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Chapter Thirteen
Aika
The tavern is packed. Smoke billows out from the doorway with each person who enters or leaves, ushering out sounds of the raucous celebration from within. Are they congratulating themselves on their latest haul of children? Anticipating the payoff that’s coming?
My fingers itch toward my stars, but I remind myself we need something from them. We need them alive. For now.
“They almost look normal,” Remy whispers next to me from our spot on the rooftop next door.
“What did you think they would look like?” I shake my head. “Were you expecting horns growing out of their heads? For some of them to have tails?”
He lifts a shoulder. “I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the kind of monsters that could work for someone likeher.”
I have no response for that, because it’s not unfair. At least I know what he would think of me if he knew the truth.
“This should be easy enough,” I say, deliberately changing the subject.
He nods, staring down at the entrance of the tavern and counting the men entering under his breath. “A few rounds of ale should loosen their tongues.”
“We don’t have time for that,” I argue. “Just follow my lead.”
Ripping off my cloak and stuffing it into my satchel, I unlace the front of my undershirt before tugging it lower on my shoulders, imitating the style of the brothel girls.
Remy stares as I unpin my braid and adjust myself within the corset, trying to amplify the small assets I have.
Small flecks of snow flutter through the air, the first sign of winter’s approach. A shiver runs through me as I shake out my braid, pulling the long waves around my shoulders to offer some small protection from the cold.
“Are you coming?” I ask, climbing over the parapet and down onto the ladder.
Remy curses under his breath before following me.
When we’re on the ground, I shove my satchel into his hands and motion for him to go around the back, but I don’t turn to look at him. Right now, I need to fight down the sinking, twisted feeling gnawing at my gut at having to interact with one of the Pillagers, no matter how brief it will be.
If it weren’t for Jessa, I would light the entire tavern on fire right now and be rid of the lot of them.
Schooling my expression, I straighten my posture and tug down my bodice as far as it will go, revealing as much skin as possible.
Girls from the brothels walk these streets looking to lure customers back with them. All I need is to pass for one now.
I walk straight up to the window and pretend to use it as a mirror, polishing my lips with the deep red gloss I keep on me at all times. The men at the nearest table turn to me, drinking in every inch of me from my head to my feet.
Bile rises in my throat, but I swallow it down as I stare at them seductively. My gaze flits between the men before I land on the one who looks like he would break the easiest.
It’s always the biggest men, the ones used to being in control, who flounder when it’s taken.
I follow the tattooed lines of his arm all the way up to his eyes and wink, hating myself when he responds with a feral grin. Maintaining eye contact, I gently bite the corner of my lower lip, then slowly make my way around the corner into the alleyway, knowing he’ll follow.
After all, money is no object when they have just secured another load.
I make a mental list of all the ways I could kill the man to pass the time in the few seconds before he opens the door, whistling to beckon me. Like I’m a dog.
“Over here,” I say in the breathy tone of the pleasure-house women.
He enters the alleyway, and I’m suddenly grateful that wherever I wound up in life, it was not as a woman who actually would have had to put herself at the mercy of this barbarous man.
Not that I would be at his mercy with my skillset. The reminder that Remy is watching in the shadows is all that stays my hand from attacking the man now.
Playing a part is one thing. If I take down a grown man three times my size, Remy is sure to start asking questions I can’t answer. So, I keep a grin plastered to my face as the Pillager stalks closer, following me around the back of the building into the alley.
