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Chapter Thirty-Nine: Blood

The reception was as dull and tepid as the rest of the city had been so far. North looked around the semi-crowded reception room, which was sparse in decorations. That didn’t surprise her after seeing the rest of the monotonous gray world these people lived in, but she couldn’t help interpreting it as a sign of her unwelcome as well.

She was still looking at the other attendees, noting Parsh was far across the room, when Eamon slipped up beside her to put his arm around her waist and offer her a drink. She was surprised to see it was a rich plum color rather than gray, like everything else seemed to be. “What is it?” She couldn’t help the note of suspicion in her tone.

“It appears to be some variation of wine,” said Marek as he joined them, sipping his own glass. “It’s not bad.”

Her other lovers were going through the pretense of mingling, and though she knew she should be doing the same, she hadn’t yet managed to peel her feet from the floor where she had t