Later that night, after Elle had finished cleaning the kitchen, she hovered outside the lounge where Salvia was reclining with her laptop. Probably searching for more dress ideas for Meredith, or reading the latest gossip about Prince Chevalier. Bothering her stepmother after dinner was a risky move, but Elle had to do this before she chickened out.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the lounge door. Salvia’s head appeared around the side of her favorite white linen wingback chair. “What?” she snapped.

Elle placed her shaking hands behind her back and walked into the room. She stopped in front of Salvia’s chair, her eyes landing on the little side table. On it sat a plate with a pearl crunch cookie and the shimmering crumbs that remained from the one Salvia must have already eaten. Elle had baked a batch this afternoon before starting dinner. White chocolate chips and chopped nuts gave the cookies their crunch, while the unicorn tears gave them their pearlescent sheen. They were delicious, and if Elle ever wanted one, she had to sneak it off the baking tray soon after the batch came out the oven. Once the cookies were packed away in a jar, Salvia kept count of how many were left.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you,” Elle said, looking up from the plate, “but there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“You’re supposed to be in your room now,” Salvia said. “It’s almost half past nine. You know the kind of pain you’ll have to suffer if you’re not inside that room at the right time.”

“I know,” Elle said, her mind going to the slave charm tattoo on her right ankle. Salvia had adjusted the confinement charm on Elle’s attic so it would seal her inside at nine thirty instead of midnight. That was long enough, she’d told Elle, for her to finish cleaning the kitchen and dining room after dinner. If she was a moment too late, however … Well, she’d felt the searing agony once before when she accidentally fell asleep in Sienna’s bedroom and didn’t make it into the attic in time. She had no desire to experience that pain again. “But this is important,” she said. “And it won’t take long. I’ll be back in the attic before it’s too late.”

“Important?” Salvia asked. “Really?” She placed her laptop on a side table, tucked a strand of glossy red hair behind one ear, and interlaced her hands in her lap. “It had better be very important indeed. If you end up boring me with something insignificant, Sienna might have to suffer the consequences.”

Elle’s jaw tensed. Sometimes she hated her stepmother so much she could taste it. But losing her temper now would only cause pain for Sienna. “There’s something you and I both want,” she said carefully.

Salvia raised an eyebrow. “Is there now?”

“We don’t want any vampires to show up at this house ever again.”

“I told you—”

“It’s my fault, I know, so I need to make sure it doesn’t happen again. If you let me out at night, I can deal with the problem. It shouldn’t take more than about a week, and then we never—”

“No,” Salvia said immediately.

“Just listen—”

“Absolutely not. You want me to let you out at night to go and meet vampires who’ll probably end up killing you? Who will help me cover up the evidence of our cons if you’re dead?”

Elle exhaled slowly. She’d prepared for this argument. “You don’t actually need me for your cons. I know I make it easier, but you and Meredith are good enough to con people without me taking their memories.” It was dangerous to play the flattery card, but she spoke her words with an edge of bitterness, as if she were grudgingly admitting the truth rather than buttering up her stepmother.

“Well, I suppose that’s true, but that doesn’t mean I have to let you go anywhere. The police will catch the vampire who was here last night. They can make the problem go away.”

“Can they really?” Elle asked. “There are many problems in this city that the police haven’t managed to get rid of. And in a few days, they won’t be patrolling our street anymore. They’ll have new problems to deal with. What if vampires come back then and force their way into this house?”

“Not possible without an invitation.”

“But you can’t hide inside forever. What if they catch you or Meredith while you’re leaving or returning home at night? What if they threaten to kill you if you don’t invite them in? And what if you do let them in and they kill you anyway once they’ve got me? I know I’m not worth that much to you. I know you wouldn’t risk Meredith’s life just to keep me.”

Salvia’s eyebrows lowered. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Estelle.”

“I promise I’m not. I don’t know what these vampires hope to get from me, but I want to be rid of them as much as you do. All I’m asking for is a chance to go out—somewhere far from this house—and deal with them.”

“Deal with them,” Salvia repeated with a snort. “You’re hilarious. How could you possibly deal with them?”

“Maybe … maybe I can take their memories. It doesn’t matter how I deal with them, as long as they don’t return. And if something happens to me, well …” She lifted her shoulders. “You’ll have lost me, but at least you’ll be free of the threat of vampires. You and Meredith and Sienna will be safe.”

Salvia cocked her head to the side. “Tell me what you’ve really been up to all the times you’ve snuck out of this house, and perhaps I’ll consider granting your request.”

Elle took a deep breath and decided to go with a version of the truth. “I met someone.”

“A human?”

“A faerie.”

Salvia laughed. “What terrible taste he has.”

Elle lifted her chin. “He doesn’t care that I’m human.”

“Is that so?” Salvia arched an eyebrow. “And does he care that you’re a slave?”

At that, Elle remained quiet. She could have lied, but Salvia probably would have seen right through her.

Salvia shook her head slowly and made a tsk, tsk sound. “Keeping secrets from him already. What an unhealthy start to your first relationship.” Again, Elle remained silent. “Fine,” Salvia said. “I’ll let you go out and ‘deal’ with this. You have one week in which to make it happen, and you still have a curfew. I’ll adjust the confinement charm so it’s back to midnight, as before. You don’t need to be out any later than that. Don’t argue with me,” she added, raising her index finger as Elle opened her mouth. “This is the most freedom I’ve ever given you. You’d damn well better use it to get rid of that vampire—or vampires, plural—instead of hanging out with your faerie boyfriend.” She spat out the last word as if it tasted bad.

“Don’t worry,” Elle said quietly. “I won’t be seeing him again once this is done.”

“You most certainly will not. You won’t leave the house at night ever again once this is done.”

Elle nodded and, without another word, stepped away. But Salvia stuck her arm out to stop her. “Remember the consequences if this doesn’t work.”

“I’m fully aware of the consequences,” Elle said bitterly. “You’ll hurt your own daughter if I fail.”

Salvia pulled her hand back and laid it in her lap. “You see my actions only as a punishment. Don’t you realize I’m doing her a favor as well?”

“A favor?”

“The world is a cruel place. If I don’t teach her that at home, she might not learn this important lesson until it’s too late.”

“Do you really have to beat her in order to get the message across?” Elle demanded. A second later, she wished she’d held her tongue. That was exactly the sort of comment that would end with Sienna getting hurt. But instead of retaliating, Salvia simply let out a weary sigh.

“You don’t have to be so dramatic about everything. Sienna will be fine. My father beat me when I was young, and it only made me stronger. I’m doing the same for her. Now go. You’re wearing down my patience.”

Elle almost asked why Salvia wasn’t teaching Meredith the same lesson, but she’d pushed her luck far enough tonight. Best to keep her mouth shut and return to her attic before she found herself locked out by the confinement charm.