted that it won’t ever be what it was before.”
“You don’t seem very happy about it. Are you having regrets?”
Her surprise was genuine. “None at all, Key. I’m happy to be with you.”
“You say you’re happy that it’s all good with Matthew, and you’re happy he can walk again, and you’re happy to be with me, but your eyes are making you a liar. What’s going on, Jordan?”
“Nothing, Key. Maybe it’s just sinking in that I’ll be leaving soon.” She was staring at his bow tie. “I’m kind of hot. Let’s get something to drink.”
He led her off the dance floor to the table with lemonade punch. After she’d drained three glasses, he took her hand, pulled her into the darkened kitchen, and hauled her into his arms. Well aware that Hank was on the other side of the door, and that the receiving door to the outside was locked and bolted, he had no worries about someone walking in on them.
He settled his lips over hers and tasted sugar. He dipped his tongue and touched hers and tasted more sugar. When she turned her head slightly, he kissed her more deeply, holding her small body against his, inhaling her scent of bluebells and reveling in indescribable peace.
It occurred to him that the music had stopped, but he didn’t think much about it until he heard Mr. Barnes, the headmaster, say Jordan’s name. He lifted his head just as Hank opened the door.
“You were just crowned Winter Queen. Better stop sucking face and get out here to rule your kingdom.”
Blinking up at Key from sleepy, sexy eyes, she said, “This must be my consolation prize for getting booted out of office.”
“It’s because they love you, Jordan.”
“Well, it is nice, and it does make me feel better, but if Eryx is Winter King, I’m throwing the damn crown at him and leaving.”
“Deal.” He let go of her, then offered his arm. Hank opened the door wide, and they walked back into the dining hall, turning right to head through the crowd to the stage. People were applauding as she climbed the five steps, and she smiled and waved when she was next to Mr. Barnes.
He spoke into the cordless mic in his hand, “Now, we crown the Winter King, whose word is law, just for tonight.”
Key stood in front of the stage, Hank right beside him, and Gunther on the other side. He saw Eryx standing maybe a yard behind Gunther, his entire focus on Jordan. Lately, it seemed as if every time Key turned around, there was Eryx, staring at her like she might disappear if he looked away. His brother was completely obsessed, which was scary as hell.
Standing next to Eryx, Tessa moved her gaze between him and Jordan, her big green eyes filled with hurt and anger. Was she just realizing that her new boyfriend couldn’t care less about her? Key might have felt bad for her, except this meant she’d be far more likely to ditch Eryx and keep her soul. While he watched, she turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Eryx never noticed.
He suddenly turned his gaze to Key’s, and that moment passed between them, just as it always did—a microsecond of remembrance of how it was before Eryx became a monster. And just like always, it was gone so quickly, Key wasn’t quite sure it had been real. Then Eryx’s dead eyes refocused on the stage, on Jordan.
Mr. Barnes was clearly excited about announcing whom the students had elected as Winter King. “Are you ready?”
The entire crowd shouted, “Yes!”
“All right, then, I give you this year’s Winter King—Matthew Whittaker!”
The doors at the back of the hall opened, and a collective gasp circled the room when Matthew walked in. As he made his way toward the stage, everyone was clapping, yelling his name, or whistling. The swell of affection for him was palpable. Key glanced at Eryx and knew from his look of smug satisfaction that he was behind this. But why?
He looked up at Jordan and knew in an instant that she was upset. Her smile was more fake than the plastic snow scattered around the room. He decided she must be bothered that she was to be in the spotlight with Matthew, like it was business as usual.
As Matthew climbed the steps, the crowd went even more nuts and began to chant, “Kiss! Kiss!” Key could see now how it had been before the kidnapping, before Matthew was shot. He and Jordan were much beloved by the other students. As a couple, they must have been sweet, and everyone loved a sweet romance.
He didn’t, but he was a son of Hell. Watching Jordan stand there in that incredible dress, he didn’t think she did, either. Not anymore. He thought of her stabbing Jax a hundred times. He remembered the mornin
g she went off the page, screaming about Eryx and how much she hated him, swearing in graphic detail which of his body parts she wanted to cut off and feed to alligators. He recalled the flight from London, and how every night of the past week had been a repeat, and they had taken things a little further each time. His pint-sized Anabo was almost as aggressive as he was. Nobody would call what was between them sweet.
