He lifted the bag we got paid tonight. “Well, this is a good start. If it continues this way, I’d say we can retire in a few months.”
A few months didn’t sound too bad.
“I’ll tell you what…” I moved closer to him, mindful not to bump his feet. “You got more than you asked for tonight, didn’t you? I can do it every night for you. In fact, I can do it even better. I can tell you what foods I enjoy the most. I’ll write down the recipes for your clients’ cooks. I’ll tell you how I love my coffee and what desserts are my favorite. I’ll tell you many other ways to please me. Like…” I raised my arm and sniffed my armpit. “Like I could really, really use a bath, for example. A skull massage would do wonders, too, especially now that I hadn’t properly brushed my hair in days. I’ll make sure to savor and enjoy every moment of every night so that your clients will melt from my pleasure. Trust me, I can make you so much gold, you wouldn’t know what to do with it.”
The longer I spoke, the faster my mind was spinning with ideas and opportunities. I wasn’t powerless, or helpless, or weak. Far from it. I held the key to the most expensive commodity in this world—joy. And if it had so much value for everyone out there, then what was stopping me from capitalizing on it for my own gain?
“I don’t want a master or an owner, Timur,” I said firmly, staring straight into his red, menacing eye. “I need a partner. Let’s make a deal. You’ll find the right people, rich and trustworthy, who would not betray us to the queen. And I’ll make sure they leave this place so full of joy, they’ll talk about us to all their friends who then also will want to come here and buy my joy. Whatever gold we make, we’ll split evenly until we both have enough to do what we want.”
He tilted his head, squinting his blue eye at me. The red one remained unchanged, shining like a red light of warning in the night.
“How much gold doyouneed, Sweet One? And what do you want to do with it?”
“I need enough to buy back all the humans in Ashgate and to pay for our safe passage to Teneris.”
“You want to buy Joy Vessels?” he repeated, dumbfounded. “What for?”
“To free them, of course.”
“Well, that would be a huge waste of gold,” he scoffed.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s not how I see it. To me, it’s the best use for gold ever, considering the situation. I can’t leave any humans behind, knowing they’d be forced and abused—” I cut myself short.
If Timur didn’t know anything about the golden hyacinth, I couldn’t tell him about it.
Thankfully, he was still mulling over what I’d said before and didn’t seem to notice my near slip-up.
“Why Teneris?” he asked.
“Because that’s the only place in Alveari where I think we can be safe.” My voice held more uncertainty than I wished to display.
He arched his only eyebrow. “Do you want to return to Prince Rha’ssarai?Butdidn’t you just say you didn’t want a master?”
I hated him calling me out on that. But he was right, wasn’t he? I talked about freedom, but my plan was just to trade one master for another, a more powerful one, who I hoped would be able to protect us all better.
“I lost my friends,” I said. “I need to find out what happened to them, and I believe that Teneris would be the best place to start searching for them. Also…” I wasn’t sure how much value it was going to hold for Timur, but it seemed very important to me. “Prince Rha is the only shadow fae I know who learned to view a human as more than simply a Joy Vessel. For what it’s worth, he cared for my friend. I believe he wouldn’t let anyone hurt or abuse us. I also hope that he’d help me find her or at least find out what happened to all of them.”
Timur didn’t look convinced. “What if he locks you up in hissarai?”
As limited as a human’s options were in Alveari, a life in Prince Rha’ssaraiwasn’t the worst future to have, but something soured inside me at that prospect. Thesaraiin Teneris was a great temporary solution that guaranteed food and safety. But even if Prince Rha greeted me with open arms and no hard feelings over our escape, did I want to spend my entire life as one of his Joy Vessels?
I frowned. “What other options do I have?”
Timur smirked, shaking his head at my cluelessness. “With enough gold, you can buy anything, even freedom. And I mean the real kind of freedom, not the one that comes from a kind master’s leniency.”
“Do you honestly believe a human like me can be truly free in the Alveari Kingdom? How?” I asked, skeptically.
He nodded. “I’ll tell you how. Earn enough gold to buy your own house, either in Teneris, or Kalmena, or in any other fine city of the kingdom. Hire your own guards to protect you, so that no one could ever steal or sell you again. You’ll have to keepyour true identity a secret for the rest of your life, of course, but with enough gold, you can protect your secret. You won’t need a master. Be your own mistress, Sweet One.”
“That’s an odd suggestion coming from someone who’d just bought me like a sack of grain.”
“I bought you because I had to,” he retorted. “But pleasure trade isn’t really my calling. My real goal is independence. Earn me enough gold for that, and I’ll set you free.”
I stilled my breath, afraid to believe my ears.
Did he really mean it? Would he make that deal with me?
“How do I know you’re not lying?” I asked quickly.
