Chapter 49
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
JAX
Kozem hasn’t changed.
Still smells like filth, smoke, and desperation.
It’s odd being back in Jaakii, walking the streets as a free man. Well, as free as I’ll ever be.
It’s even weirder being back in Kozem. As I walk the grim streets, full of filth and rats, I keep my head down. I’ve stuffed the old Ezkai leathers into my backpack and changed to my usual leather pants and silk shirt.
I may wear my old clothes, and I may look like my old self on the outside. But inside… everything is different.
As always, a group of fae stand around the entrance to Fox’s Lair, smoking. Of course, all eyes snap to me as I approach and without pausing, enter the gambling parlor.
Inside, the air is heavy with the sickly sweet scent of ipiom.
Ah, it’s almost nostalgic.
Madame Mercy’s business is still blooming. Every gambling table I pass is full of fae desperate to gamble their lives away.
I dip my chin at a couple of dealers I used to work with back when I still worked for Madame Mercy. Before all the trouble with the Talbots.
It feels like forever ago. But it hasn’t been that long, has it?
Madame Mercy lounges on a chaise standing on a dais at the back of the room. In her elegant hand rests a black cigarette holder with a smoldering cigarette.
Her sly gaze slides down my body before snapping back up to meet my eyes.
I award her with my most dazzling smile as I bow at the waist. “Madame Mercy.”
Wordlessly, she offers me one of her hands. Without raising from my bow, I take it and gently graze the back of it with my lips.
Her dark eyes glimmer as she watches me.
Madame Mercy is one of the most intelligent and cunning women I’ve ever met in my lifetime. And believe me, I’ve met many.
Yet, even she isn’t completely immune to my charms.
She’s just a mortal, after all.
After a beat, she clicks her tongue and gestures for me to rise.
“I wondered when you’d show up, General Slayer. Or…should I call you Blood Sentineal?”
I don’t let me easy smile waver as I say, “You may call me whatever pleases you best, my lady.”
One corner of her deep cherry-colored mouth twitches upwards. “So many names for one man. The spirits of the gods must find you special.”
“Sure feels like it, my lady,” I say lightheartedly.
Madame Mercy keeps me in suspense for another minute before nodding at the chair next to her. I take a seat.
The place is noisy, as always. Madame Mercy’s men line the walls, their trained eyes looking for trouble. A faint headache forms at my right temple.
“Did your General send you here, gadgi?”
“No. I’m here on my own,” I say, leaning towards Madame Mercy.
One of her well-manicured eyebrows rises. “Fascinating. What do you want? You’re out of favors, Kregger.”
I incline my head. “I’m well aware, my lady. All I need is a little bit of information. And I’m ready to pay.”
“I got no use for your money,” she says and waves her hand at the gambling parlor. “I’ve got plenty of it.”
My pulse stutters.
Of course. I knew that.
In Kozem, money only matters to those who run dirty jobs.
“I’m sure there’s something I can be useful with,” I say, looking up at her through my lashes. “You’re well acquainted with my vast arsenal of skills.”
Her eyes darken with lust. I bet a thousand frade she’s remembering just how skilled I am between the sheets.
An odd sensation, like prickling skin, settles in my chest.
I can’t shake it off.
Is that—
Is that guilt?
Phoenix’s face flashes at the front of my mind, pushing everything else to the side.
Spirits of the gods…
For years I’ve relied on my charm, flirting abilities, and other skills to get ahead and get things done. It was easy, because my heart was free.
But now…
How am I supposed to get anything done when my heart belongs to someone?
“I do have a job,” Madame Mercy says, snapping me back to reality.
Unease coils in my stomach. “Do tell, my lady.”
“I need a very important package delivered to a friend,” she says and brings the cigarette to her lips. “Do me a favor and deliver it. I’ll give you whatever information you desire.”
It’s an easy enough offer. But I don’t rush to agree. Not yet.
The very first lesson Father taught me about the criminal life is this: never ask questions.
The second lesson was: messengers are always the first to get shot, so make sure you’re not delivering a bad message.
Funny how the first rule prevents you from ensuring the second mistake doesn’t happen.
Madame Mercy watches me with a smirk while I weigh my options.
“Deliver where?” I ask.
“Lynx’s Den. He’ll wait for you at the speakeasy.”
I know Lynx’s Den well enough. Dae works there.
“When?”
“As soon as you agree.”
A heartbeat passes.
“I’ll do it,” I say. Now, it’s my turn. “I need information on the Talbots. Specifically, locations of all their estates in Ekios. Official and hidden.”
