Chapter 25 Ariana
ARIANA
Istood before a small building with a wooden sign hanging above that read House of the Velvet Wildfire painted in red letters. My hand hesitated by the doorknob while I took a moment to collect my wits before entering.
Erik opposed my going alone to the place Gorm said I would find Iona.
Yet he did not fight me as hard as I expected, stepping back and allowing me to ultimately decide.
Understanding that I couldn’t protect him, couldn’t protect anyone if things went poorly.
However, I had Clause’s promise of never killing me as a shield, which offered a small bit of comfort.
With a slow exhale, I pushed the door open, entering a small, dimly lit room. A bell on the door chimed, alerting whoever to my presence.
On inhale, I drew in the scent of sex and musk that was poorly covered by vanilla-scented candles. My stomach turned at the smell. Disgust coated my insides, before bubbling out of my pores and likely only adding to the stench.
A woman entered the small space from behind a beaded partition drape.
Her movements were far too graceful for such an establishment.
She had her blond hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail.
Blue cold eyes met with mine and sharp teeth peeked through as she smiled viciously.
Her icy gaze moved over me. There was something almost familiar to the sharp features of her face.
“I think you are lost, little lamb,” she said to me.
There were no chains on her wrists. No discomfort written on her face. Nothing that portrayed a person forced to be in such an enterprise.
“Iona?” I asked, a gut instinct telling me it was her. The Lysian before me was the correct age and certainly looked beautiful enough to fit in flawlessly with a royal family.
The smile dropped from her face. “Who are you?”
“My name is Ariana. I am the Bavadrin Leader Superior.”
Her stony gaze held mine. “You are the Sidhe King’s little pet?” She stepped forward, into my space, beautiful and intimidating as she leaned towards me. “Better run back to the King’s lap, little lamb. This is no place for a girl like you.”
“And this is a good place for a Lysian princess?” I didn’t need her admitting who she was to know I guessed correctly.
Her eyes narrowed. “There are no princesses here.” Her attention flicked to the door as she nodded towards it. “Get out of here.”
“What if I could offer you freedom?” I challenged her, certain she would choose to accept.
She tilted her head back and laughed. The motion caused her shoulders to shake. “Look around, little lamb. This is my establishment. I chose this, and I would choose it again. I have all the freedom I could ever need.”
My eyes widened in bewilderment. “This is a whorehouse.”
A smirk curled at her lips. She brought a hand up in the space between us. Fire moved over her fingertips and she viewed me. “You should run along now.” The entire act was intended as a threat.
Pity for her, I knew tricks too. It would take more than fire dancing in her hand to startle me.
I snorted, moving my hand out in front of me, sending mist to circle the flames, snuffing them out till all that was left was smoke. “We have been looking for you, trying to find you and bring you back home.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Who is we?”
“Your brothers, amongst others.” Did she really not think her family wanted to bring her home since the moment Clause took her from them?
She tilted her head, assessing eyes raking down the length of me. “My brothers have befriended the Bavadrin Leader Superior?”
“They thought we had something to do with your disappearance.” I always believed they were wrong, however with the revelation regarding Edda, the Lysians were right to view us as a threat. The thought made my stomach clench.
She stepped back, folding her arms across her chest. The movement like a barrier.
She wanted to place distance between us, retreating.
“Listen. I can see this has caused you some trouble finding me, but that isn’t my problem.
I didn’t ask for you to come here. And I am in no need of your services. I am where I want to be.”
Soft moans drifted into the room, coming from somewhere beyond the walls that separated me from the rest of the whorehouse. My insides curdled with disgust. Iona glanced at the space behind her, beyond the beaded partition. When she turned back, a smirk lifted her lips.
“You truly want to live like this?” I asked.
She snorted. “And what do you get for opening your legs, Great Leader Superior?” Her gaze narrowed. “My guess is not much of anything.”
My mouth dried. Did she really believe what she insinuated? “I get a choice.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “So do I. So do the ladies working under me.” Her lips flattened into a thin line.
“It was not always this way. In this establishment. I took over and offered protection for the ladies here. I do not hurt them. They have the power to turn down offers if they wish. What you hear right now are moans of pleasure, not screams of pain or fear. They are safe.”
