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The people entering the building around us are no less impressive. Outfits ranging from full ball gowns, to hoop skirts, to see-through gauze, spider web-like gowns that show off everything. Body paints seem to be the most popular theme, some guests only wearing see-through robes over their fully painted, nude figures.
The one thing they all have in common is that every single guest is wearing an elaborate mask, some to a theme, others simply an expression of art.
That anonymity is the foundation of the status quo of behavior for the evening. And it definitely helps keep the jitters at bay. I note a few people I almost recognize, and Evan nudges me, pointing to one guest.
“Make sure you don’t get swindled into bed by a lusty politician tonight.” Even I can tell it’s the senator, my dance partner from a few weeks ago. “He really can’t get you out of his head, you know.”
“Oh, really?” I swat Evan’s arm at the jibe.
“Oh, yes. You know, he offered me an absurd amount of money for a date with you.”
My eyes widen. “You’re joking.”
“Not even a little bit, even if it is amusing.”
“And what did you say?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Just like that? Answering for me?” I can’t help pushing back. “Not that I want to go on a date with an old politician, but why? Wouldn’t that benefit you? Us?”
He preens under my ire, smiling smugly. He knows I appreciate his protection and hate that he spoke for me at the same time. “Just the fact that he’s obsessed gives us everything I need.”
“Is that the only thing you need?” I slip out of my coat, handing it off to one of the butlers inside. Evan gasps loudly at my form, my crimson outfit rippling around me.
“Dark goddess…”
I can't help but grin from ear to ear at the nature of my mask, my whole costume. Ora’s nickname for me really hits home, because tonight, I'm the demon, straight from hell.
My dress reflects the horns of my mask. The deep, blackish-red swaths of fabric dangle from my arms like wings, ethereal tentacles dancing around me. The strips leave my stomach and back bare, only crossing over my breasts, pulling them together seductively from my neck around to my lower back. From there it loops through the waist to dangle to the floor in the front and back, leaving my legs free, showing off the Roman strapped heels in shimmering blood red.
I could barely believe who I was looking at in the mirror at home, and it suddenly clicks why Gavin gave in.
I mean, I look irresistible.
He looks no less stunning, losing his coat to reveal his sleek black and gold tunic, tied sinisterly into his golden angel’s mask. “Shall I show you around?”
“Please.”
Tables line the walls around the main floor, spaced around soaring archways leading to nooks and dark corners where shadowed and colorful creatures chat, eat, and drink. They’re already exchanging details, drinking, making deals, the true impetus of the gathering.
Some of the couples in those dark corners are clearly enjoying more than just a beverage.
Around the main arena floor, areas are designated more or less by a theme, fire-red and orange for pain, blues and whites for bliss, and several other modes centering around the seven deadly sins. Stages center each area, drawing the eye, performers embodying the sins, the urges of the guilty pleasure.
Off to the left, a floor to ceiling cage extends up forever, barring in a man and woman, twisting in mid air, suspended as they make love. Lust.
In one arena, a woman pleasures herself openly with toys, never sated. Gluttony.
And in another, two men lift each other in incredible feats of strength, both completely nude. Pride.
The menagerie of bodies and motion dazzles me, overstimulating.
We stroll along toward the back of the atrium, the pillars and arches leading the eye to the centerpiece of the colosseum. Between the two huge, sweeping staircases, a black-curtained stage crowns the view from everywhere in the building. The stage we’ll be on soon.
“What do you think so far?” Evan muses, watching my rapt features.
“This is straight out of a dream.” What strikes me more than anything is that so many people from Sanctum would be here at all, accepting and participating in such an evocative, risqué event. This is the true nature of Sanctum harbor and its citizens. “How did you pull all of this off?”