Madame Mercy crushes the cigarette bud in a glass ashtray. “You have a death wish, Kregger?”
I chuckle. “I understand why it may appear so.”
She’s not smiling as she eyes me. My heart drops. For a second, I think she’ll deny me the information. But then she says, “What makes you think I know the locations?”
I don’t miss a beat. “Because you know information is the highest-value currency.”
At that, she smirks. “Charming. As always.” She sighs. “I’ll give you the locations. There are quite a few the government doesn’t have on official records.”
I take her hand and kiss the back of it. “I’ll be forever grateful, my lady.”
Once I rise to my feet to leave, she takes hold of my arm and stops me. “You promised the Talbots wouldn’t rule. I didn’t believe you, but your General proved me wrong. Make sure she keeps her seat, Kregger. She has more enemies than she’s aware of.”
Madame Mercy’s last words to me haunt me all the way to Lynx’s Den.
Phoenix knows there are Caligos hiding in plain sight. In her own House Dzuni and the Order of Ezkai.
Are there…more?
I need to warn her.
She doesn’t want you, a dark voice whispers at the back of my mind.
I roll my shoulders and ignore it.
The package Madame Mercy gave me is a small square box wrapped in brown paper. It’s light as a feather. Nothing rattles inside.
I keep it safely tucked under my arm as I navigate the busy streets on my way to Lynx’s Den. The place is crowded once I get there, fae holding drinks spilling out of the doors.
Gracefully, I squeeze past the pretty ladies and ratchet criminals, heading towards the bar where I see Dae whizzing around behind it.
The moment I lean on the bar counter, his eyes meet mine. They widen with surprise.
“Hello, Dae dear,” I say with a wide smile. “Missed me?”
“Damn, Kregger!” he says, approaching. “Where have you been, you rascal? Kugi said you were in prison!”
I wave a hand. “Bah! Nothing but rumors.”
Dae laughs, shaking his head.
“I need a drink. Strong,” I say with a sigh. “And a pass to the speakeasy.”
Dae slams a copper cup on the bar top in front of me and pours me a generous amount of whiskey. He does the same for himself, too.
I raise the cup and he smashes his into mine. Whiskey burns my throat, all the way to my stomach.
“Thanks, buddy,” I say and push more frade than I must towards him.
With one elegant gesture, he sweeps the money into the pocket of his apron and hands me a copper coin. “Show it to the bouncer downstairs.”
I grab the coin with a wink and push off the bar. As I head down the stairs into the basement, my pulse spikes.
I pause at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the dimly lit corridor that stretches ahead. At the very end of it is the red door.
That’s where I’d meet Daegel to discuss…business.
Today, no large fae guard it. Which means, nobody is dealing business there.
With one last glance, I turn my back to the door and make my way behind the staircase where another door lies hidden.
It’s forest green, with a small window at the top. I knock on it twice and wait.
After a few moments, the cover slides open and an unfamiliar face appears—a fae man with a thick-as-a-tree-trunk neck.
He looks at me, disinterested, as if I had just interrupted him doing something thrilling.
“Good afternoon,” I say cheerily and hold out the copper coin for the man to see.
He grunts and slides the window cover closed. The lock clicks and a moment later, the door opens.
I nod at the bouncer and stride inside the dimly lit underground bar.
Thankfully, it’s not as crowded here as it is upstairs.
A narrow bar lines the far right wall where a beautiful young fae bartender flirts away with one of the customers sitting there while she polishes a crystal glass.
Across from the bar is a small dais with instruments where at night they have live music performances.
I’ve been to a show here once. It was lovely. Nothing compared to underground performances I’ve been to back home.
I scan the tables until my eye catches a man sitting alone. There’s a bottle of plum blossom wine and two glasses on the table in front of him. His eyes are locked on me as he watches me approach.
“Good afternoon,” I say and pull up a chair.
He only grunts.
Rude.
I don’t comment, of course. Madame Mercy is not an enemy I would want.
Nonchalantly, I set the package on the table and slide it towards him. He doesn’t look at the package, keeping an eye on me as if I’m about to pull out a knife or something.
Smirking, I lean back in my chair and get comfortable.
The man grabs the package and rises to his feet. Without a single word, he tosses some frade on the table next to the wine and leaves.
I watch him over my shoulder with a frown.
What a weird character.
But hey, at least I got a bottle of good plum blossom wine.
Humming a tune under my breath, I fill my glass. Just as I bring the glass to my lips, something familiar catches my eye.
I turn my head towards the table on my left.
