Before she was ready, Chiri pulled her to a stop in front of Khayrivven and the woman on his lap, a pretty smile on her peach-painted lips. Lory noticed only now that the shade matched the lace of Chiri’s dress.
“I believe you’re interested in our newest addition, sir.” Chiri’s tone was nothing like the whirlwind who’d talked about who pleasured whom and how, but a bland, indistinct tone that was as pleasant as it was boring. “Meet Sapphire.”
The woman on Khayrivven’s lap turned around, throwing a warning look at Lory, but Khayrivven seemed unbothered by the way Chiri shoved Lory forward a step, until her shin brushed his knee.
“Sapphire.” He smirked up at her with a bedroom gaze. “Interesting name. How did you get it?”
“Umm—” While Lory dug deep into her mind, trying to come up with any story that could convince the woman on his lap, Chiri was already hopping into full-on storytelling mode.
“Glad you asked, sir. It’s a fascinating story, actually. You should sit down with Sapphire and have her tell you the full thing, but the gist is that the Duke of Criulias once offered her the largest sapphire in his collection in exchange for a night with her, and she declined.”
Khayrivven’s face went ashen, and he lowered his head, sitting back in his chair and almost throwing the woman offhis lap as he shifted. When he looked up again, Lory wasn’t sure if it was amusement or anger he was hiding behind those gray orbs that were ready to break into a storm.
Criulias.Lory hadn’t heard the name of the province south of Sen Dunai, where the capital of Brestolya lay, in years, since the Duke of Criulias had been banished and the King’s uncle was put on the throne of Criulias for safekeeping. Of course, that wasn’t taught in Knowledge classes since an embarrassing event such as losing control over a nobleman administrating one of the Brestolyan provinces was certainly not on the list of things Ulder needed to advertise. Quite the contrary: That sort of event was whispered about even in the filthiest of taverns in Dunai. Lory remembered to this day the whispers still spoken in dark corners.
“Is that so?” Khayrivven’s mouth quirked into a smirk, all hint of anger vanished.
With a nudge in the side, Chiri reminded Lory she was here to play a role, and that included repeating mindless lies and pretending she was here to make her customers’ night an event they wouldn’t forget. Shifting her weight so the blue silk slid left and right of her thigh, exposing smooth golden skin, and Guardians help her, Khayrivven’s gaze dipped, drinking in the sight. On his lap, the woman shifted a few inches higher as if she were ready to rub herself against him, her dark eyes sending a warning glare in Lory’s direction.
A part of Lory wanted to jump into the woman’s face, clawing at those large, almond-shaped eyes for marking her supposed territory, but the smarter part inside of her knew better.
He wasn’t here to get entertained but to assess how well she was doing, if she could handle herself and convince a complete stranger to give up a secret. He might have been enjoying the dark beauty’s form pressed up closely against him, but his gaze said something different. The hunger glazing over his eyes as Lory absently traced the line of silk running from the edge of her neckline to the collar made fire collect in Lory’s belly, and the leonthor inside her chest got to its paws, roaring and flexing its claws.
“It’s only part of the story,” Lory said, copying the smile she’d seen Lu’Shen and her girls pin on their faces a million times. “But the rest is so excitingly delicious I’ll have to kill you if I tell you.” With a wink at the woman on his lap, Lory turned slightly to the side, giving Khayrivven a better view of her profile.
The smirk turned into a grin. “I think I can live with that.” His hand slipped from the armrest of the chair, gesturing at the bar, where Lu’Shen kept observing, her red mouth set in a perfect smile and her grizzled hair twirled into a bun at the back of her head. Thick, gold jewelry shimmered on her decolletage, and her eyes followed every last one of Lory’s movements. “I’ll need a drink first.”
The woman on his lap was about to hop up to follow his wish, but the leonthor in Lory’s chest roared again, and she knew if she stayed right here, watching Khayrivven play the careless patron, she might do something she’d regret, so she shook her head at her. “Keep our guest company, will you? I’ll get the drink.”
