14. The game of seduction.
The game of seduction.
HARLOW
I t’s nothing. He’s just helping a member of his crew , I tell myself for the third time tonight. Don’t read into it , Harlow.
I’m trying to hold on to my anger toward Jayce, because I know if I let it go, something harder to manage will arise.
But he makes it really difficult to despise him.
During the attack on the Blunder , his first instinct was to push me behind him and protect me.
Then, in the days that followed, his unwavering attention was addictive.
And now he wants to teach me how to swim.
I’m fucked—well and truly fucked . That man is too easy to love. And I’m not on the Blunder to get broken-hearted. I’m here to find answers to why dragons attack, not lusting over a convicted pirate and fire scrounger captain.
I groan, dropping my face in my hands.
I share a room with Kuroki four times the size of our cabins on the Blunder , with a private bathroom and a balcony with a view of the City of the Thousand Towers.
When we dropped our bags earlier, he pointed toward the different visible landmarks, but I was too overwhelmed to remember them all.
Gia has the smaller room next door, Wilbur the one in front of us, and Freddy and Alara the one at the end of the hallway.
I couldn’t help but notice that Jayce’s bags were taken upstairs.
I sit on the soft feather bed; it reminds me of the one on my father’s estate.
It’s weird not to be on the Blunder , with her narrow cabins, dark cargo hold, and the tang of liquid-fire in the burner.
I’ve been a fire scrounger for a few weeks, and I’m already too used to this life.
Maybe the constant traveling calls to my blood.
The gentle sway of the airship flying reminds me of the caravan where I slept when I was a kid.
I hadn’t experienced such longing in years, and the feeling of being welcomed back home.
The first months after being rescued from the scorched road are a blur.
The burns on my back were extensive, and the doctor—who later became my adoptive father—kept me drugged most of the time to spare me the pain.
I was stuck in a dreamless world of sensations and blunt suffering.
By the time I’d healed enough to stay conscious for more than a few hours at a time, the memories of my past life already seemed so distant, like a story from a book, and not something I’d experienced first-hand.
Only one thing stayed vivid: my fear of dragons and their fire.
But traveling on the Blunder brings back memories from my childhood that I thought buried. Life on the ship, like her captain, is easy to get addicted to.
I sigh and lie on the bed. The childish part of me hopes we won’t get back on the egg thieves’ tracks soon, for I want to have more time to enjoy this new life.
And the dangerously charming captain , whispers a little voice in my head.
I groan again and pull off my shoes before throwing them across the room.
Kuroki stayed in the common room with Wilbur while the rest of the crew went to bed, and I have no one to distract me from my thoughts.
The few beers I drank make my head buzz, but my body is exhausted, and sleep seems to be a good idea right now.
I take my clothes off and burrow under the covers.
I can’t help but wonder where Jayce is sleeping tonight.
The sounds of the bustling city wake me up at sunrise.
For a heartbeat, before I have opened my eyes, I think I’m back in my lodgings in Dragonest. I’ll dress up, drink coffee and eat breakfast in the bakery down the street, then head out to university for classes. It was my life for over eight years.
Maybe I just had the most incredible dream, about a flying ship, a heartbreaker of a pirate captain, and crew members who I could not help but love like family.
But then I open my eyes, and reality comes into sharp focus, and a smile spreads over my face as I realize it wasn’t a dream at all. I’ve graduated from university, and I’m a real dragoner now.
Today, I’m free to visit Mandinka to my heart’s content.
I make the most of the inn’s modern plumbing to take a hot shower. Then, to my astonishment, I see that Kuroki’s bed is still made; he didn’t sleep here last night. Interesting.
As I exit my room, I come face to face with Gia.
She’s wearing a whimsical blue dress, leaving nothing to the imagination.
People in Dragonest would consider it too daring, but I’ve heard Mandinkan fashion is bolder than Hargos’ northern fashion.
With the warm and humid climate, it doesn’t surprise me.
“You look incredible,” I say.
