Page 9 of Knight’s Dominion

“You're going to tell them I talked to you?” Grace said.

Eve looked up to the ceiling and let out a breath. "I think you're amazing. What you're doing is so brave, the guys think so, too…but we don’t keep secrets from each other.”

In other words, be ready for the fallout.

The knights thought she was brave? The female was obviously trying to be nice, because she knew of one knight who certainly didn't think she was brave. Immature? Yes. Reckless and stupid. Absolutely.

"If it wouldn't send Zenon over the deep end, I'd join you in a heartbeat," Mia said.

Grace was already toast, so she may as well dig her own grave. "Your mates don’t need to know. We look out for each other, we have each other’s backs. You could use a block so they don’t know it’s you. Plus, we conceal our identities.” Well, she had until the other night. Why the hell had she taken off her mask and shown Chaos her face?

“You don’t know how badly I want to say yes,” Eve said.

Meredith tucked her dark blond hair behind her ear, her hazel eyes earnest. “Every time Kryos comes home bloody and exhausted, I feel so helpless.”

“But our hands are tied, right now,” Eve said. “And I won’t lie to Lazarus.”

Grace held her gaze. "I can respect that.”

“But we think you’re amazing. Don’t stop fighting,” Mia said.

"I’ll never stop. And you know where to find me if you ever change your minds.”

Grace watched the females leave.

Chaos would come for her after this.

By the time Grace got to Revelry, the place was filling up and the regulars had taken their usual spots for the night. She headed out back to the dressing rooms. A few other girls were there putting on makeup and getting their costumes on.

Vince had decided on a burlesque club because he said it made the place sound classier. Only the rich and influential residents of Roxburgh need apply for membership—if you told people something was exclusive enough times, they believed you and wanted in.

But really the only difference between Revelry and one of the strip clubs on Emery Square was the fancier costumes. Vince made sure to deliver burlesque style down to their very shoes. Yeah, there was the occasional comedic act, and they did some group dances that involved them all performing a striptease, à la 1950s, with a lot of fake fur and faux diamonds.

But at the end of the day, they took their clothes off for an audience.

Grace would be just as happy dancing for Joe Schmo on Emery instead of Roxburgh’s elite.

Emery Square was made up of four streets. It surrounded a park that the city had created in an attempt to drive out the local strip clubs, massage parlors, and adult shops in an effort to “claim back” the area. The venture that failed miserably because the good people of Roxburgh didn’t want anything to do with that part of the city. Instead it had become a hive of nighttime activity. Mainly fucking and fighting, but also a favorite hangout for sex demons, and an excellent hunting ground for Grace and her crew.

"Has anyone seen or heard from Tina?" Grace asked.

"Nope." Laney finished applying glossy, pink lipstick. The color matched the bows at the top of her white stockings. "But Vince was bitching about being a girl down."

Laney was their resident Bo-Peep. Not very original, but the guys loved it. Then again, Laney could wear a sack and the men would throw money at her.

Like most of the dancers, Tina was a demi. She was also a bit of a loner, which seemed to be a common trait among their crew of fighters. Few had blood family or friends outside their own little dysfunctional family they’d created at Revelry. They may not live in each other’s pockets, but they loved—and would die for—each other and their cause.

There could very well be a good reason why Tina had up and taken off. It wouldn't be the first time one of the girls had run away from this life, and she doubted it would be the last. But Tina was solid. The war was as important to her as it was to Grace.

The room cleared out, and she pulled her phone from her purse and texted Mark again. Tina?

His replay came a few seconds later. No word.

Dammit. She needed to go to Tina’s apartment and make sure she wasn’t there sick or hurt.

The door opened, and Vince strode in looking kind of wide-eyed and twitchy. “Hey, Gracie?”

“What do you need, Vince?" She gave him shit, and not strangling him on a regular basis was a test of her control, but the older demi had become a kind of father figure, not only to her, but to a lot of the demi working for him.