When she turned on her heels, Lory could feel Khayrivven’s gaze like a heated touch grazing her backside and sliding down her legs as she swayed her hips with every step, careful to catch the attention of the patrons she stalked past. The leonthor in her chest growled with demand as she refused to glance back over her shoulder to check if the dark beauty was kissing the mouth Lory wanted to kiss or touching the skin Lory wanted to touch.
Keep walking,was all she told herself, and the leonthor settled back onto its stomach, emitting a disgruntled noise as she made it to the bar, smiling at the two men she squeezed in between to ask Lu’Shen for two glasses of her best liquor—not that she could afford it. Khayrivven would pay for it, part of his punishment for not preparing her better for what he’d sent her into.
Oh, he’d pay for it. Before the day was over, he’d squirm and beg. The grin Lory gave the madame was genuine as she asked whether Lory had picked a man. She was just about to answer when a hand landed on her waist.
“I’m available, darling.” The smell of ale and onions flooded her nose as the man to her left leaned in, grinning at her with yellowed teeth. “You look like you could keep me entertained.”
Behind the bar, Lu’Shen tensed as if for a fight, but her face remained calm and friendly, the professional mask of the madame.
Everything inside Lory recoiled at the thought of what he meant, at the idea of executing what he implied, but she kept still, forcing her smile to remain as she placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, squeezing lightly.
“Sorry, mate, I already have a customer for the next few hours.” The apologetic grin almost came easily, and a glance at Lu’Shen, indicating she could handle herself, made the madame reach behind the bar and pull out two crystal glasses.
“This one is quite the attraction, Brin,” she said to the man whose hand was still resting on Lory’s hip as if unsure whether to insist. “Maybe pick a girl before your fifth drink next time, and you’ll have a shot at her.”
The man on Lory’s other side laughed, his finger grazing her neck. “I’m at my second drink, so perhaps I still have time to snatch you up before you meet with your other customer.”
How she wished she could simply punch both of them in their grinning faces and be done with it, but that would mean she’d fail, and even when she trusted Khayrivven not to run to the Triad and blab about her mishaps, she didn’t know if Lu’Shen might report to Ycken or Brunn or even Lenya. So, she kept her smile in place, gently pushing the man’s hand aside and placing it on the counter, her fingers trailing his from the knuckles all the way to his dirty fingernails.
“How would you feel if someone took the goods you’d paid for and used them before handing them over?” The words barely left her tongue, but she forced them out, one by one, holding the man’s glimmering, brown gaze. “Not amused, am I right?” She slid her fingers up his forearm, her other hand still on the man to her left’s shoulder, carefully keeping him a foot away as he leaned in like a leering dog. “Now, why don’t you two pick one of those beauties over there”—she gestured at the thinning line of womenstanding at the side of the room—“and enjoy the rest of your day?”
While pouring the drinks, Lu’Shen had been observing the interaction from the corner of her eyes, and when she placed two glasses, half-filled with amber liquid, onto the counter, she gave Lory a subtle nod, and Lory took them and backed out between the two men, her heart in her throat and the shaking of her fingers invisible for the sole reason that she was clutching the two glasses in her hands so hard they might shatter.
When she turned around, Chiri was there, taking her place and already giggling at something one of the two men had said, and a blend of guilt and repulsion spread in Lory’s stomach at the thought of how the next hours would go for Chiri. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed at the redhead, who just winked at her.
“See you in a few hours, Sapphire,” she said with a grin. “Enjoy the handsome, cocky one. He seems like a good time.”
Lory didn’t manage to nod. For now, setting one foot in front of the other was all she could do. The lute music streaming in from the tavern mingled with the laughter and whispers in the chairs, and no matter how much Lory wanted to keep her composure, she nearly stumbled as she met Khayrivven’s gaze across the distance, the hard set of his mouth and the barely contained fury in his eyes as they kept flicking from her to the men at the counter.