There was something in her eye that darkened when she said they were safe. A hidden lie.
“You are saying everyone here is by their choice?” I asked.
She viewed me, jaw ticking. “Mostly.”
So, it was not all roses and pleasure. Iona tried to overlay an ugly image with something more beautiful. Yet, the original bled through underneath. She couldn’t completely paint over it. “Who isn’t?”
“Listen, little lamb, run back to wherever you came from.” She pointed her chin towards the exit. “You do not want the King as an enemy.”
The King? “Does he…” I stumbled over my words in shock. “Does he come here?” Disgust slithered over my skin.
A smile split her face, sharp teeth peeking through. “Would you be jealous if he did?”
More like appalled.
She continued without waiting for me to respond. “Clause does not need to come to such places. Now, his right-hand men do enjoy a visit from time to time. One of them provides oversight.” She paused, eyeing me. “So, it would not be wise to stick your foot into this.”
“Who is kept here against their will?” I pressed anyway.
She scoffed, unfolding her arms and dropping them at her sides.
“I tried to be nice and give you advice. If you do not wish to take it, that decision is yours. I certainly will not be laying a finger on Clause’s favorite pet.
But, you should know that your choice here will have consequences, despite who you are to him. ”
Her use of certain words was peculiar. “And who am I to him?”
“You don’t know yet?” She chuckled, shaking her head.
“I am not getting involved in that. However, I will say that you coming in here and creating trouble will ensure that trouble returns to you. All of that does not matter to me. However, if I answered your question, it would bring trouble for me, and I refuse to subject myself to my King’s wrath. ”
“Your King?” My jaw nearly dropped at how smoothly she called Clause her King. As though she belonged to no other. “You so easily turn your back on where you came from?”
She shrugged, completely indifferent to my comment. “My father never came for me, did he? Never wanted me or fought for me. He just let me disappear.”
“But you think Clause fought for you?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
She was delusional. Drinking the poison water Clause seemed to pump through the people he acquired from lands that were never his to farm from. I didn’t have the time or patience to sway her mind. I was not sure I even wanted to if she had people kept against their will at such a place.
“Where is the person who does not wish to be here?” I asked instead.
“The girl belongs to one of Clause’s men.” She paused as if allowing time for her words to sink in. “You sure you don’t want to disappear and pretend you never stumbled onto this place? If you intervene, we will alert Clause at once.”
“Show her to me.”
Iona shrugged, as if it truly made no difference to her.
“Very well.” She moved through the beaded partition, keeping a hand up to leave an opening for me to step through into a long, dim hallway.
Doors on each side, eight of them. Eight rooms. All were probably used as places for services exchanged, all except for the one she led me to. The last room.
Iona tilted her head, indicating that through the threshold was the answer to my question.
I reached for the handle and opened the door, surprised to find it unlocked.
A Sidhe woman lay on a mattress, her pointed ears peeking through dirty-looking brown hair. A small groan escaped her lips at our presence, yet she did not stir, did not even open an eye. Chains circled each wrist and each ankle, binding her even though she looked too weak to even stand.
“Does she get food or water?” I asked, unable to move, to actually enter the space. The scent of sweat and rot assaulted my nose, but didn’t stop there. It traveled down my throat, taking hold of my stomach. I tasted the revolting air.
Iona shrugged, eyeing me as if more curious to see my response as opposed to what hid behind the door.
“I do not know. I do not enter this room, for it is the one area in this place that does not belong to me. For whatever reason, this girl was brought here. I do not care to know why. I do not involve myself.”
“You are disgusting.” I turned to her. “This is happening right under your nose, and you do nothing.”
“And what do you wish for me to do? To free her?” Iona dared to smile as though I was the foolish one.
“Let me know how well that turns out for you. I am not here to rescue anyone outside my means. I can help the women here, those in the other rooms. Their protection is my sole responsibility. We all have limits, little lamb. I know mine. You had better learn yours before you are put on a spit and roasted alive.”
I did not respond, instead turning my gaze to the emaciated girl.
Mist shot out of my fingertips, like vines drifting through the air, over the bed, to each of the shackles. It entered the space meant for a key, curving around the metal compartment, pushing and pulling until all four locks snapped open.