Chapter 23 #2
“Thornlings and phantoms?” Lory took the fabric. “I’m an ashling.”
The expression crossing Lu’Shen’s face told Lory the madame didn’t think so. “I train whoever they send me to train, and this is a personal favor for Khay, so if you want to know more, ask him.”
Why did everyone tell her to ask him? Aiden, Anees, now Lu’Shen… Almost like they were all loyal to him directly rather than Ashthorn.
“He trusts you?” Lory unfolded the fabric, trying not to get frustrated with how little of it there actually was.
“Enough to send you in here alone.” Lu’Shen gestured for Lory to put on the dress, and when Lory struggled to find the right straps to put over her shoulders or neck, the madame started tugging things into place until two stripes of blue silk wrapped around her biceps, then ran from the sides of her breasts to her neck, joining with a silk collar.
Part of the golden lace bra peeked above a heart-shaped, low-cut neckline, while the tight bodice hugged her curves.
The tight skirt revealed her leg where the fabric was slitted all the way to her hipbone on one side, and a golden brooch seemed to be holding the entire thing together above her navel.
Lory could have sworn one wrong breath would tear the dress right off her, so she inhaled small, shallow breaths, holding the fabric to her stomach with her flat hand.
Lu’Shen eyed her with approval. “Not bad. Now all you need is a proper hairdo and some makeup, and you’ll fit right in.”
“With the prostitutes?”
Lu’Shen laughed at the horrified expression on Lory’s face.
“With the courtesans at Ulder’s court. That’s the reason Khay brought you here.
Didn’t he tell you? Part of the upper-level training at Ashthorn is to fit into any class of society.
Since you grew up on the streets and this brothel is as familiar to you as the dirtiest corners of Dunai, you’ll stand out least if you assume a role that isn’t expected to be cultured or educated. ”
Lory pretended Lu’Shen’s words didn’t hurt, but deep down, she knew the madame was right.
Lory had never learned proper manners or etiquette, and if the Triad expected her to excel in all disciplines, Gilded was certainly the one she needed the most help with.
No matter how naturally dancing came to her, there were more important facets she had no clue about.
“Courtesan it is,” she agreed with a sigh, and Lu’Shen raised a groomed brow.
“You know you won’t actually be expected to take anyone to bed, right?”
Thank the Guardians.
Lory put on a bland expression. “Of course I knew.”
“Very well then.” Ushering Lory to sit in front of the mirror on the other side of the room, the madame pulled Lory’s braid apart and coiled her black strands around the back of her head in artful lines.
Then she added pins adorned with golden leaves similar to the brooch holding the dress together.
When she was satisfied with her work, she drew a line of kohl along Lory’s lids and dabbed a glimmering powder on her cheeks and decolletage.
“That’s so the eyes are directed away from your wits, girl.
” It wasn’t the words but the genuine smirk the woman gave Lory that made her see the sharp creature behind the facade of the brothel madame—a creature who might run a questionable establishment but seemed to have her fingers in the business of the Ashthorn Ward, and hence, the king.
What other sort of secrets the woman was hiding, Lory would have loved to find out, but Lu’Shen painted something red on her lips and beckoned her to follow her out of the room.
“You’ll be observing, and then you’ll seduce one customer.
The goal is to extract a personal piece of information without even making it up to the private rooms on this level.
” She gestured behind her at the door-lined hallway before heading down into the entertainment room downstairs, where new patrons had arrived, assessing the women and men who weren’t already engaged in conversation—or surprisingly intimate postures that left little to the imagination—in the wide, gold and blue velvet sofa chairs at the bottom of the stairs.
“Pick one,” Lu’Shen murmured as she walked Lory toward the group of prostitutes waiting to draw the attention of their next customer.
“Anyone, and then get to work. Always be wary of their intentions. Not every patron comes here for harmless entertainment. Some of them have more bloody activities in mind. The brooch holds a small knife. If you get into trouble, don’t hesitate to use it.
” Lu’Shen had the smile of the madame plastered back onto her face, her whisper as inconspicuous as any chat with her girls despite its content.
A woman with pretty red hair and golden skin gave her a suspicious glance as she stood next to her by the side of the room.
“You’re new?” A sweeping gaze up and down Lory’s body apparently told her everything she needed to know. “What, by Eroth, brought you here? You look like you’ve never worn a dress in your life.”
