Witch’s corpse. Witch’s ticket. Witch’s party. As a counter-boy at a high-end men’s boutique, Charlie Jessup’s life consists of little more than work and sleep. That, and enough flirting to help guarantee his commission on sales will pay his rent. So when a twist of fate, and some behavior unbecoming that of a Ganymede employee, leaves him in possession of a dead man’s pass to a mysterious Club 669, Charlie has no desire to waste it. Every seventeen years, the House of Witches throws a party like no other. It’s invitation-only, and for centuries it has helped ensure peace between the covens. It’s the last place Caspian wants to be, but with the death of Queen Avel, and his own imminent rise to the throne, it’s more important than ever that he attends. The stability of the House depends on it. In four days a new king will be crowned, but when Charlie unintentionally crashes a gathering of the most secretive of all the Great Houses, he sets in motion a series of events that could disrupt the transition of power, and threaten the future of the House of Witches forever.

Club 669

Stepping back into my room, I found the bed had been lifted and tucked away and the apartment silent.


I opened my closet door, quickly slipping into a white shirt and a black vest and was just buckling myself into a long, black skirt—a style that had been sitting almost untouched on the shop floor for nearly three weeks and the regional manager had asked us to push—when I walked out of the room and found Caspian staring out the window, his back to me.


When he caught sight of me in the glass’s reflection, he quickly turned around. “Good morning.”


“I think so.” I smiled and saw what might have been a flicker of one in return, but it was gone too quickly for me to be certain.


“I’ll arrange for the protection spells,” he said and I nodded. “This evening, if that is agreeable?”


“Great. Did you want to grab a shower? There’s even an extra toothbrush in the cabinet.”


“You have work. I should probably go.”


Chapter 19