The portly man scrubbed a hand through his beard, a few crumbs falling out. “About that . . .”
“Please, Beron. I really need the money. I can’tgo—”
“Spare me your sob story. Here.” He threw a small coin purse at her.
The weight was more than she was used to, and Orelia excitedly dumped out the contents into her hand. She smiled from ear to ear. “Six silver? Is this my new salary?” She thought of all the things she could buy with her new income—fresh fruit and vegetables instead of week-old scraps the marketgoers didn’t want, a larger sack of flour, perhaps even a few ingredients for sweets. Orelia was so lost in her daydream she almost missed Beron’s condescending laugh.
“Consider that a kind gesture for your years spent here,” he said, thumbing through the papers.
The bright possibilities of her future disintegrated as quickly as they’d blossomed. “I don’t understand.”
Emotionless brown eyes met hers. “This is your last night working here.”
two
Orelia felt her facego slack.
Beron rested his booted feet atop the desk and casually crossed one leg over the other like he hadn’t just destroyed her life.
“But sir, I’ve done good work for you, and the girls trust me. Why are you doing this?” Her heart felt like it was trying to leap out of her throat.
“Because I just spent an obscene amount of money on those Ricaboro whores, so I won’t be able to pay youandmy current whores. And since you’re the only one that doesn’t bring in any money, it’s time you say ‘goodbye’ to this place.”
“Won’t the new girls bring in a lot of silver? Certainly you’ll have enough to pay me and everyone else.”
Beron put his arms behind his head and puffed out his chest. “Oh, they definitely will, but I’ll be spending it on expansions for this place. I plan to make Minro’s only brothel grand enough to be recognized as widely as The White Pony. I’ll get a better clientele than just shitty humans and dwarves. Maybe more rens and stivs will start coming here.” His eyes sparkled with greed as he grinned up at the ceiling. “My whorehouse will be the best in all of Nivinia.”
Orelia’s quick breaths stabbed her lungs.“But this is my livelihood. Ineedthis job.”
Beron waved a thick hand in dismissal. “Not my problem.”
She approached his desk. “I-I, Beron, please. The girls need me. Who will take care of them if I’m gone?” She didn’t want to resort to begging, but if it came to it, she’d hit the ground on her knees.
“They can take care of themselves.” He picked a piece of meat out from his rotting teeth and flicked it aside.
Her palms began sweating. Beron only hired humans, as they couldn’t fight back against magic-wielders. Someone had to look out for them, and she knew it wouldn’t be him. “Sir, you know how cruel some of the patrons can be. The girls need me here to heal them.”
“They can heal at a normal pace, just like the rest of us. Now go, before you aggravate me more.” He finally met her eyes, saying this was the end of their conversation.
The worry for herself turned into fear for the ones she’d be leaving behind. Her voice hiked up in volume. “If you don’t make consequences for the men who hurt our girls then they will continue to do so, and no one will be here to heal them so they can keep working for you. You’re going to lose money in the end by getting rid of me.” A risky statement to make, but it was true.
Beron rose with an agitated grunt. “It is not ‘our’ girls. They are mine, and I decide what to do with them. If the patrons have coin, they can do whatever they want to my whores for as much as I care.”
“They are people, sir. You cannot let these vile men continue to do what they do!”
He slammed a hand on the desk, sending papers cascading onto the floor. “You do not tell me what I can and cannot do! Now, get out, before I change my mind and take that silver from you.”
Orelia reduced herself to pleading and knelt, putting on her best ‘feel sorry for me’ face. It wasn’t hard to do, as tears already burned her eyes. Her next words came out of trembling lips. “Please let me stay.”
“I know you mean well, but this world is brutal and unfair, and it’s about time you realize it. You can’t protect everyone all the time.”
He’d watched her work many times with a look of disinterest, even as her light filled the healer’s room, bringing a grateful smile to his girl’s faces. Hells, she’d healedhimafter tavern brawls when he’d drunkenly stagger into the brothel, dripping blood on the floors he loved so much. Apparently, the past didn’t matter because the hard set of his mouth said there was no changing his mind.
She sniffled. “Can I at least leave my healing elixirs here so the girls have something?”
Beron nodded and motioned for her to stand. “I’m sorry it had to be this way, but you’re too soft-hearted for this line of work anyway. You should know by now not even the brightest light can cure the blackest heart.”
When she squeezed her eyes shut, the tears finally escaped. Orelia cried with her face in her hands. She didn’t know what she was going to do.
