Upon their arrival to the alley holding the brothel, Kaid’s teeth ground together as he watched Asta and Gyrial move closer to each other. Not that it took much effort seeing as they were nearly glued to each other the whole night so far.
Asta reached down and interlocked her fingers with Gyrial’s, causing Kaid’s stomach to churn, the rumble of an odd feeling he had never experienced before burrowing deep within his chest. He knew the parts they had to play to get the courtesan’s attention, but he certainly didn’t anticipate how uncomfortable it would be to see them act it out.
Kaid stood across the alley, watching the pair as Gyrial backed Asta into the side of a building and began whispering into her ear. Asta’s genuine laughter was a punch to Kaid’s gut.
He had come up with the idea to lure the courtesan out with a bait couple and then corner her for questioning. But in his original plan, he was one half of that couple.
Somehow, the plan evolved into this. Evolved into him watching Gyrial lean in closer to Asta, their hoods concealingwhat was happening between them. Evolved into him watching Asta’s hand slide up Gyrial’s back while the soldier pressed his hips closer to hers.
Thank the gods for what Kaid saw next, because the skin on his face couldn’t heat anymore without melting off completely. A woman with luxurious raven hair was gliding down the alley directly toward Gyrial and Asta. Kaid crossed the street and leaned against the corner of the building, picking at his fingers to remain inconspicuous.
“Do you two share, or are you territorial?” A satin voice rolled down the alley.
To Kaid’s relief, Gyrial finally pried his head away from the princess so he could look at the courtesan. Kaid inspected what he could see of Asta’s face beneath her hood and only found swollen lips. He would curse himself until the end of time for being talked out of his own plan.
Gyrial’s thickly accented voice—the Spellid mountain dialect—echoed through the alley toward the woman, who was merely three feet away from them now. “We only share if she approves.” He nodded a head toward Asta. “What do you think, my love? Can she play?”
Asta walked a circle around the courtesan, the former assessing the woman like a slab of meat from the butcher while the latter was nearly devouring Gyrial with her gaze. “Hmm. She could do,” Asta smiled. “Do you have anywhere for us to go besides the brothel? I’d like to have you all to ourselves, away from all of this.” She clung to Gyrial’s side and her arms wrapped around him, eyes trailing up the surrounding walls with feigned disgust.
They played the part well—too well. They surely had to be together based on the tension he was witnessing between them. But how had Kaid missed that? He always had an impeccableknack for reading situations and hadn’t picked up on their relationship at all.
The woman walked to the other side of Gyrial and draped her body across him, laying a hand on his chest. “Oh, I know just the place.” Her hand brushed over Asta’s, which was resting on Gyrial’s abdomen, then traveled farther down, thankfully bypassing his manhood and caressing his thigh.
Gyrial stepped back from the women and placed a hand on each of their hips, pulling them closer to him. “Show us then, beautiful.”
This was it. This was the moment when they would get the courtesan alone and finally figure out if she had anything to do with the missing villagers.
Kaid trailed a good distance behind the three of them as the woman directed where to go. They were walking down the path he knew led down to the shoreline, but they were still quite close to town.
Gyrial’s hand slipped from the women’s hips and landed on each of their buttocks.
He’s playing a part. He has to make it believable.Kaid tried to reason with himself, but nothing could stop the boiling in his blood, the heat that infiltrated his entire being.
He noticed Gyrial and Asta slow their pace, so Kaid tucked behind a tree, suspecting that this was the moment.
The woman stopped and gestured around them. “This isn’t where I was thinking, but if you can’t wait any longer, then by all means, let’s begin.”
In one swift movement, Gyrial lunged forward and had the woman pressed against a tree with a forearm across her neck.It was faster than Kaid had ever seen any human move. Gyrial’s teeth were bared, something barbaric radiating in his golden eyes.
“What do you do with them?” The warrior snarled.
Asta was beside him, a dagger in each hand, and Kaid came out from behind the tree with a dagger of his own just in case.
The woman coughed against Gyrial’s grip. “Who?”
Gyrial pressed harder, his other hand holding a dagger to her abdomen. “Do not play games with us, female. What are you doing with the villagers?”
A tear slipped down the woman’s face, the whites surrounding her pearly irises turning bloodshot. She let out a sound that resembled a sob mixed with a gasp and spoke with a raspy voice. “I’m a courtesan. Please. I’m just a courtesan.”
Asta looked over her shoulder toward Kaid, but he couldn’t see her eyes under her hood. He wondered if she, too, was having doubts that this woman was guilty.
Kaid approached the three of them, holding his dagger pointed at the woman. A strong gale from the nearby shore burst through the air, pushing his hood back and revealing his identity.
He reached to tug the fabric back up but was distracted when the woman opened her mouth and started singing.
All is well, my humans. Come with me, and I will show you peace. Come with me, and I will guide you to a dream land. Come with me, and you will meet the gods and goddesses.
Her serenade sent goosebumps down Kaid’s neck and arms, but the thing that set off every alarm in his mind was that Gyrialhad lowered his arm and weapon, and so had Asta. They stared blankly at the woman as she continued her song, holding her hands out and removing the daggers from their grasps, tossing them deep into the forest. What the hell was she doing? What was wrong with Asta and Gyrial?