That’s because I haven’t. Lory gritted her teeth, then forced a smile. “This particular one is a bit uncomfortable.” She added a giggle. “Perhaps I should find someone to take it off me.”
Her gaze flicked around the room, pretending to search for a man with a secret to draw, and her heart nearly stopped as she spotted Khayrivven in the corner, leaning back in a golden chair, a lazy grin on his face and a pretty, dark-skinned woman on his lap, who was wearing a dress even flimsier than Lory’s.
When he noticed Lory’s attention, he rested his head against the back of the chair, an eyebrow raised as if to ask what she hadn’t understood about pretending she didn’t know him.
Ignoring the pang of hurt in her chest, she turned back to the redhead. “I’m Lory.” She held out her hand in an attempt at distracting herself from Khayrivven’s obvious content with the woman’s hand running over his chest.
“Chiri,” the redhead took Lory’s hand, shaking once. “Pleasure.” Her grin wasn’t real, but her eyes were serious as she scanned Lory once more. “Really, you look like you’re about to throw up. You sure you’re all right?”
Treacherous little bastards that Lory’s eyes were, they flicked back to Khayrivven, who was watching the women by the wall with heavy-lidded eyes, his gaze stopping on Lory, sweeping up and down, then up again, until they found hers.
“I would let that one take me anytime, even if he didn’t have the coin to pay,” Chiri commented, “but I guess he’s made his choice for the visit.”
Together, they studied the woman on Khayrivven’s lap, Lory’s heart pounding like a drum when his attention didn’t divert from her.
“She’s rather beautiful,” Lory noted, earning a nod from Chiri.
“And exceptionally skilled with pleasuring men with her mouth,” Chiri amended, sending Lory’s attention to the woman’s full lips, which were now murmuring at Khayrivven, too close to his ear for Lory not to want to leap across the room and tear the woman’s eyes out.
If Khayrivven hadn’t kissed her in the corridor before they’d left, she might have been able to control herself, but a beast as scary as a leonthor had come to life inside her chest, and it demanded blood.
“Too bad he’ll need to change his mind and choose a bloody beginner for today’s entertainment.” Chiri shrugged, grabbing Lory’s hand and tugging her along as she wove her path between blue and gold chairs occupied with couples busying themselves with more than Lory wanted to see.
“Where are we going?”
The woman ignored Lory’s question, marching right for Khayrivven, whose gaze hadn’t left Lory.
“He’s a great choice for your first time. If it’s uncomfortable, at least, he’s good to look at, and from the way he’s basically devouring you with his eyes, I can tell he will gain his pleasure not purely from you doing all the work. He might even give back.” A giggle followed her words.
“What do you mean, my first time? I’ve slept with men.”
Chiri threw her a glance over her shoulder. “Not like him, trust me.” Something about the way she said it made Lory wonder if Chiri spoke from experience.
That ugly creature growled inside her chest once more.
Before she was ready, Chiri pulled her to a stop in front of Khayrivven and the woman on his lap, a pretty smile on her peach-painted lips. Lory noticed only now that the shade matched the lace of Chiri’s dress.
“I believe you’re interested in our newest addition, sir.” Chiri’s tone was nothing like the whirlwind who’d talked about who pleasured whom and how, but a bland, indistinct tone that was as pleasant as it was boring. “Meet Sapphire.”
The woman on Khayrivven’s lap turned around, throwing a warning look at Lory, but Khayrivven seemed unbothered by the way Chiri shoved Lory forward a step, until her shin brushed his knee.
“Sapphire.” He smirked up at her with a bedroom gaze. “Interesting name. How did you get it?”
“Umm—” While Lory dug deep into her mind, trying to come up with any story that could convince the woman on his lap, Chiri was already hopping into full-on storytelling mode.
“Glad you asked, sir. It’s a fascinating story, actually. You should sit down with Sapphire and have her tell you the full thing, but the gist is that the Duke of Criulias once offered her the largest sapphire in his collection in exchange for a night with her, and she declined.”
Khayrivven’s face went ashen, and he lowered his head, sitting back in his chair and almost throwing the woman off his lap as he shifted. When he looked up again, Lory wasn’t sure if it was amusement or anger he was hiding behind those gray orbs that were ready to break into a storm.