He swallowed, eyes flaring with surprise. “You know about her? You’re one of us?”
His words confused me. “Take me to Serpentine.”
The man—Jere, allegedly—was the son of a baroness. Thanks to my inconspicuous attire, he couldn’t tell I was a guardian. I needed to keep it that way in case his mother actually was a baroness of Dioscuri, who undoubtedly held a close relationship to Gemini’s King Zephyr. Once he described me as a golden-eyed man of visceral strength, King Zephyr would discern that a Scorpion guardian lurked about his kingdom and threatened a noble family.
His seer would undoubtedly use Blood Sight on Jere to verify.
I didn’t know how far back the mushroom tincture I bought in Alhena would go to wipe his memories of me. I had to assume not long, so my time with Jere needed to be fast regardless of whether he recognized what I was or not.
“Does your betrothed know you stalk her?” I prompted on our way back into the city.
“I have never been treated so poorly in all my life.” Jere sneered up at me. “I am a son of a baroness?—”
“Yes, you’ve mentioned that once or twice.”
“Why wereyoufollowing her?” Jere stopped abruptly. “What do you even want?”
I took in his messy brown hair, round cheeks, and ignorant eyes. “Get me into Serpentine and I’ll let you leave with your balls intact and your betrothed oblivious to your lewd habits. Sound fair?”
“Ass,” he growled.
He reached into a pocket inside his jacket and procured two brassy, intricately carved coins. He reluctantly handed me one. Iweighed the heavy metal in my hands, studying it. I’d never seen metal quite like it. Not gold or copper but something in between. Denser. One side of the coin depicted a distinct formation of stars, while the other…
The other resembled the barely-there brand I’d seen on the apostate’s foot weeks ago. The lines and curves of the coin struck some distant reminiscence buried in my subconscious I couldn’t yet pinpoint.
“That’s your entry,” Jere grunted. “If you’re who you say you are, then you won’t need it.”
I didn’t bother to clarify that I never stated who—or what—I was. Hopefully such a fallacy could prove prosperous.
An hour later, Jere gestured vaguely up a hill stacked with opulent homes. “We’re here.”
“Remember.” I gripped his arm tightly. “Go along with everything I say, otherwise kiss your balls and that woman goodbye.”
“Quit talking about my balls.”
I let him shake my hand off as we descended a long tunnel guided by a guard. Before letting us pass, the guard uttered the name, “Andreas.” As if pleased by his ability to do so, he granted us entry.
Jere, on the other hand, raised a skeptical brow—as if he wasn’t sure what to make of such an easy admittance. “So you are one of us.”
After handing over an additional coin to a white-masked woman, we were ushered into a vast room with rows and drawers of all sorts of clothing—all white. I didn’t like the idea of these strange workers holding on to my clothes while I changed into their frivolous costumes, but without doing so, entry was forbidden.
All patrons were required to wear a mask and an odd bracelet with an eye at its center, the band consisting of the same metalas the entrance coins. It conformed perfectly to the width of my wrist—like magic.
I kept mycommunicanecklace beneath a hooded white tunic with long sleeves. My Athenian blades remained hidden, strapped to my back beneath the fancy material. A pair of white linen pants, socks, and gloves concealed the rest of my glyphs. I mussed my curls to conceal my forehead.
The mask and hood would help deter attention from my eyes when kept at the right angle. As long as I didn’t tap into any of my senses, they wouldn’t glow.
Though since changing into the attire, my senses were… dulled. My hearing had been reduced to almost mundane levels where I could barely hear the murmuring voices in the rooms beyond.
Alarm crept up my spine.
Such a sensation shouldn’t have been possible. The only time my senses became so diminished was when I removed my ring, severing access to my guardian abilities. I kept the panic at bay, resigning to stay here only as long as necessary.
There was somethingwrongabout this place.
“I’ll hear if you try to leave or send a signal to anyone,” I said from outside Jere’s curtain while we changed, even though I wasn’t so sure I would.
He snorted. “Whatever.” Jere thrust the curtains aside and stalked to the entryway.
