Chapter 7 Mari
Mari
My hand shook as I lifted the mug of tea to my lips.
“How could a person do that to another soul?” Feather shook her head in disbelief.
It had been hours since we’d seen Alethea’s body in that alley, and none of us were any closer to coming to terms with it.
“Exactly!” Tulli paced the floorboards like a shark on the hunt. “It’s because whoever did this isn’t a fucking person, Feather. Don’t you get that? It’s a goddamn monster!”
Feather’s throat worked, her cheeks finally blooming with a spot of color for the first time since that morning. “I promise you, I know that better than anyone.”
Tulli’s tightly clenched fists unfurled, and she winced. “I’m so sorry, love. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s fine,” Feather murmured. “This isn’t a time for us to be fighting amongst ourselves. We’re all just overwrought about what happened.”
“She’s right,” I intoned, setting down my mug and settling back against the sofa with a heavy sigh. “We’ve got to make some plans here.”
News traveled fast, and my other Doves had already heard about Alethea by the time we’d gotten back from the marketplace. They, along with the rest of the town, had come to the same conclusion.
Until the perpetrator had been captured, it wasn’t safe. The brothel would be closed until further notice, and my Doves would be relegated to the indoors at night. I’d also insisted they travel in pairs, even during the daylight hours.
They had been too terrified to argue, and even now had taken to their rooms to process the news.
“Do you still think it’s Aristotle?” Feather asked.
“I don’t know what to think. I don’t honestly know anymore.”
It would take a degree of arrogance I wasn’t sure even he had to kill again, knowing he was already the only real suspect in Breona’s death, and what looked like in the early hours of the morning, not even the dead of night.
Sure, demons would stick together in the face of a shared enemy, but murdering Doves meant none of his brethren could partake of their services for the immediate future.
Several clients of our house, along with dozens from the other houses, would not take kindly to having their appointments interrupted.
Now that these murders had inconvenienced them, they’d be keen to stop whoever was behind them. Surely, Aristotle would know that…
“I’m thinking maybe not.”
Tulli let out a low whistle. “A good thing the king disrupted his date with Belladonna then, I guess.”
Feather shrugged. “I still think he could’ve done with a good dose of poison, whether he was the one who hurt Breona or not, but that’s just me.”
I couldn’t argue with her there, but if I made it my mission to kill every asshole in the Demon Territory, this place would be nothing but a graveyard.
A sharp rap on the door cut through my thoughts, and Feather let out a gasp and her cheeks went pale again.
This had been tougher on her and had surely brought back some terrible memories. I reached out, caught her hand in mine, and gave it a squeeze. A hot tear splashed on my wrist, and I looked up to see her weeping in silence.
“She was really nice.” Her voice was a hoarse whisper.
“Whenever we attended galas or events and she was there, she always made sure to come sit and have a chat with me. Always told me how pretty my hair was, or how much she liked my dress, or how jealous she was of my fine complexion. And she meant it. The way she said it never made me feel like she was pitying me, you know?”
I nodded. I did know. I just hadn’t let myself think about that yet. Late at night, when I was alone in my bedroom, I would mourn Alethea. Kind, smart, she’d been quick to laugh, both at herself and along with others, and had been a favorite of the other Doves.
Which was why her being murdered in the most vicious way imaginable made the need to protect Tulli, Jastani, and Feather even more urgent.
I was firmly stuck between a rock and a hard place now.
They were in more danger than ever. The smart move would be to leave tonight.
But all the Doves were now at risk. Would I ever sleep again, knowing I’d not only left them, but left them to die at the hands of a monster?
“Good afternoon, Innia. Feather.”
I tore my gaze from Feather’s ravaged face and found a wide-eyed, broad-shouldered man in the doorway, led by a nervous-looking Tulli.
“Luc,” I said. I had to take a moment to glance down at the fabric of my dress, to be sure which version of me I was presenting him with.
“I’m so sorry. I just heard about Alethea.” For most demons, I’d have taken the words with a grain of salt. They weren’t sorry about much.
But there was a genuineness about Luc that made me know he meant it. Whatever made the other demons hard, had somehow given him a softness that I did not see in many.
“It’s been a great shock.” I stood, releasing Feather’s hand to rise and greet him. “Please tell me that the new king intends to do something about this.”
Luc cleared his throat and looked away. “I’m not sure he’s even heard the news yet. I only found out on my way here. Gabe’s been inundated with politics and the nobles. I’m sure when he gets wind of it, he will take swift action.”
I noticed the familiarity with the new king’s name. Interesting. Were they that close, or had they known each other before?
“Are you sure of that, Luc?” I was too raw to temper my words, but Luc didn’t seem to take offense. And he answered my unspoken question first.
“I knew him years ago when we were young. He was a good lad then, and something tells me that hasn’t changed. I am putting my faith in him, and I think you should, too.”
Not a chance in hell of that. But I’d already said too much, and words like those could be viewed as treason.
“If not for Alethea, why have you come?” I queried, arching a brow at him.
“I need to speak to the Briar Queen. The king requires her presence at the castle.”
A pulse pounded in my neck, and I lifted my hand to cover it. “Does he? And why is that?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
Shit.
“When is this meeting supposed to happen?”
Luc grimaced in apology. “He requires her presence at once.”
Double shit.
“Yes, well, she’s indisposed at the moment, so perhaps I may speak for her. You can go back and let him know she’ll head over to the castle within the next hour or so.”
But he was already shaking his head. “I’m to return with her in tow. Please let her know, and I’ll be waiting outside for her to join me. Sorry, Innia, for all this. I know it’s not a good time for you all.”
With that, he turned on his booted heel and headed out the front door, leaving the three of us staring at each other in his wake.
“What the fuck is this about? You don’t think he realized that the Briar Queen and I are one and the same? That he saw me? If he’d only seen me as Innia, he wouldn’t be asking for the Briar Queen, would he?”
Feather twisted the handkerchief in her lap. “It could be that he’s asking to speak to the Briar Queen because she is Innia’s housemother. You know, as a courtesy.”
Which was actually no better.
But there wasn’t time to discuss it. I had to dress and change my appearance and set my paranoia aside for the time being.
“Tulli, listen…if I’m not back here by midnight, I need you to open the safe beneath the floorboards.
Take out the paperwork and the cash. Then you will gather Jastani and go.
The three of you stow away on the closest merchant ship and get as far from here as you possibly can. ”
“Mari—” Feather began, but I cut her off with a sharp swipe of my hand.
“Do not add to my worries right now, Feather. I need to know that you’ll do this for me. Swear it.”
I stared holes through each of them in turn until both nodded as I slipped into my heavy gray cloak and dress combination. I put on my ring and slipped another over my other hand. The strongest of the rings, it did more than change my hair and eye color.
It changed how my face looked on every level. Enlarging my nose, making my eyes smaller, lips narrower.
Not ugly but…plain. Common. Certainly not one you’d think could be a Dove of the highest rank. Now, if my hood were to be removed there was no way the king would find me again. As the ring slid past my second knuckle, my skin tightened, and stretched.
“We swear.”
I turned and swept from the room on unsteady legs.
How did things turn so quickly? Had it truly only been a couple of days ago that the end had been within reach? That we’d had everything we needed to get out of this place?
Apparently not. There was a potential serial killer among us. A Jack the Ripper copycat was killing Doves, and the new king needed to see me. Immediately. The chances of us leaving the Demon Territory any time soon dried up like a slug in the sun.
Luc might think this new king was worthy, but so far all he’d done was fuck everything up for me and my girls.
Made it impossible for us to leave this place, and that made him my enemy.
Now it was game on.