“So what are we toasting to?”
“To men butting out of our lives.”
She sighs long and deep. “What a quixotic sentiment.”
“In Lore’s realm, and in Nebba, women have freedom. It’s only a matter of time before Dante catches up and applies this to Lucin women. Right?”
“After all he’s done, I’m surprised you still hold the youngest Regio in any esteem.”
“You’ve heard?” Which one of my friends broke their bargain to Dante?
“Yes. Beryl likes to talk.”
I choke on my gulp of wine. “Beryl?”
Catriona presses a golden lock behind her ear.
Still coughing, I lower my glass. “Beryl knows?”
A frown dents the milky expanse between her shapely brows. “Well, she wasthere.”
My chest prickles because Beryl was definitelynotthere when Dante bargained with Lore to kill his brother. Unless she was hiding behind some rock, but last I heard the woman was a courtesan and not a spy.
Catriona tilts her head. “Why does it feel as though we are talking about two different events?”
Because we are, Catriona . . .“What did Beryl tell you about Dante?”
The courtesan studies the bubbles popping at the surface of her wine. “Forget I said anything.”
But I cannot. “Please tell me.”
She sighs. “It isn’t so much something that was said, but something that was done.” I’m thoroughly confused, and it must show, because Catriona adds, “We, courtesans, cannot afford to turn down royals. We’ve too much coin to gain.”
“She slept with him?”
She watches the effect of my conclusion, her pretty mouth bending with pity. “Whatever a Regio wants, he gets.”
“And he wanted Beryl?”
“He also wanted you.”
My heart feels like a rock inside my chest. “He said nothing ever happened between them.”
She lifts the glass of wine to her mouth and takes a slow sip.
“What exactly happen?” Aoife’s confused stare sears the side of my face.
“Let bygones be bygones.”
Again, I should, but I want to hear the depth of my first love’s deception. “Dante called on her or Marco sent her to his brother?” Catriona sighs my name, but I cut her off with a snapped, “Just tell me.”
“Dante sent Tavo to fetch Beryl and sail her to the Barrack Island for him. He sent for me once, but I knew how enamored you were with him, so I pretended to be all booked up.”
I don’t even love the man anymore, yet my heart fucking chips.
“She said he was a terrible lay, but as courtesans, we’re paid to endure the selfish whims of our customers, so it didn’t much matter.” She glances toward Aoife as though hesitant to add the next bit out loud. She must decide I must be fine with Aoife knowing because she adds, “I can only imagine that it mattered to you.”
“You know?” My toneless voice ricochets dully across the tiles.
