Any plan of Will’s had a tendency of being dangerous, but now…now his schemes were lined with desperation, and that made them deadly if they were not careful. Aidon couldn’t fault him for it, but he could take precautions where the Sensainos would not.
If he could keep them all alive, that would be enough.
Liam released a low sigh. “Dauphine’s main motivation is coin. She works primarily as a mercenary, but I’ve neverknown her to turn down an opportunity that could earn her more wealth than she deserves.”
“Is this why you detest her? Because she lacks honor and loyalty?”
Liam hesitated, chewing over his words before he said, “My parents were members of the late king’s Dyminara. The importance of honor has been instilled in me since birth. As for loyalty…”
His fist rubbed at his chest, as if he could ease the ache Aidon himself had become all too familiar with. Why was it that grief and loyalty seemed so intertwined?
“I’ve witnessed how poisonous loyalty can become,” Liam finished. “I do not know that I can fault Dauphine for being loyal only to herself. Not anymore.”
The words were quiet, and more revealing than anything Liam had given him since he’d joined their party. The Persi was reserved, but Aidon wondered if that was more due to the grief over his sister’s death—and betrayal—than anything that was indicative of his true character.
“I’m sorry about your sister,” Aidon murmured. And though he meant the words, he knew they were hollow to Liam.
Grief was strange like that, all-consuming and isolating, and yet it repelled anything that tried to ease it before it had run its course.
Liam shot him a wry smile. “How does one grieve someone who has done horrible things?”
Aidon wished he knew. Maybe then he’d stop dreaming of shoving the blade in his uncle’s back. Maybe then he could stop seeing visions of Peter, his uncle’s Second and Aidon’s lifelong friend, dead on the throne room floor by Aya’s hand. Maybe then Josie wouldn’t be haunted by the love she once held for Viviane.
If they could grieve cleanly, without wondering if those who had betrayed them deserved what befell them, maybe they could finally let go.
“Let me know if you figure it out,” Aidon finally replied.
Liam huffed a weak laugh but said nothing further, and perhaps that was for the best, because soon they were walking up to a two-story clay building with wood-rimmed windows. There was nothing distinguished about it save for the marble roof that marked it as one of the finer establishments in the market.
That, and the moans coming from the open windows certainly set it apart.
“Are you sure about this?” Aidon asked Liam as Will shouldered his way through the wooden door of the brothel.
“Not in the slightest,” Liam confessed. But he nodded toward the entryway regardless. “After you, Your Majesty.”
***
Aidon had visited enough pleasure houses to know that the one they stepped into now was one of the finest in Colmur, with its marble floor and plush seating and gossamer curtains.
An intentional choice.
The finer the brothel, the more discreet. People paid well for silence, Aidon had learned, and while the brothels were an ordinary pastime in most cities, it did not stop patrons from wanting discretion regardingotherillicit activities.
Aidon glanced around the reception area. It was deceptively open and airy: a circular space with a fountain in the middle and large marble columns that stretched toward the domed ceiling. A skylight sat in the center of it, and between that and the obscured glass windows and white gossamer curtains, one could almost forget they were in a den of secrets at all.
“Nice,” Liam noted as he swiped a glass of wine from an attendant who appeared beside them. Aidon followed suit. The beverage was crisp and sweet, and it was almost enough to loosen the knot of tension that had formed between his shoulder blades as he stepped further into the room.
The soft trickle of water from the fountain mixed with the murmurs of the patrons and courtesans scattered throughout. Some lounged on the chaises, others on floor cushions of deep plums and browns and reds, all playing at courting before beginning their more private affairs in secluded rooms.
Aidon feigned interest as he made his way around the room, careful to hold a stare or two, all while keeping Liam and Will in his peripheral.
How long had it been since he felt any true interest in pursuing something more than a distraction or release?
Of course, he’d felt something for Aya. But now Aidon could admit he’d tangled love and duty. He’d known it even then, hadn’t he? It was why he’d chosen himself for once in his godsdamned life.
There had also been a hint of the possibility ofsomethingwith Tova, a spark he hadn’t felt in a long, long time, but that possibility was snuffed out as quick as any ordinary flame.
Perhaps he wasn’t made for love. He almost laughed as the thought flickered across his mind. What a cliché he was, musing on such things while seeking out a courtesan in a brothel. If Clyde and Lucas could see him now, they’d never let him live it down.
