Chapter Two
V al got home and showered while she tried to regret bringing that child back. She couldn’t. He had a long life ahead of him and needed every second of it.
“I can’t believe I am considering the club.” She mumbled it as she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel.
She used her hair towel to dry her hair as she sat at her kitchen counter and looked for any mention of necromancers in the last four months.
As she stared at her screen, a new notice popped up, and it asked, “ Is this what King Amori referred to?”
She blinked. “Uh-oh.”
This city had suited her. The scrying had told her it would be the safest place to hide, so she presented her new credentials and her shaved head at the immigration centre and set about becoming nice and settled in her new city.
It had taken six months of effort to go from temporary to permanent housing.
She was relieved that all it took to hide herself was a haircut and contacts.
She was now able to use magic to keep her eye colour hidden as an automatic part of getting ready in the morning.
She looked up the rules of the club, and virgins visited for free the first time. It was right there. It would also ensure that the partner chosen would not be in a hurry. They did recommend advance registration for it so that the widest spectrum of possible partners would be available.
Val bit her lip and then filled out the registration. She was getting too old to remain a virgin by local standards, and she didn’t want a relationship. The club was the best outlet available. Disease- and complication-free, no one remembered you when you left the building.
Bailey sent a query to her, and Val sighed and told her that she was going. Tonight, she would just get things over with.
* * * *
A mori looked at the child in bed with his mother clinging to his hand. She had turned to get him a juice box, and he had laughed and run for the waves. The rest was why he was here.
“So, Gerald, what did the lady say to you?”
Gerald was healthy, pink, and sitting with an IV and a little clip on his finger to monitor his oxygen level. “She asked me if I wanted to live and then hit me. She hit me hard, but it felt good later. I could breathe again, and my heart thumped again.”
His mother had tears welling slowly. A bear of a man ran in and said, “Where is he?”
Amori looked at the shifter and smelled grease and metal on him. “Come with me for a moment, and you can see him.”
Amori walked to the family room and explained the situation. “The child ran to danger. Your spouse bears no responsibility.”
“She isn’t my spouse. She’s... we have Gerald together.”
“Well, your son was resuscitated by a powerful mage, and he is going to enjoy robust health and increased strength. His mother will need help with him. He will be a lot to handle.”
The man nodded. “I can do that.”
“Why aren’t you together?”
“Her family doesn’t think I am the right fit for them.”
“Tough. I will draft a royal decree if it will help. Just come to my office on your day off. I will have it waiting.”
He smiled and said, “Thanks. If she will, I definitely will.”
Amori nodded. “Good, now go check on your son. He’s a handful.”
They walked back to the patient room, and the mother got up and ran to her partner, sobbing apologies. He held her and said it was okay. He remembered doing stupid shit as a boy as well. The son giggled, and they all sat around, in contact.
Amori heard a foot scuff and turned to see one of the peacekeepers from the scene. “So, what have you found out?”
“This woman has no ties to anywhere. She arrived in the city around ten years ago and has been employed as a baker since. Small apartment. Small friend group. Doesn’t make trouble.
No signs of magic.” The tablet chirped, and the officer smiled.
“Oh, and she just registered for the club tonight. Her friend is goading her there for her first visit.”
Amori cocked his head. “First visit in the city?”
“No, sir. She’s applying for her first visit.”
Amori blinked. “Huh. Unexpected.” He checked his phone, and the notice appeared.
As king, he was notified the moment special handling was required.
He checked the time and verified that he would be there at seven.
If this was the woman he remembered, he really needed to speak with her, and what better time than when she was exhausted in his arms.
Either way, he would have a woman tonight.
* * * *
B ailey helped Val get ready. No perfumes or other excessive scents were allowed. Makeup was fine as long as it wasn’t scented.
“Whose idea was setting up the club anyway?”
“Surprisingly, it was King Amori’s mother. She thought it was a shame that women had to wait until they had a male to enjoy sex, so now, we can go whenever we can pay the club fees, or our partner does, but if it’s a partner, there are other hotels around to enjoy.”
“How do you know if you can’t remember?”
Bailey chuckled. “That is what makes it fun.”
“Is that where you met Mira’s father?”
“No. He was a tourist, charming, elegant, and very good in bed. Mira looks just like him.”