The first thing I see are polished leather boots resting on the corner of the table. One ankle crossed over the other. Long, lean legs clad in black leather and torso wrapped in a loose white silk shirt. The black and red waistcoat is unbuttoned, in a messy yet elegant way.
She holds a blade in her hand, the handle carved from blood diamond.
Extremely expensive no matter which continent you live in.
Exceptionally rare, too.
But she uses it as if it were nothing. Picking at her long cherry-colored nails.
Her raven-black hair is tousled as it fall over her shoulders. As if she just rolled out of bed.
Her red lips curl into a smirk, and she quirks one well-manicured dark eyebrow. “No hello? Nothing?” She tsks. “How fucking rude, little brother.”
Ah, the last thing I need at the moment is my patronizing older sister’s surprise visit.
But I guess it’s true what they say.
You can’t outrun your past.
And trouble never travels solo.
“Maeve,” I say, cocking my head to the side. “What brings you here?”
Maeve’s emerald eyes—our father’s eyes—pin me in place. She tosses her blade into the air and without even looking at it catches it before tossing it again.
“General Slayer, huh?” After a beat of silence she says, “Father’s not pleased. He didn’t send you away to make a bigger mess out of your life and his reputation.”
My heart drops.
Oh, shit.
“Nobody knows me here,” I say and spread my arms. “Nobody knows I’m the disgraced offspring of the trade king of Emera.”
“Don’t insult your own intelligence, or mine.” She uncrosses her ankles and her feet hit the floor with a heavy dunk. “It wasn’t Father’s spies who brought us the news about his son.”
My eyebrows hike all the way to my hairline. Who did, then?
I’m curious to know. But that can wait.
First things first.
“What are you doing here, Maeve?”
She rests her elbows on her knees and leans forward. A slow smirk grows on her face. “I’m here on business, of course.”
“Father sent you to deal with business? No way. Who’s running his crime empire while you’re away, then?”
Maeve presses her lips into a thin line.
Ah.
Trouble in paradise.
Finally, Maeve sighs and rolls her eyes. “Father sent me away on business because I’m in some hot water with the local authorities.”
Maeve is in trouble?
It’s hard to believe.
My oldest sister is nothing but careful and calculated. Which means—
“Someone snitched?”
She hums. “It appears so.”
I open my mouth to ask more questions, but then remember myself and stop.
I don’t care about family drama.
I’m banished.
What matters is…
“What business, Maeve?”
She takes her sweet time to answer.
“I hear you’re close with the new Ezkai General,” she says, eyes sharp. “Father wants a meeting with the new boss.”
I’m still as a statue.
No.
Absolutely not.
My words are hard, clipped. “What for?”
“To score a new trade deal, of course,” she says and smiles. It doesn’t reach her eyes. “Get him a meeting, will you?”
“No,” I say and rise to my feet.
Maeve rises too. “Jaxy, it’s not a request. It’s an order.”
“He banished me. I take no orders from him.”
She cocks her head to the side. “That’s precisely why you’re banished, little brother. I thought serving your General taught you a lesson on that. But apparently not.”
I grind my teeth. “I do serve my General. I told her about Father. She knows.”
That seems to surprise Maeve. She blinks, eyes wide. But her gaze hardens quickly. “Then she’s well aware of what’ll happen if she won’t take a meeting.”
Everything in me stills at the silent threat.
Slowly, I take a step closer to Maeve.
She may be older, but I’m taller.
Wider.
Keeping her gaze, voice cold as winter in the mountains, I say, “You do not threaten her.”
Something flickers in Maeve’s gaze. But she’s smart enough to know when to push and when to stand down.
With a smirk, she lifts her palms in front of her. “You’ve grown, little brother. Maybe the banishment did you good after all.”
I don’t offer a response to that.
Instead, I turn my back to her and walk away.
“He’ll want that meeting, Jaxy,” she calls after me. “A piece of advice. It’s better if it’s on your terms, and not his.”
I don’t reply.
The last thing I need right now is dealing with my father and his greed.
Phoenix already has plenty on her plate.
I’m so lost in my thoughts as I climb the stairs up that I walk into someone.
“Sorry,” I murmur, looking up. A familiar face stands in front of me. “Oh, Bloom. You’re back in the city.”
Right then, Fern appears from behind Bloom. “Yeah, just got in earlier today.”
I wet my lips, the question dancing on the tip of my tongue.
Bloom beats me to it. “Listen, pretty boy. We have no clue what happened between you and the General back in those mountains.”
Something in her tone wipes the smirk off my face.
“Put that aside, okay? You have to come with us. Now.”