She shot him a resigned look, then turned to Matthew, who awkwardly gave her a quick peck.
Mr. Barnes handed him the mic, and as the room quieted, Matthew sobered and looked out across the sea of faces. “These days, especially for those of us who live in D.C. and have family members in the government, it’s easy to become jaded, and maybe lose faith and hope, but I’m living proof that miracles exist.”
Key saw Jordan shoot a quick glance at Eryx, who had a knowing look on his face. He knew then how Matthew was able to walk into this dance and stand up there and give an inspirational speech. There was no miracle. Eryx had healed him.
His nerves went from mildly agitated to full attention. What was going on? Why would his brother heal Matthew, then make sure he was here tonight? Had he decided to go the opposite direction and ingratiate himself to Jordan, instead of threatening her? He remembered her comment about there being no new lost souls since last week, other than Courtney, and that none of them were trying to jack with her. Even Carla had backed off. It dawned on him, suddenly, that none of the lost souls were here tonight. Had Eryx told them to stay home?
He looked again toward Jordan, who was standing stiffly, staring off into the distance. Like she was trying hard not to listen to Matthew’s words. Of course she wouldn’t want to hear him waxing on about miracles if she knew Eryx was behind his recovery. As soon as possible, he would ask her what exactly had gone down in Matthew’s hospital room.
“I don’t know how it happened,” Matthew continued, “or why, but it changed everything for me, and not just because I’m able to walk again. I had planned to go to Yale with Jordan next fall, then I thought I wouldn’t be going anywhere, at least for a while.” He ducked his head for a moment, then looked up and smiled. “But that’s all changed now. This afternoon I accepted an offer from Princeton, because I intend to become a minister. It’s radical, I guess, since I’d originally planned to be an attorney and work here in Washington, but I figured out that this is what I’m meant to do. So I’d just like to say, I hope you all can find what you’re meant to do without having to be shot, paralyzed, and miraculously healed.” He waited for the laughter to die down, then said, “Thanks to everyone who sent cards and left messages, and thank you for electing me Winter King. Now, go forth and have fun, or heads will roll.”
The applause and shouts and whistles were deafening, and they didn’t stop until Matthew had escorted Jordan to the dance floor and music began for their inaugural dance.
At the edge of the crowd, Key watched, and he was thinking hard about what Eryx was up to when his brother came to stand next to him.
“Why’d you do it, Eryx?”
“For her,” he replied. “She shouldn’t spend any more time feeling guilty.”
“Surely you don’t believe this will change her mind. Do you seriously think she’ll stay with you of her own free will and give you what you want?”
“No, I don’t. I concede defeat, brother, and leave her to you.” He peered at Key curiously. “Why you? Did you have to fight the others for her?”
“She smells like bluebells.”
“What?”
“Never mind. She’s with me, and that’s never going to change.”
“Yes, I see that now. So I’ll go back to Romania, and be alone. Like always.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t play the lonely-hearts card. I counted five girls at Erinýes, and I doubt you granted them immortality and had them move in so they could scrub the floors. You’re like the Hugh Hefner of the dark side.” He shook his head. “You’re a lotta things, Eryx, but alone isn’t one of them.”
“There’s a difference between alone and lonely.”
“If you somehow coerced Jordan into coming to Erinýes, you’d still be lonely. She hates you, and that’ll never change. She’s not going to fix you. Nobody can fix you.”
Eryx met his gaze. “But you wish someone could, don’t you?”
Key’s bow tie was suddenly way too tight. “Yes.”
“Maybe you think I don’t remember how it was, Kyros, but I do. And as hard as you try to hide it, I know you don’t hate me. You’re the only soul in existence who doesn’t.”
Was he really having this conversation? “It changes nothing, Eryx. You’ll always be the enemy, and my only purpose is to defeat you, so how I feel about the past, or you, makes no difference.”
Eryx looked toward Jordan and Matthew. “Who says what your purpose is? By what right does anyone tell you what to do with your life?”
Key remembered the day he jumped, hanging in the balance between death and resurrection, hearing that deep, frightening voice in the dark. “There may come a time when your brother will tempt you to join him, to take up his fight. Don’t let your love for him blind you to what he is, or lead you into believing he can change. If you do, you’re lost.”
