Zadyn’s eyes shift to me. “Tomorrow. You won’t see anything at night. Besides, all of you need rest.”
“You need rest. You look like shit.” I make a face, which he returns with a tight, sardonic smirk.
“Likewise.”
Folding my arms over my chest, I say, “And what are we supposed to do in the meantime? I didn’t come here to hurry up and wait. I came to get her back.”
Zadyn glances between the three of us. “Actually, there is something we can do.”
I quirk a brow, slightly intrigued.
Tossing a few coins onto the table, he stands and starts down the cobbled road. We trail him through the maze of crowded city streets until we reach a busy bazaar. He stops before one of the vendors—an old fae with a glass eye and hair like silver string—seated behind a table full of polished apples.
Zadyn pulls a few silvers from his pocket and drops them into her waiting hands. Chills skitter down my back as she assesses each of us with that singular gray eye. She rises with eerie grace and turns toward the sandstone building behind her. After two raps on the door, it creaks open.
We follow Zadyn inside past the old crone, but as I step through the threshold, her bony hand reaches out to grasp my arm with a grip surprisingly strong for someone so frail-looking.
That eye sears me as she croaks, “King of fools, king of bastards. Youareno king. Do not test the Fates.”
What in hell?
I blink and wrench my arm away. Too stunned to respond, I simply stare as she retreats to her post to sift through Zadyn’s payment.
“Jace?” Marideth calls a few feet ahead.
I catch up, struggling to shake off the strange encounter as we make our way down a soft, candle-lit hall.
Red brocade curtains line the narrow passage into a parlor of sinful decadence. I take in the velvet-lined booths and daybeds scattered around the room. The low light and the litany of done-up females in heavy makeup and revealing gowns.
I turn to Zadyn, rage bubbling beneath my skin. “You brought us to awhorehouse?”
I’m going to kill him. The fuckingnerveof him to be seeking pleasure at a time like this. When there is everything to lose.
The moment I snatch up his collar, a sweet voice interrupts.
“Zadyn?”
We both turn to see a slight, brown-haired fae with dark bronzed skin and sea-blue eyes watching us.
“Ilayna,” Zadyn breathes. I release him and take a step back.
“I didn’t expect you back so soon,” she says. She reminds me of Sorscha, with the doe eyes and long lashes. The kind of person you feel instantly protective of.
“Things are urgent.”
“You brought friends.” She nods, glancing at the rest of us as a few females make their way past, eyeing us up with contrived thirst. “Maybe we should speak privately.”
We follow the young courtesan through the ornate, if not tacky halls, the whole place reeking of perfume and expensive sex. She closes us inside an empty bedroom and gestures to the small sitting area across from the silk-dressed bed.
“Who are you?” I demand, refusing to sit.
“Please excuse my friend,” Zadyn apologizes on my behalf. “Ilayna, this is Marideth, Dover, and Jace. Everyone, this is Ilayna. She’s been helping me since I arrived.”
Hmm. I’ll bet she has. “Helping you what?” I mutter.
Mar slaps my arm. “Be nice.”
Zadyn fixes me with a warning look and turns back to the stranger.
