Chapter 27
twenty-seven
An outrageously large batalin checked them both for weapons outside the back door of a building on the far side of town.
In the lone, dim trulight, the batalin’s blue eyes practically glowed with skepticism.
He was missing one horn, and the other curled into a point so sharp it looked like it could cut through bone.
Orelia tried not to stare at the diagonal scar crossing the entirety of his face. When his massive hand traveled too far up her thigh as he checked for hidden blades, Vade grabbed the guard’s arm.
The batalin stared down at Vade who didn’t so much as flinch. He even raised his chin as the heaviness of his power seeped into the night air.
A deep, undeterred rumble bellowed from the batalin’s throat.
Orelia stayed perfectly still, unsure what to do.
After a few more tense seconds of staring, Vade handed over three large gold pieces. The batalin snorted as he took the money and slapped a large black coin in Vade’s palm harder than necessary.
Piercing eyes slid to her, but the guard didn’t attempt to put a hand on her again as Orelia and Vade stepped inside.
Vade led her down a dark hall with a hand on the small of her bare back. Orelia swished her hips as she walked, letting the confidence a pleasure girl would have settle into every fiber of her being. She’d seen confident women in her years at the brothel, and it was time she became one herself.
They approached a velvet curtain of deep red, and Vade stopped her. “Remember, nothing that happens here will be real. Stick to your role, and I’ll stick to mine. Got it?”
She nodded.
He stared at her for a few seconds longer than necessary before offering her his arm. Orelia slid her hand in the crook of his elbow, delighting in how much the simple act made her feel all the more powerful. To accompany a fae in a place like this? Her body thrummed as they entered the room.
Sweet smelling pipe smoke hit her first. A haze drifted toward the trulight fixture hanging from the ceiling showcasing a large, circular table below it, casting the rest of the space in shadows.
She could faintly make out women moving in the darkness beyond the table carrying trays of drinks, dressed in scanty clothing.
Music came from above and she guessed they were beneath a tavern.
Vade approached the dealer sitting at the far end of the table and handed the stiv the black coin the batalin had given him, signifying he’d paid for a seat at the table.
The man nodded his approval. The light caught the white, rectangular tattoo below his eye identifying him as a stiv.
The buttons strained on his shirt as he handed the coin to a batalin who collected it, then disappeared back into the shadows.
The dealer puffed on an oversized pipe hanging out of the corner of his mouth and gestured to the open seat directly across from him.
A woman appearing to be in her early fifties with cherry-red lips matching the shade of her low-cut dress exhaled a breath of thick smoke, laughing as one of the shirtless human men behind her handed the ren a glass of clear liquid.
Another bare-chested human man cooled her with a fan made of white swan feathers.
The men had the same vacant look she’d seen on pleasure girls’ faces before, and there was a pinch in her heart knowing they’d probably rather be anywhere than here.
The ren lifted her glass in Vade’s direction, dipping her chin in acknowledgement. “Finally, someone good to look at.” She winked, and Orelia found herself tightening her grip on his arm.
Vade ignored the woman’s comment and didn’t address the other two men already seated at the table. He sat down in the wide leather chair he’d been directed to, then pulled Orelia onto his lap.
She crossed her legs, the slit on her dress exposing her right leg up to her hip.
He rested a hand on her waist, and she draped an arm over his shoulders, letting her other hand fall to her lap.
With how muscular his frame was, Vade was a surprisingly comfortable seat.
Her skin flushed being so close to his warm body.
Vade snapped his fingers and summoned a waitress. “Two wines. Red.”
The woman looked him over appreciatively and sauntered off in a dress so short and sheer that Orelia could see everything.
The two men at the table were dressed in simple tunics, both with slightly unkempt beards, looking more like common tavern goers than rens rich enough to be here.
They talked quietly amongst themselves, each with at least twenty years on Orelia, with beautiful women on their laps.
Vade hadn’t told her what Rivgarr looked like, and she wondered if one of the men was him.
The mahogany card table shone so pristinely she could see her reflection on its surface. Even distorted, Orelia admired how beautiful she looked.
The dealer worked the deck, the cards blurring as he moved them from one hand to the other with expert precision. Smoke came out of his pipe in short bursts.
The waitress returned with two glasses of wine.
