I pictured the musicians and listened to the imaginary music in my head giving me comfort as the man rested his hands on my hips and roamed my bare, sweat-slicked back.
“If I asked you to do anything right now, would you?”
I still had morals that I was not willing to compromise. I could play to a man’s ego. “That depends,” I replied with a forced hint of breathlessness. “I wouldn’t do anything for just anyone. I’m a woman with standards.”
“And do I meet them?”
I placed my hands on his chest and whispered against his ear, “You exceed them.”
His hold on me tightened before he released me. I fell backwards, landing on my ass. He sauntered out of the room, leaving me to myself. Humiliation and shock kept me frozen on the ground.
Damn it.I’d screwed up. I tried thinking of how I could repair whatever damage had been done. But then the man returned just as quickly as he’d vanished. The matron was hot on his heels. She closed the door behind her. The lock clicked. My pulse quickened.
The man’s eyes pinned me in place. “She’ll do.”
“I’ll… what?”
“Congratulations.” The matron clapped slowly. “You weren’t a complete failure after all.”
I stood awkwardly to my feet, using the small table nearby for support as my head unraveled. “What’s going on?”
“Do you know who this is?” The matron gestured to her side. I studied him more clearly this time. He had a powerful frame and build, a thick neck, and large hands. I checked his eyes, and they seemed a normal shade of brown, and his light skin remained clear of any glyphs, so he wasn’t a Chosen.
“Um, no,” I said, swallowing down a dry throat. “Can’t say that I do.”
“We have a job for you.” She moved to lounge on the chaise beside the pillows. The man followed her. “A very important one. And now that you have passed tonight’s expectations,” she bit out reluctantly, “you are no longer an understudy.”
My relief was fleeting. “Wait, what about Yarah?”
“She’s been… displaced.”
Tension as thick as my hair filled the room. Suddenly it dawned on me that I might not fully understand what was being asked. A knot formed in my chest. The man angled his head in a predatory way.
I didn’t like where this was heading. “You said you have a job for me. Is this job something different than dancing?”
“Maybe she’s not as foolish as you make her out to be,” he said dryly.
The matron explained, “Once a month, for the past year, a very prestigious client has been paying for a private audience with our dancer. Tomorrow night happens to be his next appointment.”
“Appointment?” I murmured in a daze. “With who?”
“King Zephyr.”
“The king?” I croaked.
“She needs to work on that mouth of hers, pretty as it is,” the man said gruffly. The matron poured him a glass of wine. “Otherwise, this won’t work. He took a real liking to Yarah and she hardly spoke with him.”
The walls of the room grew closer and closer, my costume too tight as the panic of the situation set in. “This one likes her mouth just fine,” I snapped. “Will someone tell me what’s happening here?”
He took a sip of wine. “I am the leader of the Gemini syndicate rebellion against the Astrals.”
Dread coated my veins.
Pointing his glass at me, he said, “And tomorrow night, you are going to seduce the king and steal his talisman.”
Chapter 17
Rahzlyn
