Her dark eyes glimmer and she retrieves her hand. “It’s been bad for business, Jax.”
Despite being one of the most stunning fae I’ve ever met, with her dark eyes, luscious dark hair that falls in thick waves around her face all the way to her waist, and the most luminous deep olive skin, she’s absolutely terrifying.
Maybe it’s because she’s a Decarios. An outlaw Decarios who refuses to partake in the honorable fate of so many of her kind just as much as she refuses to side with Caligos.
Her refusal to bow to the Order and Caligos, and surviving their might for so many years successfully, has earned her the respect of many. Even outside the bounds of Kozem.
I straighten my back and keep my facial expression mild. She gestures for me to follow her.
“I’ve heard rumors,” she says as she leads me through the main gambling area where most games take place.
We pass a couple of folk chatting with young fae women. Working girls. Not Caetras, far from it.
One would never find a Caetra in a place like this.
“Rumors? About me?” I keep my voice light as a feather. “Do share, my lady. I’m always curious what they speak of me.”
“Of course about you,gadgi. Always about you.”
From her tone of voice I can tell she’s not pleased with me. Ah, getting her help may be harder than I anticipated.
Madame Mercy walks me to the end of the room where, in the dark corner, there are two armchairs. It’s far enough from prying ears but close enough for the gamblers to see her, and for her to see her subjects.
A number of gambling tables are scattered around the room, all packed with women and men rolling the dice, red cards in their hands.
Intimidating-looking men in all-black attire line the perimeter of the space. Their faces are cold as stone. All Decarios, just as their mistress.
It’s noisy, and the air is stuffy. My fingers twitch and I flex my hands. The desire to join one of the games, enjoy the thrill of the game and the win, deserved or not, is hard to resist.
“I’m told you’ve sided with the enemy,” Madame Mercy says, drawing my attention away from the gambling tables to her. “Is that right?”
I place my palm over my chest. “You pain me only by saying it. I would never betray you like that.”
She arches one eyebrow at me. “Sly as a fox, you are. Do you think you can play in my house and I won’t find out about the trouble you got yourself into?”
Ah, there’s no point in lying. She knows.
Part of me is ashamed. I never wanted her to look at me differently, like I was a liability instead of an asset.
“I warned you it would happen,” she says.
“I know, my lady. I was arrogant enough to think it won’t happen to me.”
She clicks her tongue. “Bah! I told you to play smart. To vet your clients thoroughly. To come to me for advice if you suspect anything. And look what your blind arrogance and recklessness did!”
Silently, I take the verbal lashing. Gods know I deserve it.
“You bring Talbots to my door. It’s bad for business, Jax. I don’t want their people in my premises. I don’t want their money, nor their people breathing my air. But you allowed yourself to be lured into one of their machinations, and now you’re in their debt.”
“Madame Mercy, you know me. I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for you and your business,” I plead. “It was an honest mistake. I shouldn’t have accepted an offer for a job that sounded too good to be true.”
She purses her heart-shaped cherry-colored lips. “That’s what blind greed does to a man. Because of your stupid head, I lost my best dealer. As I said, bad for business.”
“I know,” I say with a sigh. “But I’m getting out of it. Soon. Talbot reign is coming to an end.”
“That’s a bold claim. The Talbots’ power is growing by the day. And soon, their heir will serve as the Ezkai General.” Madame Mercy looks away. “Once that’s done, we’ll have problems for days. What do you know that I don’t?”
“I know that Daegel Talbot becoming the next Ezkai General is not guaranteed.”
