Page 22 of Peculiar Engagements

“Charon.” Yves smiled. The orange light at the window made Charon look as though he were ringed with fire. “I’m a whore. That’s the point.”

Charon raised a hand as though to stroke his cheek, but stopped just before they could touch. Yves felt like he would break apart with the effort of not leaning into his hand. “Not if you want them to love you.”

What if I want you to love me?Yves thought. He raised himself up on his toes, still too short to reach Charon’s lips but determined to try his damnedest anyhow, and he was just about to reach up to grab Charon by the shoulders when the light in the window flickered again.

“Wait,” Yves said. “It’s nighttime.” Charon looked at him with concern, and Yves pointed over his shoulder. Light rippled against the wall of the House of Onyx like a shadow. Bells rang in the street outside, and he heard the bang of a window slamming open above them. “What is that?”

Charon strode to the window. His face glowed in the light from outside, which cast over his skin like waves on the shore.

“It’s the House of Silver,” Charon said. “It’s burning.”

Five

Fire lappedagainst the night sky as Charon ran from the House of Onyx into the street. Courtesans from the House of Silver huddled on the other side of the road, staring numbly up at the three-story building engulfed with flame. The garden in the House of Copper was also starting to burn, and courtesans stood on the balcony of the House of Gold, throwing buckets of water on the roof. The fire was too far from the House of Onyx to be a danger yet, but all they needed was a change in the wind and the whole Pleasure District would be up in flames.

“Are there people in there?” Yves grabbed Charon by the arm. His nails dug into Charon’s skin, but Charon didn’t notice the pain. He scanned the windows and the open front door. The fire looked like it had come from the garden, which meant that the house might still be safe enough for a search, but no one moved to go inside to check.

“Laurent!” Rose, Laurent’s younger sister, ran past Charon and Yves. Like the rest of them, Laurent was staring in shock at the burning House of Silver, and he nearly staggered back a pace when Rose threw herself into his arms. “We heard the bells. What happened? What do we do?”

“Sand,” Laurent said, in a dazed voice. “Sand and water. Percy! Sabre!” He turned aside, his dominance cracking as it fell over the stunned crowd.

“I’m going to see if anyone is inside,” Charon said.

Yves’ grip on his arm tightened. “No. It’s too dangerous. I’ve seen fires in the country—if the upper floors fall?—”

“Then they’ll crush whoever might still be in there,” Charon said. He pulled Yves’ hand off his arm and started stripping off his shirt. Yves took a few steps after him, but Charon turned, putting all the dominance he had into his voice. “Stay where you are, Yves.”

Yves shakily got to his knees. A number of other submissives knelt as well, overwhelmed by the command in Charon’s voice. Charon intercepted a man running by with a bucket of water and dipped his shirt in it. It would be scant protection against the heat, but he’d take what he could get.

He’d just kicked open the garden gate when a figure approached behind him. Sabre appeared, a sodden cloth wrapped around his lower face like a mask. He handed a second cloth to Charon. Charon took it without a word.

“I’ll search the second floor,” Sabre said. Charon briefly clasped his shoulder, then ran into the burning House of Silver.

The first floor was empty. The House of Silver was laid out differently than the House of Onyx, with an open first floor parlor and the kitchen and work shed in the back, where no clients could see. Charon scanned the first floor as he made for the stairs. Fire was starting to lap at the wallpaper, curling as Charon ascended the stairs, and the house groaned as it struggled to hold its own weight. They didn’t have much time. His wet clothes were already steaming, and the smoke was thick and oppressive.

He found only one courtesan on the third floor—a young woman curled up in the closet, paralyzed with fear. She didn’teven look up when Charon grabbed her, and Charon covered her hair with his damp shirt and heaved her to her feet.

“You need to follow me,” he said. His dominance was louder than the roar of fire in the floors below, and the woman, a submissive, looked down at her feet. Charon thought of Nikos walking through the desert, forcing himself to keep going with the power of his own dominance. “You aren’t afraid. You will get to your feet and walk.”

The woman nodded. She grabbed Charon’s arm as the house trembled dangerously, and the floor beneath them buckled.

“Keep walking,” Charon ordered, half dragging her to the stairs. He raised his voice. “Sabre!” The smoke threatened to choke him as he inhaled, but he managed to get out the words before he reached the stairs.

He couldn’t see Sabre through the smoke. He dragged the woman down the stairs and through the burning first floor, and when they emerged into the smoldering garden, he was relieved to find Sabre sitting on the street outside. Charon guided the woman into the street, where a group of sobbing courtesans pulled her into their arms.

“I have to keep walking,” she said in a soft voice, stumbling as they pulled her to safety. “No, I have to keep… I was told to keep walking…”

There was a crack, a chorus of screams, and Charon turned in time to see the sides of the first floor buckle and fold. Fire spat onto the walls of the House of Gold, and another cry went up. Charon stepped back, coughing, as Yves gingerly took him by the arm.

“Charon.” Yves’ voice sounded distant through the roar of fire and Charon’s hacking coughs. “You’re burned. You need to see Laurent.”

“It isn’t…” Charon coughed again, and he felt a touch on his neck. The pain in his throat and lungs eased, and Charon turnedto Laurent. Laurent’s magic, which he rarely used in private, let alone out in the open, coursed through Charon like a stream of clear water.

“There are others,” Charon said. “A woman, the courtesans from the House of Silver…”

“Allow me to treat my friends first, Charon.” Laurent’s voice was low, pitched so the others couldn’t hear. “I’ll see to them. Just promise me, the next time Sabre thinks of joining you in your heroics? Send him back to me.”

“He’s safe?” Charon asked. Laurent nodded grimly. “Do you know who set this?”

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