Page 18 of Heirs of the Cursed

“If there is anyone who has the information you seek, it’s Dyron Selmi,” her friend concluded.

“Tell me more,” Naithea asked, as she smirked with satisfaction.

After speaking with Jehanne, Naithea’s curiosity only increased.

Once she laced her boots, she slipped a knife she’d acquired one night at the tavern into the thigh leather belt Jehanne had sewn for her, after she’d shared her fascination with daggers.

She stepped out of the room and headed toward Madame Dimond’s chambers. Unlike the cramped space and unforgiving mattresses where the hetairas slept, her mistress’ chambers were a lavish testament to her greed, adorned with luxuries that left the hetairas neglected.

Naithea knocked on the door with her knuckles and lowered her head in a gesture of submission. She knew that confronting her would only result in violence, in a beating.

“Yes?” Madame Dimond asked.

Upon her response, she crossed the threshold. The madam stood on the balcony, leaning against one of the tall glass doors.The icy breeze from Salismar Ocean ruffled the thin red curtains and the salty scent permeated the room.

“Madame Dimond,” she whispered, clasping her hands together in front of her.

The madam spun on her heels and focused her brown gaze on her. “Naithea, you should be working with the rest of your companions,” she declared in a hard voice. “Or have I given you permission to interrupt your duties?”

“No, madam.”

“Then what makes you think I’ll tolerate this disobedience?”

“I wish to ask you to make an exception,” Naithea proposed and inwardly cursed herself for her choice of words. “Just for a couple of hours.”

“Tell me why I would do that,” she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Naithea remained silent as she moved about the room, reaching for the pouch hanging from her leather belt. With a determined gesture, she handed the bag to her mistress, who untied the knot securing its contents. Her eyes widened at the twenty gold vramnias glittering under the light of the oil lamps.

“Where did you get this?” she asked and took a coin between her fingers to turn it over, making sure the gold was real.

“It appears I did a splendid job last night.”

“Nobody pays that kind of money for a cunt.”

“I thought we’d already established that my cunt is special,” Naithea said, and just when she thought the woman before her would strike her for such language, her eyes widened at an unusual sound.

Madame Dimond waslaughing.

“If this is what you earned last night, I can’t imagine how much you will make today,” she stated, before tossing the coin back into the bag. “Only two hours. I want you back beforemidnight and I expect your earnings to be as high as this until the Royal Army departs back to the capital.”

Naithea nodded fervently. A shiver of excitement ran through her body as she imagined the possibility of leaving the brothel and gazing at the stars for the first time in a long time.

“Yes, Madame Dimond. Thank you.”

“Don’t disappoint me.”

Before she could change her mind, Naithea left the room and hurled herself into the imposing darkness of the night.

7

Dawnfall

As evening fell, Darcia immersed herself in her second bath of the day. She’d scrubbed the stables’ scent from her skin, but herexhausted body craved the comforting embrace of warm water as if it could wash away more than just dirt.

The day had been a whirlwind of emotions. She fought the urge to seek out her friends and her girlfriend to make sure they were all right. Still, a silent and meaningful look from her father made her reconsider and seclude herself in her room. Meanwhile, Gion paced back and forth, lugging books to unravel the mystery of the dark magic resurgence in Ro’i Rajya after years of dormancy.

Darcia stirred in the brass tub and hugged her legs, admiring the grainy, cerulean moonlight streaming through the window pane. As much as she wanted to stop thinking about the curse, a myriad of possibilities flashed through her mind every time she closed her eyes.

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