Page 143 of Tales of a Deadly Devotion
Serus to guard and Acara to see the path ahead.
However, in the end, even the great queen beneath lost her way in that darkness.
Compendium of the Lost, 1536
‘Are sure you did it right? She looks the same to me,’ Alma frowned, her skin gleaming from the oil she’d rubbed into it. A jangle coming from the bracelets William had put around her wrists to cover her scars.
‘It’s working,’ Thean added irritably in the alcove where we all hid. A thin curtain dividing us from the ruckus beyond.
I noted Thean in their masculine form had simply unbuttoned their shirt. The only part of them exposed being a strip of their lean muscular chest. Lucky for some.
I tried not to touch any of the walls, considering the lack of fabric covering me. The smell of pleasure smoke in the air tangling with the odour of sweat and ale.
A brothel. What a wondrous idea.
A sweetness clung to my lips from the smoke in the air. My skin was flushed, a heat seeming to simmer close to the surface that had nothing to do with my magic.
‘I didn’t know pleasure smoke was this sickeningly sweet.’ I rubbed my arms. Finding myself unable to stand still.
Alma turned, her sharp gaze missing not a moment of my discomfort before she looked at the voyav. ‘Didn’t you weave a protection into the glamour?’
Thean seemed genuinely confused by the idea. ‘Now why on earth would I do that?’
Alma pulled back, appalled.‘To be helpful?’
Thean had the audacity to laugh softly, which only made her lips peel back, green eyes practically glowing in the dim light as another peel of drunken laughter moved past our hiding place.
‘I’ll be fine,’ I lied. Pulling at the measly fabric that was supposed to cover my breasts. ‘What will you two do?’
Thean slapped my hand away with irritation. ‘Stop fidgeting. You’re supposed to want the thing off. I’m certain our beautiful Alma can scent anything valuable that may be up here while we wait.’
That led to the problem at hand. Thean might be able to find something Verr but they couldn’t open it. The same for Alma, and nothing would look more suspicious than all three of us wandering through a brothel.
But the thought of leaving Alma up here alone to deal with any consequences didn’t sit well with me.
‘It’ll be dangerous,’ I said, chewing on my lip, my flame churning in annoyance inside of me. Clearly not liking my current predicament.
She rolled her eyes, her own poor excuse for a lace slip notbothering her in the least. ‘You’re the last person that should be lecturing anyone ondanger.’
‘Fine,’ I huffed out. Knowing she was right. ‘I didn’t anticipate it being sobusy.’
Why were so many people here?
‘You can unbuckle someone’s trousers any time of day, darling,’ Thean taunted. ‘Who knew you were such a prude. Poor Emrys.’
That slight earned the voyav an elbow in the ribs from Alma.
‘Go,’ she commanded me softly. ‘Leave me to deal with this miscreant.’
I suddenly felt ill. This was a wretched and foolish idea. My most idiotic to date. I wrung my hands, hoping Gideon had picked up his bloody communication stone. If not, I was certain William had suffered heart failure from the stress of our departure.
I sucked in another breath of the sweet smoke, that worry in my chest only tightening before I forced myself beyond the thin dingy curtain—
Only to almost be trampled by three drunk men staggering past. Two topless girls with rouge smeared all over their breasts from kisses laughed as they followed, green bottles of ale in their hands splashing onto the carpet.
The grimy corridor was made no better by the flickering of the lamps on the dark green walls. The carpet was stained beneath my feet, making me grateful I’d won the battle with Thean to keep my shoes.
A room opened up before me, circular and filled with too many people. Black paint smeared across the arched windows. Dark and dingy, as if every patron had an allergy to light.
