Page 41 of Crown of the Courtesan

“I’ve already had the pleasure of dancing with you once tonight. Do you think I’ll be lucky enough to get a second?” he asks, flashing his white teeth in what appears to be a genuine smile.

I hike up my ill-fitting pants that have been slipping down. “I’m not dressed for it. These trousers are a death trap, and my cap fell off in the tavern somewhere. I’m lucky my hair is wrapped around my circlet.”

“If it bothers you, we can find something more suitable,” he says, gesturing to the vendors lining the streets. An older, scrunched-up woman sits among billowing skirts for sale, the beautiful fabrics blowing like banners in the breeze.

Rett purchases a flowing patchwork skirt made of squares in many different colors and offers it to me. Charmed by his thoughtfulness, I smile and duck into a nearby changing wagon. A small, furry creature with big emerald eyes watches curiously from a shadowy corner as I shed the trousers and tuck my white shirt into the newly purchased skirt. It swishes pleasingly to the middle of my calves. I can’t do anything about the clunky boots I wear, and I oddly miss the support of my stays, but at least this is an improvement. As I exit, I sniff the dried sage-green flowers hanging upside down and wrinkle my nose.

I emerge to find Rett still waiting, his eyes brightening as he takes in my new outfit. “Ah, sure you don’t want to put the pants back on?”

I playfully swat at him before tying a floral scarf around my hair.

“Now that you’re properly dressed,” he remarks, offering his arm. “Shall we?”

I take it, my pulse quickening.

As we join the dancers twirling under the soft beams of lantern light, he wraps me in his arms, and I can’t stop my stomach from fluttering wildly. We don’t know the steps to the commonfolk’s dance, but we laugh under our breath as we figure them out together.

When the fiddle stops, we tease each other about our mistakes. We are having such a good time that I almost forget about Lir.

“Refresh yourselves,” calls the voice of the buxom woman behind a barrel, holding out a tin cup full of sage-green liquid to me. “You did fabulously, darling.”

I lift my eyebrows at Rett, unsure.

He shrugs. “If you would like. It’s your night to celebrate.” I realize another drink is exactly what I need after seeing Lir.

Besides, I’ve never had rum before.

With a nod, I take the cup and swallow it in one gulp. It burns as it goes down, and I immediately cough, some of it coming through my nose and stinging the insides of my nostrils.

“Easy!” Rett pats my back with a firm but gentle whack. “That’s potent stuff.”

The woman attempts to hand Rett a drink. He shakes his head apologetically, declining her offer.

The night takes on a blurry dreamscape; the lantern lights smear hazily with black shadows curling around them. I clutch Rett’s arm as he guides me away, but not before he slips a golden coin into the jar on top of the barrel. We walk down the winding hill toward the tavern again. Fewer people are out now, but the streets aren’t empty yet.

“They’re going to banish me for being a bad influence if they ever find out about tonight,” he warns.

“They already—hiccup—think I’m bad because I’m a courtesan—I mean—used to be.” I gasp for air between hiccups.

“Don’t you think it’s strange that your kingdom puts women in positions they can’t abandon and then judges them harshly for it?”

“Tell me—hiccup—about it.” I stop in the middle of the cobblestone road.

“All right, someone has had too much fun,” Rett says, eyebrow cocking.

My tongue feels thick when I try to form words. “That drink was… different,” I slur, patting his chest reassuringly, although I have no idea what I’m assuring him of, “from anything I’ve ever had, and I’ve been to a lot of parties…” My hand lingers as I enjoy the feeling of his muscles under my fingertips.

“I would say not. That’s Beast Tonic.”

“What?” My face tingles. “That wasn’t rum?”

He shakes his head. “It’s a health aid for monsters and halflings, but when humans consume it, the intoxication is on a whole other level.”

“Why didn’t you warn me?” All of a sudden, I’m aware that the roads and buildings don’t align correctly. I sway for a second before releasing one more whole-body hiccup—the tonic coursing through my veins, heightening everything: sound, taste, color.

Touch.

“I thought you knew what it was! The commonfolk have been importing it for years,” Rett counters, his eyes widening to an alarming degree as he wraps a supportive arm around my waist. “We better get you some water before I return you to the castle.”