The man bearing the body from Loxlen.
He wore the same black coat, but the hat was gone. His balding head glistened in the lamplight like he’d polished it. He descended the final stair, and when their gazes locked, Lux felt immediately trapped.
There weren’t many people who’d ever made her feel that way. Those who had were dead. Her hand flew to the knife tucked at her waist when he made for them.
Corvin looked to see what had distracted her. Lux’s gaze flicked to the younger man’s profile in time to notice his jaw set. Did he not like this man either? Or did he condemn only the interruption?
The stranger reached their table, and though he’d stared at Lux the entire way over, he didn’t look at her anymore. He glared at Corvin. “I need to speak to you.” His voice was cast low, but ifhe thought to keep his words from reaching her, he should have gone lower. She’d a lot of practice in eavesdropping.
“I’m in the middle of dinner.”
“It’spoison.”
“The dinner?”
“The body! It must be the same as the last.”
Lux pretended not to pay attention as she absorbed every word. She scanned the room.
Wide stares connected with her own. Still bodies. Quick breaths. They gnawed at her, and her anger sparked. Once, she would have offered a sharp, grim smile—a dare to come closer. She nearly did so now, only…a gaunt man sat at the table nearest her. His nostrils flared and his fingers shook ever so slightly around his cup. It reminded her of someone. Of another man, brutalized and bloody, left broken outside a ruined trinket shop.
This was more than wariness.
What here has them so terrified?
Lux frowned as she glanced away, startling when she met two sets of eyes.
She raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
Corvin inclined his head. “I know we’ve only just met, and you don’t know much of anything about me, but this seems too blessed a meeting not to ask. Would you be interested in performing a revival? We’re more than willing to pay.”
“Oh.” Lux stared at the man looming over Corvin’s shoulder. At his once-rude expression now smoothed to blankness. His eyes were the strangest thing of all; she’d never seen such mixture of dark and light. “I cannot.”
The older man scoffed. “Why not?”
Lux pulled her tongue from between her teeth. “Because this town won’t sell me marsh snapper eyes.”
“I have marsh snapper eyes.”
“Why would you have marsh snapper eyes?”
“He eats them,” said Corvin, smoothing his eyebrows.
Lux had heard of only one other person who’d make a snack of eyes; that person also created jewelry from raccoons and dipped apples in poison. What other depravities was this man up to? “My price is five goldquins.”
Corvin’s eyes widened. “That’s all?”
“That’s—” Lux floundered as an idea formed. “Wait. I’m sorry, I misspoke.Twentygoldquins. Unless, of course, you’re wanting to bring back someone better off dead. I’ve decided I won’t be reviving anymore villains.”
“A lot of experience with that, have you?” questioned the older man.
“She’s from Ghadra,” murmured Corvin.
His jaw went slack. “Blessed Saints.”
Before Lux’s scowl could deepen much further, Corvin said, “Mistress Lefroy isn’t a villain as far as I’m aware. She’s an investor in Mothlock’s mission, and while we’d thought it was only an accident or poor health, it seems it’s something worse.”
“Much worse,” added the balding man.
