“I’ll start with Jaeda and see where it goes,” Baz said, his voice free of the emotion he kept so tightly leashed.
At least she wouldn’t insist on touching him how he didn’t want.Buried inside her and drinking from her Majora, perhaps this time he’d actually forget—at least for a little while.
Lev clapped him on the back.“My man.”
“But after we have our fun, I’m letting them go.So release any pent-up tension.All of it.Go hard.We have to stay sharp.I have one of my feelings.Something’s heading our way.”
“Shit,” Moncho said.
“Uh-huh,” Night said.
Lev’s hand slid from Baz’s back.“What, you’re letting all of them go?”
Baz nodded.“Every single one.They have a month.That’ll get them far enough away from Galmeen that their previous owners won’t track them down.”
“Bet Félix got ’em,” Night said.
“Yeah, he probably did.Either way, they deserve a new life.Far from here.Far from me.”
Ed sighed.“You say that like you’re the problem.You aren’t the problem, Baz.”
His smile was sad.“I know.”
Zi snorted.
Baz shrugged a shoulder.“If we can’t be free, at least they can.Live it up.Then we let them go.”
“Live it up…” Lev said.“Like Mauldrene’ll let us do that.”
“Do your best.”
“Messing around is your wheelhouse, Lev,” Zi said.“I’m sure you’ll find a way.”
Laughter pealed from the table, suggesting that every one of these people would be able to carve out a fresh life for themselves.They’d heal.In time, they’d forget what it felt like to live off of satisfying people’s base instincts.
Baz spun on his heel, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and stalked from the dining hall.
Where he was going, he didn’t know.
There was no escaping himself.
Chapter22
Here Is My Prey
The coastal village of Galmeen had certainly taken note of its infamous visitor.Marina and I quickly discovered we could ask openly about Alobaz Hawxley.He was the foremost topic of town gossip.This afternoon, with fifteen days remaining on my countdown, the second subject was the sudden disappearance of a husband and wife, both locals.
They were the proprietors of a one-stop establishment called Slake that catered to satisfying a sänglure’s most salient needs.It was tavern, inn, brothel, and feeding den.
Busybodies were concerned about who would keep the place running, especially now that Alobaz Hawxley had taken away all but two of Slake’s whores.Others were hopeful Slake would shut down, leaving one less den of depravity to corrupt its citizens.
I watched Slake from an alleyway.It was the last place Alobaz was spotted before he headed back to his pilfered castle.Slake’s door was locked, its windows shuttered.The exterior was a series of wood planks that I barely noticed as I pursed my lips.
“That’s your thinking face,” Marina said from behind me.
We’d agreed to keep our distance from each other.It was unlikely that anyone would notice a whore and a goblin, but my appearance drew attention wherever I went.Better to not unnecessarily associate Marina with me.An abundance of caution had saved my ass more than once.
Even so, I wasn’t surprised Marina was breaking our agreement.I didn’t want her far away either.Her presence soothed the hole in my heart that had belonged to Teo.With her at my side, I could pretend—at least for a while—that I wasn’t broken.
