Chapter 62
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
PHOENIX
The next day, Vera hosts a party at her studio for House Dzuni.
Her apprentices are entertaining the nobles with intricate dances, beautiful songs, and exquisite music they play with drums, guitars, and flutes.
The plum wine flows in rivers, and the most lavish dishes cover the large dining table where over a dozen nobles sit.
Thankfully, we don’t have to take part. Once the dinner is in full swing, Jax, Vera, and I sneak out through the side exit in the kitchen.
“Won’t they notice you’re not there?” Jax asks.
I snort. “Nobleman Uringi probably already noticed.”
Vera throws us an amused glance. “I ordered two extremely skilled girls to occupy Nobleman Uringi in my private bath chambers while we do this. We’ll be back before he even remembers I exist.”
Jax and I exchange a glance and chuckle.
The party is just a distraction. Vera’s taking us to the heart of her Savage King operations so we can meet the rest of her team and discuss the details of the upcoming rescue mission.
I’m surprised when we don’t go far.
We don’t even leave Bussek.
I recognize Ri’s house from a distance. Instead of going through the front door, though, Vera rounds the building and knocks on the wooden door on the side. It swings open to reveal an unfamiliar face.
We follow Vera into the narrow stairwell that leads us to the basement. It’s small and cramped. Definitely not the headquarters I expected. There’s nothing but old barrels and boxes, walls covered in mud, thick webs with fat spiders hanging above our heads.
“Is this where you run your operations from?”
I look around, making sure I duck low enough not to walk into one of the webs with my face.
“Of course not,” Vera says.
The girl that opened the door for us disappears behind the wall of old crates. Vera follows her. Hesitantly, I do, too. It’s tight here, but behind the crates is a narrow door. I squeeze through it and hold it open for Jax, who’s fighting for his life to remove a nasty spiderweb he walked into.
I try very hard not to laugh, but the faces he makes as he tries to shake the sticky white web off his fingers is hilarious.
Slowly, we shuffle through the dark, narrow corridor. It smells like mold and death. When I accidentally touch the wall, I almost gag. It’s sticky and moist.
“Vera, where the fuck are we going?” I whisper-yell.
“You’ll see.”
After another torturous five minutes of walking, the light at the end of the tunnel appears.
Hinges creak as the door opens and we emerge in a room carved out of stone.
My steps halt as I take in the space—the rounded stone ceiling, no windows, and the round table in the middle with barrels for chairs stacked around it.
Ri sits on one of the barrels.
“Finally,” she says and arches an eyebrow. “Took you long enough.”
“You know how it goes with these parties, Ri,” Vera says and takes a seat next to Ri.
Ri eyes me and Jax, still at the door. “You brought strangers. Your champion. Again.”
I can tell she’s less than pleased to see me and Jax. I can’t blame her. To keep Savage King a secret, they must be protective of it and be extremely selective about who they bring into their circle.
“You can trust us,” I say. “We helped before, and we want to help again.”
Ri clicks her tongue and waves for us to join them at the table.
“This is Gwen.” She waves at the girl who greeted us. “She’s one of my apprentices, and one of our spies.”
“Nice to meet you Gwen,” I say.
She greets me in the official Ezkai matter.
“It’s been a while, dear,” Jax purrs to her. Oh, so they know each other. Of course. What did I expect? “Where have you been?”
Before Gwen can answer, Ri says, “Spying for me, handsome. Don’t pry further if you don’t wanna lose your privileges.”
Jax lifts his palms in defense and flashes Ri his most dazzling smile. “Yes, ma’am.”
I hate that smile.
I can’t help myself. I roll my eyes.
“What is this place?” I ask Vera.
This looks like much more than a basement.
“Part of historical catacomb network that stretches all throughout Jaakii,” Vera says. “It was built to help evacuate fae out of the city in case of war against Wetra or Emera, but it’s not been used. Well, Order of Ezkai use parts of it for their operations.”
Interesting. Never before have I heard anyone at the Order mention it before.
Vera looks at Ri. “Want to brief us on the situation?”
“Sure,” the old Caetra says. “There’s a shipment of twenty adolescents making landfall tomorrow night. This one’s from Wetra, the kids—”
I cut her off. “What? Caligos are trafficking kids from Wetra?”
I can’t believe this fucking shit.
Ri and Vera exchange a glance.
