he who hesitates is toast

There's a degree of pleasure she's learned to take in this part of the cover; she's good at it and there's some satisfaction in knowing so. She makes sure to speak to each of her guests, to answer questions, to encourage everyone to have more champagne, to stoke interest in the upcoming auction for the egg. She keeps half an eye on Fenec, Mateo's newest ally, but sees nothing out of the ordinary.

Anders, on the other hand, looks nervous – but then, he should. She'd hate to be in his shoes. As usual, he's drinking soda water and lime rather than champagne – she's never seen him touch a drop of alcohol.

Everyone else relaxes markedly as the evening wears on. Whatever their ambitions, most of them have more in common than not, and generally speaking their quarrels are professional, not personal.

It's a strange pit of vipers in which she's found herself, but she's made it work.

So far. Until now. Until she had to watch what this new world of hers is doing to Bucky.