“Thank you,” she says, shaping her lush curls with her fingers. “And you’re a delicious-looking dragoner.” She winks.
I snort. I’m only wearing my usual brown pants and a vest. If the days here are anything like Dragonest’s brief summers, the heat will cook me alive by noon.
“Where are you going?” Gia asks as we take the stairs.
“I thought I could visit the city. And I would like to find a library to get new books to read at night.”
“Yes! More dirty stories. Can I come with you? I know Mandinka. We always stop by when we’re in the south. I could be your guide.”
“How could I say no to such a wonderful offer?” I say.
We walk out of the Mermaid’s Ire hand in hand, by all appearances looking like two lovers, but both gayer than a rainbow.
Mandinka is… breathtaking. I’ve never seen a place so green. Every corner, balcony, and garden is filled with lush trees and flowers.
Gia leads me through the red cobblestone streets to the busy parts of the city.
We buy local food from vendors, new clothes from small businesses, and books from an impressive three-story library.
She spends half an hour romancing the pretty clerk while I peruse the shelves, and by the time I’m done picking books, she has a date for tomorrow.
“You need to teach me how to do that,” I say, snorting as we walk down the street.
“Do what?”
“Eat them all up and leave no crumbs. The poor woman was moon-eyed when you left.”
Gia laughs merrily. “Seduction is a game, love. Know the rules, and you have a head-start on your opponent.”
I nod thoughtfully. “Will you teach me?”
She stops walking and faces me. “I will. But be careful not to get too caught up in the game. If you do, you’re already losing. And don’t confuse seduction with love.”
I snort. “No chance. Love isn’t in the cards for me.”
“Right.” She smiles, as if the joke is on me, and I blush. Have I looked as moon-eyed as the clerk around Jayce? She pulls me by the arm. “So first, you need to shower them with attention…”
We spend the rest of the day talking about seduction, body language, and sex.
Gia is a demon of lust in disguise, and even though her usual prey are women, she can work her magic on men, too.
To prove her point, she used her charms on a few other vendors and clerks, and I was awestruck by her techniques.
We laughed until I was out of breath.
A week ago I killed a man, and a week before that I almost died by dragon fire, and yet my new friends always make me forget my troubles. I feel as light as a feather, and more alive than I have in years. It’s as if my life in Dragonest was but a fever dream, and this is real life.
We stop by the dragoners’ guild. I want to check if there’s a message for me, and to make sure they’re on the look-out for a slick vessel with black sails.
The guild has taken residency in one of the famous towers of the city, and birds fly in and out of the rookery with messages tied to their legs.
Three dragons fought for territory in the north, and a crew of fire scroungers reported a new hatchling in the Wilds, prompting a study mission from the nearest dragoners.
I take a copy of the reports to update my journal.
In my line of work, I have to always be up to date with dragon activity.
The Blunder is in no state to depart, so I don’t bother asking about potential deaths.
By the time we return to the Mermaid’s Ire in the evening, laden with bags of treasures, the rest of the crew has already gathered in the common room for supper.
My cheeks hurt from smiling, and I can’t bring myself to even be resentful toward Jayce.
I grin as he offers me a tankard of beer, and he blinks.
“Had a good day?” he asks.
“Wonderful.” I pull out the books I bought from a bag and drop them on the table.
“Harlow, you’re the best!” Kuroki laughs.
I want to ask him where he slept last night, but something tells me not to do it in front of everyone. Wilbur is sitting at the end of the table, eyes on his drink, being taciturn as always. Kuroki looks as cheerful as usual, so it’s hard to tell.
With Gia’s lessons still fresh in my memory, I sit on the bench next to Jayce.
Knowingly or not, he used the rules of seduction masterfully against me.
He offered me his unending attention, even going as far as calling me baby, then took it all away, creating this deep craving for his company.
I want to stop being the unwitting loser in his game and become an active player.
I want to show him I can be a serious adversary.
Heart hammering, I let my leg touch his while keeping my focus on what Alara is saying.
“ Touch is important ,” Gia said earlier.
