“Wine, please,” I say to Hiram, who goes to fetch it. My eyes wander as I wait. They’re drawn to the reading man’s book nearby, which lies open on the bar before him. A pair of names catch my attention:Tempestra-Innara. Serapia-Arne.
A book about the gods? I lean onto the bar to get a better vantage, continuing to scan the lines withoutlookinglike I’m looking…
And barely swallow a squeak of surprise. I expected a historical text. Or a religious text. Or one of those historical texts written by the scholar clerics that’s actually a religious text. Instead, I find an intensely graphic description of two gods engaged in a sordid, sweaty, and very naked interlude.
The man is reading divinity porn.
I can’t look away, drawn into the absolute astonishment of it as Tempestra-Innara prepares to do something with two apples and a length of silk rope—
The man abruptly closes the book and slides it over. “Want to borrow it? I’ve already read it at least a dozen times.”
I straighten, damn near on fire with embarrassment. “Nope.” The word blurts out. “But thanks for the offer. I…”
An eyebrow crooks up. “Was just curious?”
“I’m… uh… surprised. Not exactly the sort of book I’m used to seeing.”
The man nods sagely. He’s neither young nor old, his dark hair peppered gray, and he exudes an air of comfort that tells me this isn’t his first visit to the Petrel. “You’re not from Cyprene.”
“No, I… we just recently arrived.”
“We?”
“My employer and I.”
“Do you enjoy books?” he says. “I have many more in my shop, old and new. Perhaps you’d find something else better suited to your tastes?”
“Who says this one wasn’t?” It’s a joke to cover my mortification, but I hadn’t even considered what I might find on Cyprene’s shelves—here, where no one locks up or destroys texts that don’t suit the Flame Goddess’s agenda. There could be all sorts of books about the gods long wiped from the mainland. Even something about the reliquaries. “But perhaps I can find time for a visit.”
“You’ll find my door open.” He holds out a hand. “Rion.”
I take it and shake. “Lys.”
“Welcome to Cyprene, Lys.” Rion releases me, then opens the book again. “I hope you enjoy your time here.”
He says it as Hiram returns with the wine, which I grab and retreat, feeling Rion’s smile follow me. It’s not unkind or mocking, but I’m still flush when I sit back down at the table and shove the bottle toward Nolan.
Furrows appear in his brow. “What’s the matter with you now?”
“I just discovered somethingveryimportant about Cyprene.”
Nolan turns serious, leaning in. “Will it help us find the reliquary?”
“Not in the least.” A giggle escapes. “You’re not going to believe it, but they have dirty books about the gods here.”
“What?”
“See that man at the bar? He’s reading a book about the gods, y’know,together. About Tempestra-Innara and the Storm Goddess.Fucking.”
Nolan scowls like I have lost my damn mind. Then he sighs. “Dammit, Lys.”
“He even offered to lend it to me!”
“It’s heresy.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s pornography. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of it.” His mouth flops open and then closes again. “Ah, I see you have. And itdoestell us something important. He isn’t hiding it.”
Nolan frowns again and yanks a cup over. “We already knew the city was full of heretics.”
