6. Rahzlyn
Rahzlyn
The stars on the other side of the coin were a map detailing a path to follow, leading to one of the secret entrances.
There were many entrances, apparently, with different coins leading to each.
After climbing up steep cobbled roads, we found ourselves wandering the Upper Peaks, the highest point of Dioscuri.
The royal castle floated off in the distance, its grounds vast and looming.
Light twinkled from within like the silvery stars overhead.
The cool air coasted along my skin and danced with my hair.
The whistling gusts threaded in a soft, melodic breeze that hummed low in my ears.
I never could identify what instrument it sometimes reminded me of. Perhaps some variation of a flute.
“You alright?” Kole prompted, tugging at my hand. I nodded, not yet ready to share with him our family’s other secret. “Why didn’t you and Basil tell me about his gift?”
“Rather than risk pursuing an Academy, or anyone taking advantage of him for their own personal gain, we swore our gifts to secrecy.”
“Our gifts?” Kole questioned.
“His, belonging to our family,” I hastily clarified.
“If he had no intention of disclosing his gift, what changed?”
Nothing. I was a selfish, emotional fool who led with my heart instead of my head. I didn’t blame my brother for being angry with me.
Telling Kole about my looming betrothal didn’t feel like an option either. Vocalizing it, to him of all people, meant our hidden affair would have to come to an end, and I wasn’t ready to bid farewell to this insouciant part of my life.
“You know you could have trusted me sooner with that knowledge,” Kole added after my silence stretched.
“Could I?” Our eyes met in the darkness, footsteps slowing. “It’s been a few years since your mother walked. I know it’s been hard on you and Mel, but it feels like we hardly get to see each other anymore. And when we do, you’re withdrawn.”
He rolled his eyes, causing me to tense. “Don’t go there.”
“Why not?” I pressed. I craved a connection so deep, beyond the shell of our skin, that sometimes it scared me I would never find that.
I certainly wouldn’t with Jere. “If you don’t talk about it, it’ll eat away at you, Kole.
” Like it did with me. There were so many things my family didn’t deign to acknowledge.
“And I don’t want that because I care about you. ”
Walking ahead of me, Kole huffed a breath of annoyance. “That’s not what we are to each other, remember? We’re fun and pleasure, not…” He sighed, turning to face me. He gestured between us. “We can’t be anything more. Not right now.”
Why? Deep down, I knew the reason. It wasn’t about his mother or Basil or any other secrets he kept and didn’t want to face. No matter how many times I gave my body to him, the reality was I simply wasn’t enough. My eyes stung as I ignored the truth.
He took hold of my hand again. Holding my stare, his eyes were sharp with annoyance. “Don’t get emotional and ruin tonight. We’re almost there.”
I forced myself to squeeze back, trampling down the hurt and rejection. “Are we certain this is it? We look like criminals on the prowl for a break-in.” Especially compared to the more refined people passing us on the street.
The Upper Peaks were home to some of the wealthiest apartments and townhomes, whose residents I imagined were fiercely loyal to the king.
Unlike the middle part of the city where the Stinky Boot resided, the Upper Peaks were bustling with fancy restaurants and upscale shops.
It was an odd location for such a scandalous place as Serpentine.
Then again, perhaps it was perfect.
Kole tugged me behind a building. He approached what appeared to be a cellar door built into a subterranean lean-to attached to the towering sandstone house.
He crouched down to tap his fist a precise number of times against it.
Whoever sold Kole the two coins must have given specific instructions for entry.
At first, nothing happened. Then the cellar doors eased open inwardly. I expected light to pour out, except we were met with more darkness. Kole beckoned me after him as we descended a ladder—no, a staircase. Solid and made of stone. My heart thundered wildly in my ears, not entirely out of fear.
Heady aromas of jasmine penetrated the air the further into the ground we went. Steady, beating drums vibrated against my skin. My fingers traced along the cavernous walls as we neared a golden haze at the bottom of the tunnel.
A masked man inspected us. He donned a brigandine that resembled armor the city guard usually wore, only his was white. As he took our two coins, his lips moved, yet no sound came out. He glared at me.
“We’re here to see the matron,” Kole said. “These coins were a gift from her.”
The matron?
The man hesitated before letting us pass.
We wandered through another tunnel, this one made of golden rugs and shimmering white curtains that draped languidly from the rocky ceiling. “Kole,” I whispered. “Who is the—”
“Ssh. Don’t ruin the surprise.”
