Chapter 15 #3
“Lord Karev,” he greeted the man next to her first—an expected gesture that reminded her just where she was. “Surely, this isn’t the place for an heiress.”
Lord Karev chuckled with an artificial friendliness, and the space between them grew tense. Two beasts at the top of a mountain, prepared to sink their teeth into flesh if it meant being the only one there. “I believe you underestimate her, then,” Karev said.
The way both men spoke about her as if she weren’t standing right there, as if she didn’t have a mouth to speak with herself, lit a fire in her.
It took true restraint not to let a remark slip from her lips.
Just as she had the night prior, she felt like a snake, shedding anything true or decent or real about herself.
She was shrinking right where she stood.
But that fire didn’t die. The throne did not belong to either of these men. Not yet.
Another group of men was brought to the ring, and the raucous crowd picked up volume again.
Vaasa’s heart wrenched. She remembered the combat circles she’d been a part of in Icruria, remembered how the training and fighting felt empowering when consented to.
When it was done with people she trusted.
But this… it made her sick.
“I don’t believe she’s enjoying herself,” Lord Vlacik noted.
“I’d like to see you up there,” Vaasa suggested, narrowing her eyes on him. “Against anyone who’s lost a fight tonight. Betting on that is something I’d enjoy.”
Lord Vlacik’s eyes flared in anger, but he kept his mouth shut. Lord Karev, on the other hand, let out a barking laugh. The sound caused a few people to look, which turned Lord Vlacik a particular shade of vermilion.
“A pleasure, as always,” Lord Karev said before extending Vaasa his arm in a clear gesture that the interaction was over. That he was closest to her, and no one else.
Vaasa lifted her chin, taking Lord Karev’s offer. In this room, she needed to show no fear. No disgust. These people could turn on her quicker than she could think to stop them.
As Lord Karev guided her through the crowd, people turned to stare, watching them with shock in their features.
Just by being here, she was signaling approval.
If she had acted as she wanted, if she thought it would have made a difference, she’d have stormed out.
But as she gazed around, she realized that an act such as that—to try and change people’s minds—was an act of love. Of grace. Of an attempt to save them.
And she did not want to save these nobles. She wanted to burn their houses to the ground.
Vaasa held herself with an air of power and dignity, shedding all signs of weakness.
And Lord Karev lifted his own chin to match her posture.
To the crowd, they likely looked in cahoots.
And she realized that was Lord Karev’s intent all along.
He’d brought her here for the specific purpose of undermining Lord Vlacik.
She had a begrudging respect for his political prowess.
She thought of Reid then, and a small voice in her mind whispered that the woman he’d found was still inside her. Sewn into her being, much like his leather tie sewn into her dress.
But where was he?
“Lord Karev,” a voice said over the reverberating sounds of the fight reaching a climax.
The lord spun with Vaasa still on his arm, pulling her with him.
She came face-to-face with the owner of that voice—a woman, hair a stunning shade of red that was braided over one shoulder.
Eyes of moss looked at them both, catching upon Vaasa for a visceral, stolen moment.
There was only a flash of an expression, something Vaasa couldn’t read, and then the woman was all business again.
“Heiress,” she said, dipping her head in respect.
“Meet Sachia,” Lord Karev said, taking interest in the woman. “She is a fabric merchant, much like my parents once were. In fact, her family created your dress this evening.”
Vaasa controlled each breath she took, but she memorized every detail of the woman.
Sachia was sharper around the edges than most other nobles.
Though she was dressed as richly as any of the other women in the room, there was a harshness about her.
A strange air that spoke of a life beyond a rich merchant’s daughter.
“My family owns the shop in the market square,” Sachia said, gesturing to the fabric. “My father is abroad.”
Vaasa plastered on a smile. “It’s lovely to meet you. The dress is beautiful.”
“It suits you. At least that’s what he said when he picked it out,” Sachia said, her words seeming to carry some undertone that Vaasa didn’t understand. When Vaasa furrowed her brow, Sachia gestured to Lord Karev. “The lord, that is.”
Lord Karev smiled down at her. “And wasn’t I correct? The dress is made far more beautiful by the wearer.”
Vaasa snapped back into the version of herself she needed to sell.
“You’re too kind,” she said with just enough sugared sweetness that it sounded casual, like she heard such compliments all the time.
“You’ll have to come visit the fortress,” Vaasa added.
“Since coming home, I’m in need of a new wardrobe. ”
“I would be honored,” Sachia said. “I’ve just come back from a journey myself. I’m in need of a new friend.”
Lord Karev chuckled, turning his attention to Sachia and moving his body so he blocked most people’s view of her. “I would love to discuss the wares you’ve returned home with.”
The woman moved an inch, putting herself entirely in the shadow of Lord Karev, like she was hiding. “Silk, velvet, the likes,” she confirmed. “And a few other things.”
Lord Karev raised his brow. This held his interest, as if he already knew the answer to his question and was just seeking confirmation. “Other things?”
“I was lucky enough to come upon some resources that are… rare,” she said.
Vaasa tilted her head.
The woman looked around them to ensure they weren’t being listened to, then leaned in closely. Her eyes held Vaasa’s as she whispered, “Salt.”
Vaasa’s heart leapt into her throat.
“You don’t say?” Karev smoothly leaned forward, his interest apparent. Trepidation seeped from him, though, especially as he flicked his eyes to Vaasa. “From the men I met earlier today?”
The men? Who had Lord Karev met?
Sachia nodded. “I’m also here to follow up on my brother’s deal.”
He gave a carnal grin. “Well, perhaps we do have something to speak about, then.”
“Perhaps,” the woman replied in a less concealed tone, no longer keeping a secret between them. “I thought we could meet tomorrow night at the Lady.”
The Lady Fortune, the brothel in the city that Lord Karev had accused Lord Vlacik of frequenting. If they intended to meet at that establishment, then whatever business they were doing was not the kind that should be so openly discussed in a room such as this, surrounded by nobles.
The woman was no regular merchant’s daughter. Vaasa was beginning to wonder if she was a merchant at all, if instead she was like the other people who masqueraded about, wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Lord Karev glanced at Vaasa, seeming to gauge her reaction. She didn’t dare give one. Instead, she looked out at the crowd and to the stage as if this entire interaction bored her. Like his entrepreneurial interests weren’t anything that could keep her fickle attention.
“Send word in the afternoon,” Lord Karev said.
The woman nodded, then dipped her head once more. “Heiress, it was lovely to meet you.”
Vaasa looked once more at the woman, taking the full picture of her in. Memorizing every single detail she could. “I hope to see you again,” Vaasa said.
“I’ll be in touch about a wardrobe,” the woman said with a smile.
And then she walked off without another word, her gait strong and commanding. She crossed the room and immediately ducked out the door. Vaasa went still.
Had that woman sewn the leather tie into Vaasa’s dress? She said she had gone on a journey, that she had returned with salt.
If Vaasa hadn’t known better, she’d have thought Lord Karev was doing business with a pirate.
A pirate who knew something about Reid.