He watched Jordan, who kept looking toward them as she and Matthew moved around the dance floor, and said to his brother, “Lucifer told me the day I jumped that it’s my obligation to lead the others and kick your ass.”
“Who are you obligated to, Key? What’s Lucifer ever done for you, or for our brothers?”
Turning his head, Key looked into Eryx’s dead eyes and said simply, “He didn’t take out Mephistopheles for falling in love with our mother.”
“So you’ll spend all of eternity fighting me, just to save our father from execution?”
He nodded toward Jordan. “I’m beginning to understand why he did what he did, so yeah, now more than ever, I’ll do what Lucifer asks.”
“Think about it, Key. It’d be like when we were boys, you and me. We could—”
“Get away from him!” Jordan had booked it across the dance floor, rushed Eryx, and shoved him hard, sending him staggering backward into the crowd of kids who’d been watching the dance. She was righteous, following Eryx and shoving him again. “Take your bullshit lies and get out!” She had the element of surprise on her side, because Eryx was clearly stunned, so when she doubled up her fist and clocked him with all the power of the Mephisto in her, he went down hard.
Hank and Gunther were there instantly, but in the nanosecond it took them to process the reality that their charge wasn’t the one in danger, Key had his arms around Jordan, restraining her from jumping on Eryx and continuing to punch his face. She struggled to get loose while she shouted at Eryx. “No more threats, no more tricks, and I’m all done with games. This is war! It is on, you sick fu—”
Key put his hand over her mouth, and she bit him, but he kept his hand there and said in a low voice against her ear, “You’re awesome, and we’re leaving.” Swinging her up into his arms, he turned and walked toward the doors of the dining hall, past the wide-eyed stares of her classmates, past Mr. Barnes, who stepped up like he intended to stop Key, then stepped back again when Hank moved in front of him.
Jordan clung to his neck and burst into tears about the time they passed Matthew. Key noticed the kid had tears in his eyes, staring at Jordan with grief and shock on his face. Tessa stood just next to him with the same expression.
As he walked down the main hall toward the front doors, he heard Jordan whispering through her sobs, “Don’t go, don’t … change. Don’t leave me. Oh, God, please don’t … leave me, Key. I love you so much. I’d die if you were … if I had to … if you became what he is. Please, please don’t … leave.”
“Shhh, it’s okay now, Jordan. Everything’s going to be good, and I’m not leaving. I’d never leave you. Did you think I’d go with Eryx?”
“Not … no, but you looked so sad, because you … love him … and I coul
d tell he was trying to talk you into—”
“I’d never do it, Jordan. If there was anything at all I could do to help him become what he once was, I’d do it. But there’s not.” They’d reached the doors, and while Hank moved to open them, Key looked down at Jordan’s face, wet with tears. “I’ll never forget that you punched him out, thinking you were protecting me. My whole life, I don’t remember anyone ever doing something like that for me.”
“Your whole life, nobody ever loved you like I do.”
He wanted to kiss her, so much, but Hank was waiting at the open door, and Gunther was right behind them, so he carried her outside to the Suburban and said, as he set her into the backseat, “Will you come to my room tonight?”
She accepted the handkerchief he handed her and nodded.
“Key?”
He hesitated before closing her door. “Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I lost it,” she whispered. “I’m not exactly sure what I said back there.”
“We’re okay,” he said softly. “If you’d gone too crazy, I’d have thrown a freeze, but we’re okay. They probably think this is you acting out because of the kidnapping, and no one will hold that against you.” He closed the door, went around to the other side, and when he was in his seat, Gunther drove away from the school.
An hour later, Jordan was dressed in her favorite sweatpants and a Library of Congress T-shirt, waiting for her dad to come in to talk to her about what had happened. He’d returned home early from a fund-raiser dinner for Senator Markham, just in time to get a phone call from Mr. Barnes. After he hung up, he told her to wait in her room and he’d be along as soon as he changed out of his tux.
She sat in the middle of her bed, looking at the bunny, and called Key. When he answered, she said, “It’s going to be a while. Mr. Barnes called Dad, and now he wants to talk.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Still a little shaky.”
“Whatever gave you the idea that I’d sell out and join Eryx?”
“He told me if I’d give him what he wants, he’d leave you alone, and when I saw him talking to you, and saw the look on your face, I knew he was trying to talk you into it.”