Chapter 8 Lyx
EIGHT
Lyx
The hope Lyx was holding onto slips through her fingers and shatters against the ground.
Cav appears beside her. “Come on, Captain, there has to be —”
“Don’t,” Lyx hisses. She doesn’t want Cav anywhere near this. She turns back to Heathen and fights to keep her voice level. “Please. I’ll work for free. I can make you more money than —”
“It’s not about money.” Heathen’s mouth sets in a thin line. “There are no spare rooms. You are an unknown variable; I can’t set you loose on my customers. Now, Cavalier, please see your guest out.”
Lyx’s head swims. How could she have prepared for this? What brothel owner doesn’t put a siren straight to work? Tidus will be furious if Lyx returns empty-handed. He’ll be furious if she returns at all, squandering the one opportunity to get on this ship.
She cannot go back. She cannot lose her song.
“What if she takes my room?” Cav asks. For once, there isn’t a hint of humor on his face. “I’ll sleep in my hammock on the deck.”
Heathen’s jaw tightens. “Cav…”
“If it doesn’t work out, you can drop her off at the next port.”
“Cav.”
“Playing it safe?”
Lyx’s eyes widen. She’s never seen someone question their captain so brazenly, especially in front of an outsider. Tidus took people’s tongue for that, but Heathen doesn’t call for her guards. Her eyes lock on Cav’s in some conversation Lyx isn’t privy to.
“Please,” Cav whispers. That one word is threaded with so much desperation, Lyx wonders if this isn’t about her spot on the ship at all.
Heathen looks like she wants to reject him – but then, the corners of her eyes soften. That tenderness makes Lyx recoil before Heathen turns back to her with a staid expression. “If you accept passage on this ship, you agree to assist Cavalier with his endeavor.”
Lyx is distracted from her relief by bewilderment. “Endeavor?”
“Let’s call it a project,” Heathen corrects. “That sounds structured.” Clearly, Heathen is grasping for some comfort. “Cavalier has some…unique ideas for the pleasure ship, and you will aid him in bringing those to life.”
Lyx’s eyes narrow. “What ideas?”
“A broader introduction of kinks.” Heathen opens their hands as if they were commenting on the weather. “Our current system is much more fixed, and Cav would like to play with the bounds of that. He requires a partner willing to explore the terrain with him.”
Despite Heathen’s delivery, the revelation is jarring. “The condition of my stay is me fucking him?”
Cav blanches. “That’s not —”
“Whatever his venture requires,” Heathen clarifies. “You two can determine your boundaries. In return, he will be your sponsor on the ship, responsible for anything that happens to you, and anything you happen to. Do we have a deal?”
Lyx’s hands curl into fists. How quickly Heathen’s change of heart has changed Lyx’s mind. It was bad enough seeing Cav again, but now she’ll have to share a ship with him? Share a bed? Share her pleasure?
She hasn’t forgotten what that’s like. Traitorous arousal trickles down her spine.
It only happened once. It barely happened, but she recalls her last hour with Cav in excruciating, exquisite detail.
That night comes back to her when she can’t sleep, when she lies next to Tidus and tries to drown out the sound of his breathing.
She closes her eyes and returns to the grotto to feel Cav’s hands on her again, that sticky heat between both their legs, his breath against hers…
Her head jerks to scatter the thoughts. The memory doesn’t matter. It’s something she uses to cope, not something with any real meaning. Not something she actually desires. All she wants is her freedom and to ruin Cav. If this will give her the opportunity for both…
“Fine,” she snaps. “At least it’ll be over quickly.”
Cav’s mouth twitches up at the insult. Lyx refuses to look at him.
Heathen steps toward her bookshelf to retrieve an empty jar.
“The Indulgence has magical wards in place, meaning there’s no risk of pregnancy or sexually-transmitted infections.
” She returns to Lyx, unclamping the jar and flipping the lid open.
“It also means any coercive abilities you have won’t work on board.
Consider them forbidden until you leave this ship for good. ”
Lyx’s mouth twists. No siren would agree to that so easily. Even if Lyx has no power of her own, she has to act like she does. Her head tilts coyly. “What if there’s an emergency?”
“Forbidden,” Heathen enunciates.
The two of them watch each other in a silent standoff. Heathen barely blinks. Eventually, Lyx rolls her eyes in agreement.
That’s enough for Heathen. “By every third day, you will assist Cav in his venture. There are no extensions or payment plans; that is your schedule. If you agree to these terms, you can make your deposit.” She taps the jar and extends it toward Lyx.
“You can use whatever you like: a few strands of hair, fingernail clippings, loose scales.”
Warily, Lyx eyes the glass. “Why do you need that?”
“Your deposit is like your signature on a contract.” When Lyx doesn’t respond, Heathen purses their lips. It’s clear they don’t wish to elaborate, but Lyx doesn’t move. Finally, they straighten their posture. “While you’re aboard the Indulgence, any pleasure you experience will be collected.”
“Collected?”
“It will have no effect on your experience. You won’t notice a difference.
” Heathen sets the empty jar on her desk to put some space between them.
“When anyone comes aboard, they make a deposit, regardless if they’re customers or crew.
The deposit has no negative effects; I’ve spent a lot of time ensuring that. It’s only used to compile pleasure.”
Lyx scoffs. “How can you measure something like that? How can you collect it?”
That, Heathen doesn’t answer. “I understand this is unorthodox, but it’s the way our ship operates. If that’s not agreeable to you, then you’re free to go.”
Lyx bites her cheek. Why does the thought of giving up some part of herself make her skin crawl?
She can still remember the feeling of losing her song, the strands slipping out of her mouth, and her helpless to stop them.
But this is unlike any deal Tidus ever made.
He took payments in wealth alone, dealing in threats and fear.
People signed away ships and jewels and their lives, but never anything as inconsequential as nail clippings.
Lyx has spent the past two years surrounded by liars and thieves. She’s gotten good at knowing when someone’s trying to rip her off, and Heathen doesn’t send up any red flags. Besides, they didn’t want Lyx on the ship at all. This can’t be part of some bigger conspiracy to crush her — can it?
Cav moves in front of her to shield her from Heathen’s sight. “You don’t have to do this.” His voice is low between them, his tail curling beside her feet. “I could help you find something else.”
Great Abyss, she hates his gentleness. He acts like he’s on her side, but she knows better. She’s alone. Her lip curls into a snarl.
He gives her a lingering look before he settles back beside her. “If it helps, I’ve given my scales for a while now. Never had any problems.”
It doesn’t help. It shouldn’t, because Lyx would never seek comfort from Cavalier.
But…fuck it. This is her way onto the ship.
Once she gets onboard, she’ll figure out how Heathen’s business works.
She’ll get Tidus the information he wants.
She’ll destroy Cav and the life he’s made here.
At the end of this, she’ll escape the past once and for all.
That’s all she can do.
Resolutely, she pushes past Cav and holds out her wrist. Her loose scales wink and shimmer as they fall, and Lyx tries not to imagine the shell glowing in Tidus’s chest.
Heathen flips the lid of the jar closed. “Looks like we have a deal.”