Gods, it felt good not to care.Was this what it felt like to be Beatriz?She’d really been missing out.
The girl rolled her eyes. “You were supposed to be at the Salty Rim. I’ve been trying to find your drunk ass for an hour.”
She held out a letter pinched between two fingers, clearly not wanting to get any closer to Elysia than necessary. Elysia couldn’t even pretend to be offended. She was drunk, covered in blood, and screaming like a raving lunatic at a bunch of rocks.
She grabbed the letter. “Thanks so much.” She smiled with false sweetness.
The messenger just shook her small blonde head. “Whatever, lady.”
Elysia watched the kid run off, waiting until she was alone to rip open the letter. Climbing up onto the platform, she found a chunk of skull to plant her ass on.
There was no message. Only an address and time in bold, unfamiliar script.
721 Hawking Street. Ten o’clock.
Elysia flipped the paper around, checking the back and front, wondering if the alcohol had congealed her brain, but sure enough there was no further message or name to be found. The address rang a bell in her mind, but with the alcohol slowing her recall, she couldn’t place why it was familiar.
As she stared at the note, a sly whisper curled in the air.Go, it said. The voice sounded hazy, the pull of it warm and enticing.
Paper crumpled in Elysia’s fist. She knew better than to listen to her magic. But you know, she’d never had a bender before. Rarely even got proper drunk. Not that she was drunk now.Obviously not.I’m sober as a bird.A burst of laughter fell out of her. She clapped a hand over her mouth, still giggling. She was always too busy beingresponsibleand being bossed around by her father to let loose. Shedeservedthis. Gin pulled apart the last strands of her logic until she walked right through the hole it left behind.
Elysia stood. Eyes roaming over the scattered remnants of the temple, her thoughts drifted to its deity.He’s probably old and gross and useless like every other ruler, anyway.She made a face, talking to herself aloud.“The last thing I need is another decrepit pervert in my life.”
Shoving her hands into her trouser pockets, she forgot about gods who no longer mattered and pointed her toes in the direction of 721 Hawking Street.
Chapter 29
A rushof anticipation mixed with alcohol and greedy magic pushed her along with a lightness to her steps. Cobblestones flew beneath her and creamy buildings blackened with dirt surrounded her while black iron lamp posts lit her path with their signature smokey glow. She ran her fingers over the building closest to her, liking how it darkened her fingertips. She loved the filthy beauty of the south side. At least it was honest.
The rational, life preserving part of her tried to argue that she should just go home. It was late. She was drunk. And this was a terrible idea. But any remaining logic had been soaked in Sap and was no match for the magic rearing up within her.
What had started as a whisper now sang into her ear. All she could hear was the song of the secret crumpled in her fist. It was strong enough now she didn’t even need the address. Not with the weight of the secret yanking like a sharp metal hook inside her chest. This secret’s song was not a pounding drum or storm crashing against her skin. No, it came in softly, teasing her and drawing her near with its familiar sound. Its clever, tantalizing melody ran up her skin like calloused fingers she couldn’t forget.
Her skin dimpled at its touch as she wound through the streets like she wasn’t a wanted woman. Between the alcohol andthe secret pulling her close, she could have walked for miles and never felt the distance pass beneath her feet. The song came to a lull and Elysia came to, realizing she was in front of her favorite restaurant, the Boar’s Bones.No wonder the address was familiar.She stepped back into the alley beside the restaurant, moving out of the dim streetlight and away from wandering eyes. Tossing the bloodied cloak next to a pile of rotted food, she shivered from head to toe. While her outfit may have helped her blend in at the Salty Rim, it wasn’t going to do her any favors at the Boar’s Bones.
Delicious aromas drifted out of the cracked kitchen windows, and Elysia inhaled, wishing she were here to eat like any other normal person. She peered at the restaurant’s back door, wondering what secret pulled her here, of all places. As she bounced from foot to foot, the cold brought a small dash of clarity to her thoughts. An image inside her head of the warm bed waiting for her back at Gage’s had her reconsidering her actions, but thinking of Gage only made her think about being shoved like cargo onto a boat she didn’t want to be on.
One last night to do whatever she wanted in Relaclave.
She smiled. Chasing after secrets that didn’t belong to her was both what had built her and what had ruined her. She couldn’t think of a better way to spend her last night in the decaying city she loved.
She would be on a ship tomorrow no matter what happened tonight. She could do anything, and Gage would still shove her below the deck and tell the ship’s men that she was just a fat goat in a sack. Maybe if she was lucky, he’d even pull out her personal favorite threat she had ever heard him utter. “Keep your mouths shut or I’ll stuff them with your dicks.” Dramatic but effective.
The secret taunted her again. Elysia leaned against the alley wall, her sweater catching on the rough plaster. The hook in her chest was back, persistent as it ripped against her ribs,demanding she give in and give chase. She looked at the door, her feet already moving and hand reaching.
Cool metal bit her skin as she pressed down on the door lever. Once inside, a swell of heat billowed out of the kitchen to envelop her. The cold still clung to her, a shiver racking her body after being outside for so long. Muted sounds of chatter and laughter layered over the clinking of forks and knives met her ear. Sounded like a typical evening at the Boar’s Bones.
She suddenly had the fleeting fear that her parents could be sitting at one of those tables. The thought triggered a ridiculous and unstable hiccup of a laugh. Clamping her lips shut, she tried to see through the small circular window on the door leading to the dining room. Her mother woulddieif she could see her now.
Slipping down the servers’ hall, she found the narrow entrance to the staff-only staircase to the upper level of the Boar’s Bones. She paused momentarily, staring into the shadows with trepidation. Dark and narrow with shallow steps was a dangerous combination for an alcohol and magic addled woman. Swinging herself around the bend in the stairs, Elysia sprang along the steps like a drunk cat.
Pausing at the top, she breathed out a wordless thanks to whoever was listening. The balcony level was empty, tables cleared and candles blown out. Creeping into the shadows, she stayed low and out of sight. Thick, wooden balustrades blocked the people down below from seeing both her and most of the tables. Yet anyone eating on the upper level would still have been able to gaze down, people watching as they enjoyed their meal.
Crouching down, she scanned the room through a wide crack in the wood. For a moment her magic flared, pulling her attention in every direction. The dining staff eavesdropping. The couple pawing at each other in the coat closet. Two men growing louder as they argued about money.
But none of those were what stopped her heart.
An easy deep laugh trickled past her ears and with it Elysia’s blood rushed up her face, making her cheeks and ears burn. Nostrils flaring, her eyes moved fast, searching for the guilty party.That fucking asshole.