Vade laid payment on the tray, then handed Orelia a glass and took one for himself.
The wine they had in Minro was nothing compared to the liquid in her cup.
The raspberry flavor coated her tongue, and she had to stop herself from moaning at its delicious flavor.
Vade sat still as stone, assessing the room. He acted like she wasn’t even sitting on him and looked right past her as he scanned their surroundings. His hand stayed on her hip, palm resting on the silky fabric.
Booming laughter rang out from the hall.
A jovial man shoved the curtain aside and entered the room.
Gold jewelry lined his ears, fingers, wrists, and neck so much so that the sight of him nearly blinded her.
A white tunic clung to his toned, golden body, trimmed and stitched in the same color.
His dark brown pants had gilded stitching, the thread the same shade as the hair lying in waves on his head, stopping just above his ears.
Round ears. Human. Orelia tried to hide her shock. Most humans in cities had the jobs no one wanted and lived in the slums, but this man exuded wealth and carried himself in the manner of someone important.
Aqua eyes sparkled as he took in the other players, the gleam of greed clear as day.
Rivgarr, she thought.
He couldn’t be older than his early thirties.
Standing tall and broad-shouldered. Handsome, by all accounts, but knowing how he made his money almost sent wine back up Orelia’s throat.
He had one hand on the ass of the woman at his side.
She smiled up at him, pushing her straight blonde hair over her shoulder.
The golden man handed the dealer a black coin, then took the last open seat two spots down from them. “You’re late, Fargus,” the dealer said.
Not Rivgarr.
Fargus pulled the blonde woman onto his lap, her skin-tight gold dress barely covering her ass. “Had business. But I’m here now.” He grinned a straight white smile and surveyed the other players.
“Viktor, Egan,” he said to the two men who nodded their greeting.
Egan, or Rivgarr, as Vade had been calling him, was the scrawniest one at the table, plainly dressed, with an upturned mustache. Not quite the obvious brute she had expected.
“And I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you, red woman,” Fargus crooned.
The woman of mention exhaled another puff of smoke and offered him a gloved hand across the table. “Riata.”
He kissed her satin-covered knuckles. “Pleasure’s all mine.” Fargus’s silky, practiced voice brought a smile to Riata’s face, revealing teeth too large against blood red lips.
“I could say the same,” she said, looking him over while she tucked a crimson strand of short hair behind her pointed ear.
Fargus’s flirtatious smile paused when his eyes landed on Vade. He looked at the fae’s leathers, then under the table at his boots. “I definitely haven’t met you, dark stranger. Who are you?”
“No one,” Vade said coolly.
Fargus narrowed his eyes. “Close to the vest, I see. I can respect that. Don’t worry. I’ll find out who you are soon as I take all your money.”
The other players chuckled, but Vade remained stone-faced.
Aqua eyes shifted to Orelia. “Where’d you find her? She’s a hell of a fine specimen.”
Vade’s grip on her hip tightened.
Though Fargus spoke about her like a prized horse, Orelia grinned and fluttered her lashes. She was a pleasure girl tonight and she would play her part.
“She is, isn’t she?” Vade drawled. “Fucked her twice upstairs to make sure she was worth bringing along. Happy to say she was.” He gave her a devilish look. The same look he’d used on the barmaid in Ricaboro.
The sight wilted her smile. Orelia wasn’t sure why she expected him to act differently with her, but she had.
He looked at her strangely, almost like he was concerned.
“Care to share her with the rest of the table?” Fargus asked.
“Pay me enough, and we’ll discuss it.”
Fargus chuckled. “I like you, dark man.” He clapped his jeweled hands together. “Well, let’s get on it with it, shall we?”
The dealer puffed on his pipe and dealt the cards as he explained the rules of Devil’s Reap.
His words faded into the background, but she caught something about betting on the number of ‘tricks’ each player expected to win per hand.
Orelia sipped her wine, unable to focus on anything other than the calloused finger bringing goosebumps to her skin as Vade swept his thumb across her back.
He was barely touching her, but he had the ability to ignite her entire body with such little effort.
Human women brought over stacks of chips on trays and placed them in front of each player. A tall stack of wooden chips, a medium stack of iron chips, and two small stacks—one silver, one gold.