Charles’s brows rose. “No?”
“We have another favor in mind,” Will murmured. Charles’s attention stayed fixed on the Enforcer, enough that Aidon doubted he noticed how Liam had positioned himself near the door. Will leaned back against the mantel, one ankle crossing over the other as he asked, “How often do you visit with Dauphine Adair?”
Charles’s hand stilled where it toyed with his sash. “Pardon?”
It should be simple enough, Will had explained the night before. Dauphine was obsessed with finery, but she wastightfisted, as were most who worshipped money. She would frequent the finest of brothels, but she’d be willing to take a cut where she could.
“The name is familiar to you, is it not?” Will pressed.
For a long moment, Charles simply stared at him. But then he grinned, his elbows bracing back on the bed in a move Aidon was sure was intended to show off his lithe figure. “Never heard of her. I’m more interested in learningyourname,” he drawled.
Will’s laugh was low, and Aidon knew him well enough to mark the danger dancing within it. He shook his head once, his raven strands brushing his brow as he dipped his chin and began to unbutton his vest.
Liam shot Aidon a look from across the room, but Charles…Charles merely sat up, his teeth digging into his bottom lip as he tracked the movement.
He’d been trained well, Aidon noted. One newer to brothels might even think his desire wasn’t feigned.
Will finished unbuttoning his vest, but instead of shedding it, he grasped one side and tugged it wide, showing off the knife tucked away inside.
“I’ll ask you again,” Will said softly. “Do you visit with Dauphine Adair?”
Aidon marked the way Liam focused intently on Charles, who had gone still at the flash of the blade. He wondered if Charles could feel the press of Liam’s persuasion against him. It was unlikely. Those thoroughly trained in the art of the affinities—soldiers and the like—might be able to detect the subtleties of a power like persuasion brushing against them.
Humans, and ordinary Visya, could not.
Aidon fell in with the latter, he’d learned, when he’d asked Liam to try his power on him just the other night.
“Yes,” Charles confessed, any trace of seduction gone from his voice. “I meet with Dauphine.”
“When is the next time you’ll see her?” Will demanded.
Charles’s throat bobbed, his fingers curling into the sheets as he kept a wary eye on Will’s knife. “In an hour. She’s my next appointment.”
A lucky thing. They wouldn’t need to wait. But Aidon couldn’t help the bemused snort that escaped him as he shook his head. “So much for getting our money’s worth.”
Charles blushed. “I would have ensured you were still satisfied.”
“Efficient, are you?” Liam shot back.
“Quiet,” Will interrupted. His brow furrowed, his stare hard as he fixed it on Charles. “Where will you meet her?”
“The room next door. It’s the largest. She doesn’t like to be greeted in the reception hall. She prefers that I…wait for her.”
A way to feel more desired, Aidon assumed. It was amazing the things people could trick themselves into believing. He could certainly speak to it, given the amount of lies he told himself.
“Can you get us in there without detection?” Aidon asked.
Charles nodded. “It’s empty now. It’s reserved for special clientele.”
Aidon cut a glance to Will, who nodded his confirmation. Whatever his Sensainos affinity detected, he believed Charles spoke true.
Liam moved off the door, his motions smooth despite the power Aidon knew was flowing from him as he ordered Charles to lead them to the next room. It was an easy thing, the hallway empty save for the sounds of pleasure that permeated the doors.
This time, Charles attempted to stay near the door, but Aidon curled a hand in the crook of his arm again and led him further into the room.
“What is that you want?” the courtesan bit out, wrenching his arm from Aidon’s grasp.
“You’re going to disappear for the rest of your shift today,” Aidon told him.