Ri nods. “Yes, Ezkai Phoenix. It’s not as common as trafficking Ekiosh children, but it happens. They bring bodies from Emera, too.”
I blink, staring at her.
“There’s a market for human and dwarven…folk,” Vera says carefully. “Some Caligos run brothels, ones that are operating outside the law, that cater to fae with…specific tastes. Humans and dwarven are more expensive than fae.”
All I see is red. It takes me a moment to calm the rage that has surged to the surface.
“I see.” I choke the words out.
My stomach lurches at the thought of young humans and dwarves, so far away from home, drugged out of their damn minds, being abused against their will.
“Gwen found out that they’ll be bringing the kids from the harbor to the new location,” Ri continues. “After the recent raids to their safe houses, they started rotating them each time so we wouldn’t know where to look for the kids.”
“I noticed,” Vera says, thoughtfully. “You have information on this new location?”
“Yes,” Ri says and pulls out Jaakii’s map.
She lays it down on the table so all of us can see.
“It’s going to be tricky this time around, Vera.
” She taps a finger at Kozem. “This warehouse is in a highly dangerous part of Kozem. Not sure how can we go in and out without being noticed. Especially when Caligos will be expecting a potential ambush from Savage King.”
I lean closer to the map to inspect the location Ri is pointing at. My heart sinks immediately. I straighten my back.
No way.
“This warehouse you mention, is it operating?” I ask, looking up from the map at Ri.
She shakes her head. “No, not anymore. Some months back, the Order busted the illegal gambling parlor that a prominent Caligos family was running. Since then, it hasn’t been officially operating. It’s been used as a safe house or storehouse by another Caligos family.”
I swallow hard. “I was there, during the raid that took Gloria Esclar and her family down. Which family took over?”
“Talbots,” Ri says.
For a moment, I feel like I’m falling. Of course, of course.
Now it makes all the sense. Why Daegel charged into the middle of our mission, so eager to take out Gloria and her brothers. To ensure Ezkai seize the warehouse.
He said all of it was for me. When in reality, all of it was to aid his family’s dirty business.
Vera’s hand lands on my forearm, which snaps me out of my thoughts. “Are you okay?”
I clear my throat and force the words out. “Yes, I’m fine. I know that warehouse well, the layout and all the entrances and exits. That may help us get in and out easier.”
Vera nods. “That’s great news. It’ll be invaluable help.”
“That doesn’t take care of our issue of getting the carriages safely into that area and then getting them out with kids loaded,” Ri says wryly.
Vera nods, humming. “That’s true. We need to brainstorm all possible plans.”
And so we do.
For the next two hours, all five of us around the table wrack our brains to come up with a million plans and strategies to get in and out of that area of Kozem safely.
Jax is the one who comes up with an unconventional, but useful, idea.
“I don’t like it,” Vera says. “Her reputation precedes her, and not in a good way.”
“I know it doesn’t sound very safe, but trust me, Madame Mercy will help and she’ll be discreet about it,” Jax says. “She owes me a favor. And she detests Caligos.”
“But she’s still a criminal,” Ri says, shaking her head. “And an outsider. If the word gets out about this…if anyone senses Vera’s the Savage King…”
“Nobody will put two and two together,” Jax says. “I’ll ask for her help without giving details of what we’re doing. She only has to grant us safe passage to that area and make sure nobody ambushes us.”
Vera considers his offer for a long while. Finally, she says, “It’s worth the risk. Jax, get this woman to helps us get in and out freely.”
Jax grins. “You got it, boss.” His smile falls and he scratches the back of his head. “Oh, while she does owe me a favor, she’ll probably ask for a fee.”
I roll my eyes, but Vera only chuckles and says, “Of course she will. Nothing in this life comes for free.”
Once we settle on the last details, the three of us rise to leave. Before we head back into the dark corridor, Vera pulls me to the side.
“Tonight, I trusted you with something that’s the most important thing in my life. That’s worth everything to me. I hope your heart doesn’t betray me, Phoenix,” she says.
She doesn’t have to spell it out for me—I know what she means. She trusts me not to rat her out to Daegel.
“Vera, you can trust me on this. Your secret is safe with me.”
She nods. “Thank you. Now, do you understand why passing this bill I asked you to pass, one that Kitajo worked to pass, is so important?”
“I do, Vera,” I say, determined. “I do.”
“Good. Remember that when you fight for your life during the Trial of Strength. And think about what happens if you lose.”