“ Let them feel you, but let it appear as if it’s natural, and you don’t realize you’re doing it.
Make them wonder at your proximity, but not feel threatened.
Soon enough, they’ll become aware of your presence at all times, and seek it.
Humans are social creatures, and we crave touch and connection . ”
The place where our legs touch feels deliciously warm, but I choose to focus on my drink instead, and to laugh at Freddy’s comments on his wife’s story.
“ Don’t get caught up in your own game ,” Gia advised. “ Or you’ll do the seducing for them .”
All night, I do my best to avoid looking at Jayce while staying close to him. By the time we all go to bed, my skin is buzzing. I’m still mad at him, and I want to make him regret giving me the cold shoulder and leaving me to wake alone in his bed that day.
Kuroki enters the room, pulling me out of my musing.
“He locked his door,” he whispers once he has closed ours.
“What?” I ask, my mind still on Jayce.
“Wilbur. I just checked. He locked his door.”
“Okay?”
He walks to me, his quiet voice becoming more urgent. “He never locks his door.”
“Kuroki. Get to the point, you’re confusing as fuck and you sound like a stalker. And why are we whispering? It’s not like he’ll be able to hear us from the other side of two doors.”
“Oh, right,” he continues at a normal volume. “Well, last night… I slept in his bed.”
I grin. “Yeah?”
“It’s not as cheeky as it sounds. We drank a lot. I helped him to his room, then we landed on the bed and… we fell asleep.” He sighs with a dopey smile on his face. “But man, when I woke up, he had his arm over me and his hand on my ass.” He turns and drops on my bed. “Harlow, I was in heaven.”
I chuckle. “I bet you were.”
“I wanted to stay like this forever. I refused to move. But eventually, I got restless, and I had a terrible tingling in my leg, and I woke him by accident. He looked at me—his face was so close to mine!—and he freaked out…”
“Freaked out how?” I ask, dreading the answer.
“He gasped and kicked me out of the bed. I fell on the floor. By the time I got out of the comforter, he was gone.”
“Gone?”
“ Poof . Gone. I found him eating breakfast, pretending like nothing happened. But his ears were bright red. He has avoided me all day, and now he has locked his door.
“And it’s… good?” I ask, confused by the smile still on his face.
“I think so? I mean, he’s always been so aloof around me, as if I was almost below his notice. Took me months to make him smile. But make him flustered? I’ll take it! And his hand, Harlow—his hand!—was on my ass! On the gods, I could die happy now.” He buries his face in a pillow.
I laugh. Gia was right; physical touch holds power. One touch from Wilbur, and Kuroki would risk it all.
I lie by his side on the bed, fascinated by his love for the inventor. I hope one day to get to see it come to fruition with my own eyes.
The next morning, I open the bag of clothes I bought yesterday with Gia.
“ To seduce, it’s also important that you feel and look your best, ” she said. “ Make the effort, but also make it look effortless? ”
“Uh, what?”
She laughed. “ For example, we’re in Mandinka. Flimsy clothing is in fashion here. Use the opportunity to wear new clothes and show more skin. Nobody will think you’re doing it on purpose; it’s just too hot here. Come, I’ll help you pick outfits .”
I stare at the three outfits spread on my bed, hesitating. I settle for the one I find the most daring—I can’t back down now. It’s a white kimono with threads of color shaped like dragons. It stops at the knees and reveals my thighs when I walk, and it shows a decent amount of chest at the front.
“ And Harlow, don’t forget your beauty ,” she said. “ You were born with good looks. You can weaponise them .”
I examine myself in the tall mirror on the wall and feel warmth spread over my face.
I do look good. Gia was right, white suits me.
It brings the ginger tone of my blonde hair to light.
I push my glasses over my nose and put on the new sandals I bought—the seller called them getas—before going downstairs.
Kuroki is still sound asleep in his bed.
You’re a dragoner and a descendant of the Cheerfolk, I tell myself. Wearing new clothes is nothing to be embarrassed about.
But, of course, Alara has other plans.