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

The light, the one I’d only ever seen when he cast a spell, sparked uncontrolled from his fingertips, and the whites of his eyes glowed the same eerie blue.


“Caspian.” Fergus turned, surprised but ready for the confrontation.


“As of forty seconds ago, I became king.” He stepped into the room, and with a flick of his wrist, Fergus fell to his knees, and let out a pained noise. “And you will address me as such.”


He watched Fergus until the man stop struggling, then looked around the room. When his eyes fell on me, the line of his mouth softened and some of the blue bled away.


“You understand, don’t you, Charlie?” He moved to touch the restraints at my wrists and they crumbled to the floor. “You understand that my responsibility to my House comes first?”


I nodded, because I did. If I could have gone back in time, back to my parents and our house that burst at the seams, my loyalty to them would outweigh everything else.


Chapter 29