Welcome to Grey House

Lord Raphael Étienne Ulfr Grey was there when Chicago was still becoming Chicago.

As the city grew, Grey grew with it, building wealth and relationships among its old names and old families. Over time, he became so thoroughly embedded in Chicago society that his position offered something almost as valuable as secrecy: legitimacy.

People know the Grey name. They know the money, the connections and the place he occupies in the city. That familiarity has served him well. Questions that might seem perfectly reasonable when asked about someone else become considerably less comfortable when the person being questioned is Lord Grey.

Which is exactly how he prefers it.

Because Grey isn't human.

He is Kalos, one of a predatory species that lives alongside humanity while maintaining a civilization of its own. They have their own traditions, laws, hierarchies and Houses, and Grey House is among the most influential in North America.

The Kalos have never believed that remaining hidden requires living quietly. They love luxury and beautiful things, and presentation is an expression of identity. Grey House is filled with flowers, fine fabrics and jewelry chosen to be remembered. Individual Kalos have signature pieces that become part of how they are known, and clothing is taken seriously enough that Grey keeps a tailor on site.

They believe in being distinctive. They make statements. They expect to be noticed.

What they conceal is not their presence, but what they are.

The Kalos feed on humans.

Grey House has made an art of satisfying that need without exposing the world behind its doors. Feeding has its protocols, the House has its rules, and Grey expects both to be followed. Humans occupy an essential place within that structure, although their understanding of it may be very different from the Kalos perspective.

For Grey, feeding itself holds few surprises. Human responses have been observed often enough to be understood, and predictability is useful when the survival of an entire species depends upon humans remaining unaware of the predator living among them.

In Grey House: The Feeding, that predictability begins to break down.

Human responses that should be familiar aren't. What first appears to be an anomaly becomes harder to dismiss, raising questions about feeding and Kalos biology that Grey House has never had reason to ask.

Grey wants answers, but anything unusual inside his House carries risk beyond its walls. Other Kalos have interests of their own, Grey has enemies, and some humans know exactly what the Kalos are. They have their own reasons for watching Grey House and their own ideas about how much power the Kalos should be permitted to have.

Meanwhile, Chicago carries on around them.

People go to work, meet friends for dinner, complain about traffic and pass strangers on the street without considering whether everyone they encounter belongs to the same species. Some may even know Lord Grey by reputation and never think to ask what, exactly, has allowed the same family name to remain so firmly rooted in the city.

Grey has no reason to correct them.

After all, secrecy has never required the Kalos to disappear. It requires humanity to look directly at them and see nothing it doesn't expect to see.

And Grey House has become very good at giving people exactly that.

Welcome to Grey House.

Grey House: The Feeding, Book One of The Kalos Chronicles, is coming January 6, 2027.