Page 23 of Brighter Than Gold

Bile rose in my throat at the woman’s praise. Did she not know what he was really like? Or did she condone such appalling behaviour?

“He’s rough around the edges, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. But the man came from nothing, and built himself an empire.”

“He hasn’t built anything, all he’s done is destroy,” I retorted.

“Fair analogy, I suppose. But we weren’t all meant to be the heroes, you know. Some of us are happy being the villains.”

My skin peaked into goosebumps at the woman’s cold warning, and I wondered what terrible things had happened to her that she was so content with being this evil. I glanced back up, feeling only slightly eased to find Callan, still seated within earshot if I needed him.

“Tilt your head back pretty girl, let’s rinse out your hair.”

* * *

Once I’d dried and dressed, I hurried back to Callan, now joined by a handful of others. A gorgeous blond woman who had been seated on the armrest beside him, quickly made her leave when I returned. Callan seemed to relax a little now that I was back. He reached forward and plucked a few things onto a plate and handed it to me.

“Here,” he said gently. “Only eat what you can.”

I thanked him. It was an effort not to tear into the bread and olives and fruit on my plate. For the first time in weeks, I was truly famished. Once my plate held only crumbs, Callan quickly replenished it.

All of a sudden, my heart lurched. I looked down at the dish in my hands, and a small pink fruit stared back at me, a peony fig. It was the vibrant pink fruit that Kaspian had introduced me to one late night in his bed months ago.

I felt my face flush with heat and as my throat clamped, I fought hard to keep the tears back. I ached for the South Wing, for my comfort and routine there. I was homesick for Nyx and Charlotte and Tanna. And even Kas. There was a place in my heart for him now too, a promise and a commitment we’d made only days ago, that now seemed so far removed from where I found myself.

But the King was here with me. That tiny being growing inside of me held a piece of that man, and that comforted me.

“Are you all right?” Callan whispered.

I crashed back to reality, a scared hostage of the most villainous man I had ever met. I sniffed back the tears and forced a smile. “Yes, I just don’t like these,” I said as I returned the peony fig to the platter.

The evening started to ramp up, the brothel crawled with clients as women made their way up the stairs to the private rooms, and back down again. The men who spent time here were well dressed and clearly wealthy. I wondered how many of them had their pockets padded by Lazio.

The women’s clothing grew more sparse and the air in the room started to change, thick with arousal from the men that surrounded us.

Sensing this, Callan leaned over to Lazio, busy with a busty brunette. “We’re going to retire,” he said. “May I have the key to our room?”

Lazio seemed confounded. “The night’s just started!” he bellowed. “Wait until you see what Orissa can do with a set of dice!” he laughed, as he stroked the brunette’s soft thighs.

Callan kept his eyes trained away from the woman. “My wife is tired,” he insisted.

Lazio huffed, irritated. “I’ll be right back, darling,” he said to the woman in his lap. She stood, taking a large step forward and closing the gap between herself and Callan. Callan immediately turned away from her, pressing his lips into a firm, irritated line.

“Come on then, you horny love birds,” Lazio beckoned.

Callan motioned for me to walk ahead of him, and he kept his hand on my lower back as we wove through the cathouse. Lazio led us through a different hallway, one I hadn’t seen any of the women or guests walking through before. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Callan reflexively reach down for the hilt of his sword, which unsurprisingly had been stripped from him. He balled a fist in irritation.

“Here we are,” Lazio drawled as we approached a door. He pulled the skeleton key that Verosa had brought him earlier, and unlocked it. “Make yourselves at home,” he said as he opened it.

My breath hitched a moment when I saw only one bed. Of course, there would be nothing strange about a married couple sharing a bed, and I knew I needed to act that way.

“What the fuck is this?” Callan asked gesturing to the window. It was caged on the outside with heavy steel bars.

“Ah see, that’s the thing about room six,” Lazio said feigning apology. “It’s meant to keep people in and not out.” He dangled the key. “And it only locks from the outside, unfortunately.” He pinched his eyebrows. “You didn’t think I trusted you yet, did you soldier?”

Callan remained still, but his nostrils flared as he exhaled.

“Verosa set you up nicely, you’ll be quite comfortable here until morning. Or shit, maybe afternoon depending on how my night goes.” He grinned as he pulled the door closed behind himself. “Sweet dreams, my darlings!”

The sound of the lock turning in the door was deafening. I tried to calm my racing heart, suddenly feeling as though the walls were inching in around me as a cold sweat flashed out over my skin.

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