A petite woman dressed in a simple white gown with her face concealed by a delicate jeweled mask assessed us from head to toe, and our status became glaringly obvious.
She ushered us into one of several private rooms fit for a royal.
White fabrics of all kinds hung above shelves stacked with white sandals, boots, and slip-ons.
Dresses, skirts, and tunics—all white—were strung everywhere.
Several privacy screens stood between vanity tables littered with shimmering powders and perfumes.
At the center of the room stood a table with dozens of white masks and glittering jewelry on display.
“Kole, we can’t afford—”
Kole silenced me by urging me toward the dresses. “This is included with our entry token. Pick out anything you like, and she’ll hang on to our clothes until we’re ready to leave. There are more changing rooms like this one near the exit, where our things will be waiting.”
My fingers skimmed the soft fabrics in awe. “So these are costumes?”
“More or less. Serpentine follows a strict dress code, which includes an anonymity policy, requiring all patrons to conceal their identities. So I’ve been told,” he added quickly.
“It’s a place to indulge in your deepest desires, with your identity protected even from the Astrals.
” He picked up a bracelet from a tray studded with an odd white circle and a black dot in the center.
“Creepy,” I muttered as Kole slid the bracelets over both of our wrists. “Reminds me of an eyeball.”
“Precisely.” He chuckled. “It’s said to ward off the eyes of the Astrals so that nothing down here could ever truly be seen by them. Down here, there are no peccant thoughts or deeds—only desires turned into reality.”
Strangely, I didn’t find that entirely comforting.
The decadence of the clothes overwhelmed me. Still, I couldn’t look away from one dress in particular. I peeked over at Kole to find him already changing behind one of the screens. I plucked the dress, heavier than it appeared, and paired it with a glimmering pair of silver heels.
I undid Nahn’s scarf from my hair, my frizzy curls blossoming past my shoulders. I shimmied into the dress. None of the clothes displayed on the walls could be found anywhere in the city. Then again, I wasn’t exactly shopping in the Upper Peaks when my undergarments needed replacing.
“Ready?”
“Almost,” I murmured. “There’s a tie I’ll need your—”
Cool hands brushed the bare skin of my back as he tied the fabric of the dress. His fingers lingered where the fabric dipped. “Gorgeous,” he said, breathing close to my ear. “Look at your hair.”
I stepped out and peered into a vanity mirror, shocked by the languid figure.
The stretchy white fabric clung tightly to my body, starkly outlining my curves.
The neckline dipped enough to highlight the swells of my breasts.
Embedded into the fabric were tiny gemstones that sparkled whenever I so much as breathed.
They shone convincingly enough to be real.
Kole returned, two silken masks in his hands with white roses pasted to each. As I tied the straps of mine behind my ears, I admired the loose pants he wore with an open button-down tunic, his lean chest on clear display.
“Now we’re ready.” He grinned at me in the mirror.
My body thrummed with excitement and anticipation.
He took my hand in his and guided us through the doorway opposite the one we came in through.
Murmurs behind us indicated more patrons required the dressing room.
My clacking heels echoed off the tunnel’s walls.
I knew we were approaching our destination as low drums and hushed voices met us in the dark.
We reached a curtain that parted for us by the workers stationed there. I wasn’t prepared for what awaited us.
Acrobats dangled from a dark, vaulted ceiling.
Limbs twisted and backs arched amongst white curtains.
A masked, inebriated crowd gazed upward in awe.
The room was vast, endless, and dark save for the sprinkle of sconces and candles.
Around the outskirts of the main room appeared to be various private alcoves with translucent curtains that did nothing to hide fornicating bodies.
In addition to jasmine, plumes of sweet and spicy smoke billowed from mouths through unfamiliar looking pipes.
Men and women alike dressed in salacious white gowns and pants like ours.
My head spun from the seductive music and headiness all around us.
Kole dragged me further into the throng of writhing bodies.
“I’ve never seen so much skin before,” I murmured. Many donned loose, unbuttoned robes—or nothing at all.
“Intoxicating, isn’t it?” Kole beamed up at the acrobats. He picked up two minuscule glasses of clear liquid off a server’s tray passing by. We clinked and tossed our heads back. The liquid burned like an inferno down my throat and pooled deep in my belly.