Page 42 of The Pleasure Contract

Zyre laughs but makes a point to say, “Pax’s contract was up with you guys,” he answers, shrugging and shaking his head, some of his long black hair falling forward. “Not our fault we could offer him more than his renewal.”

Az snorts. “Just tell him we miss his stupid jokes, ok?”

Zyre nods, but turns his focus onto me. “So, what brings you to The Temple of the Four?” he asks, his golden gaze falling down my frame and then back up again. “Here to pray to Merri for a little fun?”

The way he’d just said that… yeah, it was drenched in innuendo.

Az shifts on his feet. It’s a subtle move, but he manages to position himself ever so slightly in front of me – not enough to block me and be rude, but enough to feel like… like a claim.

And Zyre definitely sees it that way, too. I can tell by the way his eyes go straight to Az, and how a smile creeps across his lips at the sight.

“We were hoping to see your father, actually. I was told this is his usual time to worship.”

Zyre blinks, clearly taken aback by that, though he doesn’t press any further. “My father is in the unnamed Goddess’ chapel, praying for enlightenment on what went wrong with his latest failed experiment.”

“Ah,” Az says, ducking his head as if hearing bad news. “Poor Shreexa. Please give her my regards.”

I’m lost. What are they talking about?

“I will,” Zyre says before his eyes find me again. “But… if you’re looking for my father to ask anything of him, I’m sure you can appreciate now is not the time.”

“Of course.”

Has someone died? What’s going on?

“When-”

“Come play some warm-ups with the Capital team soon, your highness,” Zyre says, tipping his head back, looking at Az through half-lidded eyes and a crooked smile. “Father has promised to be in the Lords’ Gallery viewing box at some point, and you don’t want to get rusty while you’re protecting this lovely little human.” He smiles at me, showing the smallest hint of fang before he bows and starts walking backward. “The rest of your team aren’t getting here for a few more weeks. Should be a good excuse to come play in a decent arena and with a superior team.”

“Oh, fuck off, Zyre,” Az says, his tone full of amusement and only a hint of annoyance.

Zyre continues walking backward, only turning to stride out of the temple after flashing a wide grin, his tongue tip touching his right fang as he… winks at me.

“Prick,” Az mutters beside me, his arms folded over his massive chest as he watches his professional opponent leave.

Oh… shall I poke the bear?

“Well, I liked him,” I say in a chipper tone, turning in the opposite direction to start walking toward one of the individual Goddess chapels. My steps are punctuated by the echoing clip-clop of my shoes on polished marble.

The bear in question falls very quickly in step with me, positively poked as he starts blustering. “What do you mean, you ‘liked him’? Him?! Zyre is… Zyre’s…”

I get to one set of huge double doors and put my hand on the ornate carved handle before turning to face Az. “Charming,” I supply. “I think the word you’re looking for is charming,” I say, grinning as I open the chapel door and gasp at the beautiful sight inside.

18

Lois

Going from the bright ivory marble of the atrium into the quiet dim of this chapel room quite literally feels like stepping out of the midday sun into a blanket of night. It takes a little while for my eyes to adjust, and in that time, my other senses catch up with me. I can hear the soft trickling of water and smell the warm, woodsy scent of something similar to incense. The lighting is so incredibly low in here, but there is lighting – warm spotlights on dark wood carved into statues and tableaus. There are plants in here, and a small waterfall. It feels… almost tropical. Like some kind of retreat for the ultra wealthy – certainly unlike any place I’ve ever stepped foot inside.

There are various tall Xaviann women, all carved from wood, soft uplighting drawing me closer.

“Which Goddess’ room is this?” I whisper to Az, wincing when my voice carries a little further than I’d have liked it to.

“San,” he supplies, reaching into a nearby alcove in the wall. What he pulls out are two tiny floating spheres like DJ, but small enough to fit in your palm and transparent, like glass soap bubbles that never land on your skin and pop. As he hands one to me, they both light up like someone struck a match inside. “The Goddess who gifted me my venom,” he bends to whisper so close, his warm breath tickles my ear.

I try not to shiver at that, but… well, it’s dark in here, so I can only hope Az doesn’t witness the effect he has on me. “What are these for?” I ask, raising my cupped palms, making the floating sphere of flame rise with my movement.

“You decide which of San’s blessings you wish to honor today,” he says, pointing to each of the dimly lit statues of the deity. “Health, nature, or motherhood.” The first statue depicts San mopping the brow of a sickly male; in the second, she is standing proud, surrounded by all kinds of creatures, from ones that look like deer to what looks like the Xaviann version of a giant tiger with wings. It’s the third one, though, that catches my eye. San is flanked by two small children, clinging to her robes, a third just a swaddled babe in arms – pretty standard for a statue depicting motherhood. Except, her free arm is raised, and grasped tightly in her fist is a pretty wicked-looking warrior’s axe.