The iron doors groaned open.
Warm light spilled out.
Music followed.
Low strings. Soft percussion. Something slow and indulgent that crept under the skin instead of lifting the spirit.
They walked through a dark corridor, before they reached a door.
Aiden stepped through first.
The room beyond was enormous—an open circular hall with layered balconies rising upward like a coliseum. Velvet drapes hung between marble pillars, dyed in deep reds, purples, and blacks. Lanterns of tinted glass cast the space in amber and wine-colored glow.
Everyone wore masks.
Every face hidden. Every intention bare.
Men in tailored suits leaned casually against railings, drinks in hand, laughing too loudly. Women in revealing gowns reclined on cushioned seats like queens who'd never known consequence. Jewelry glittered everywhere—gold, gems, collars.
Yes.
Collars.
Aiden's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
Along the edges of the hall stood demons.
Not guards.
Pets.
