This place had never really felt like home; I was woman enough to admit it.
It wasn't me. But it wasn't supposed to represent me; it was supposed to represent House Gypsy. And it did a good job of that.
I strolled into the ballroom with Greyson at my back, and I surveyed the area. People were mingling in smaller groups; the voices melded together until I couldn't hear any one particular conversation. But I didn't need to hear them to know what was going on.
Stephanie had assured me that anyone who was someone was here, waiting to talk to me, and that I needed to make all of the connections that I could to ensure the survival of my House.
But that was what people, what monsters, forgot. I don't need humans to ensure the survival of my House. They were there to claim that they knew me and not the other way around. I didn't give a shit who they were.
"Just breathe; it will be okay," murmured Greyson behind me as he rubbed the small of my back.
"Do you know why I got into policing?" I asked suddenly, still staring at the crowd in front of me, not a single one of them paying attention to me.
"No," mused Greyson, and I could hear the interest in my answer.
"I wanted to keep people safe without having to play politics. One thing that no one mentions is just how much politics plays a part in everything. If you want money, you have to play politics. If you want power and influence, you need to play politics. But politics shouldn't play a part in what it takes to keep people safe from those who would hurt them."
I concentrated on the hand resting on the small of my back. "It was the whole reason why I didn't care about becoming the Head of House… it would be nothing more than living in a cesspool. Even now, I can feel the taint practically crawling up my walls until my entire house is tainted. They are tainted."
I hadn't realized just how many people in the world were rotting from the inside out, but it was all I could see… it was all I could feel.
It was like a film clinging to your skin, and nothing you did could wash it off.
I wanted to escape this room and this house. I wanted to run outside into the freezing cold until the rot had faded.
And then I wanted to set my house on fire.
"I am here," Greyson whispered into my ear. "Use me however you need to, but I will stand between you and the taint."
I looked up at him and smiled sadly. No one could protect another from the rot that invaded a person's soul when they made wrong decisions.
But something told me that Greyson and the rest of the guys would give it their best shot.
"Let's get this over and done with then," I grumbled, taking the first step into the lavishly decorated ballroom.
A waiter approached, and I grabbed a glass of Champagne off his tray. I normally would never touch the stuff, but I needed it to act as a prop. And maybe keep me from punching someone in the face.
"Ah! You must be the new Head of House Gypsy," smiled a short, older man as he approached me. I quickly looked at him, calling on my newfound powers. Human and the pink of his thread was completely encased in rot.
Perfect.
My stomach started to turn as if I could smell the rot on him. "Something like that," I replied with a smile of my own."
The man looked at me and raised an eyebrow like I was nothing more than a child who should fall to his feet over the fact that he was speaking to me.
Good luck with that one.
"It is so terrible about what happened to Jenny. She and I had a great partnership going on. I assume that you will be filling her shoes and continuing to do what is best for your help."
I could feel Greyson stiffening behind me; his hand pressed even deeper into my lower back as if it would be enough to keep me on the leash that Stephanie tried to have me on.
Too bad for both of them.
"I am the one who killed Jenny," I started, the smile on my face never leaving once. "She broke more than a few of the canons that kept House Gypsy going strong for hundreds of years, including the one of not including outsiders in House matters. I can assure you that I will not be following in her footsteps in any way, shape, or form. In fact, I am thinking about taking a blowtorch to those footsteps to make sure they are gone forever."
The man chuckled. "I don't think we have been introduced. I am the Governor of New York; I will also be running for Senate during the next election. My name is Aaron Murphy." He held out his hand, but I could see the taint stretching toward me, and I wrinkled my nose in disgust.
"That's nice," I said instead. See, I could play nice when needed. I even knew how to bite my tongue when needed.
"If you want your little 'House' to continue, it would be in your best interests to toe the line," continued the man; his smile would have sent a shiver up the back of a lesser human.
Too bad for him that I was neither lesser nor human.
"If you want this State to remain standing until the next election, I highly suggest that you know when to toe your own line," I suggested. "You have no idea the world that you have stepped into. And if you think that human laws apply here, then you are in for a rude awakening."
"Is that a threat?" smiled the man as he lifted his hand. Within seconds, he was surrounded by men clearly on his security team. "I don't suggest threatening a Governor."
At his words, the men around him shifted, placing their hands on their weapons like they were going to open fire in public.
"Hey David," smiled Sasha as he strolled up to me and put his hand out to shake… one of the security guards? "Sweetness, this is David. He is in charge of Security Team Charlie."