“Damn. He was pretty, too.”
Bailey laughed. “Yeah. He was.”
“Any idea where he went?”
“Nope. He said he travelled for business but was taking a few days off. I had grandma’s inheritance and the shop, so I was good.”
“Good. Mira is amazing, and you made her all by yourself.”
“Yeah, you can say that now, but Mira and her friends have already been caught trying to sneak into the club. Fortunately, that place is bespelled from here to eternity. They can’t get in, but they do get caught in a field until peacekeepers can come and lecture them.”
“Geez.”
“Female peacekeepers.”
Val laughed. “Sensible.”
“Right. Ready?”
“No, but let’s go.” She sighed. “Damn. I thought we could just chat past my reservation.”
“Oh, you signed up online. That’s amazing.”
“Doesn’t it bring the pervs out?”
“Yes, but since the club works on the ladies coming back, they vet the guys who want to be presented to you.”
They left her house and were on their way in a cab. “So, what kind of situations can occur. I just pick one and go?”
“Unless the management determines that there is a better match for you. In that case, they will speak with you privately, and you will have to make a choice.”
“Is there ever a chance when there is no choice?”
“Only if the king shows up, and no one has mentioned seeing him at the club in a few years. You don’t have to worry about him. He knows what he’s doing.”
“Oh. Great. But he won’t remember details either, right?”
Bailey wasn’t confident. “Right. I don’t think so. Are you actually worried about that?”
“My luck is funny. I either have none, or it is perverse.”
Bailey laughed. “Like you coming in when my assistant had taken off for Denyar City, and you just happened to know how to work an industrial oven?”
“I just wanted a sausage roll.” Val chuckled.
“And ten years later, we are delivering on that.” Bailey laughed.
The driver chuckled.
It was only four blocks over, but it felt like forever and a heartbeat at the same time.
There was a line of ladies out the door as the driver pulled up. The other women blushed and smiled, but Bailey hauled Val to a bouncer on the other side of the lineup. “She has an appointment for seven.”
The bouncer smiled and held out her hand. “Identification, please?”
Val sighed and held it out. The troll-born smiled at her. “Please come in. The manager wishes to speak to you.”
Bailey grinned. “Have fun; I am getting in line.”
“Escort, I will return for you shortly.” The bouncer took Val inside, and Bailey headed back to the line.
Val looked at the woman who led her inside the building through three security doors. “You are going back for her?”
“She has brought you here on time. That deserves a reward.”
Val smiled. “Good. She has a teen who has tried to sneak in here. This might calm the little miss down.”
“That woman has a teen?”
“Yeah, she was a young mom.”
The bouncer nodded. “We will try something special for her.”
“What, is he going to wear sparklers or something?”
The bouncer laughed. “No, but some of our male clients like taking time, and others are in it for a quick release. The room she is sent to is left to my discretion.”
“Oh. Please be nice to her. She’s also my boss.”
The bouncer laughed. “I will be kind. Did you set up a profile online?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Excellent. You were honest?”
“Of course. No point in this if I pretend more experience than I have.”
“Exactly.” She nodded, and someone else went to keep the ladies in line outside.
“I didn’t realize that there was a line. I could have waited.”
“Oh, there is a rumour that the king will be here tonight. We are packed.”
“Ah, should I try again on a different day?”
“No, things are arranged for you today.”
“So, if I made a run for it, there would be a fuss?”
“I would have to chase you and haul you back in here. You have been checked in, and that means you have agreed to meet the males, if not initiate intimacy. If none of the males do it for you, you are welcome to come back another day, no charge.”
“Oh. No one mentioned that.”
“It rarely is necessary but has occurred. Now, you are going to change into a robe, put your things in a locker, and when you are ready, you will be walked to the room where the men will line up so you can choose one. You will have a charm on your wrist that will identify what you need versus what the males need. When there is a match, you will know. No match, no sex.”
“Right. Well, I am crossing my fingers.”
“For no match?”
Val smiled. “Not telling.”
The woman laughed and guided her to a gentleman in a kiosk. He looked at her, nodded, and ducked to the back, coming out with a robe and some sandals. “There you are, miss.”
She took them and thanked him.
The bouncer grabbed something and then walked her to the change room, saying, “When you are changed, walk to the blue door, and someone else will take you where you need to be.”