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“But there is no such lack here,” I insist, deeply troubled by what they are insinuating.
“No. Here we are showered with abundance in all its forms. Freedom, food, and luxury. But while we devour all the sweet gifts Nas Laed has to offer, his kingdom starves. Like I said, Your Highness, King Teodoro is a slippery fellow. Take great care around him.”
As if the villain himself heard his name being uttered, Teo knocks on my door and lets himself in.
“Are you ready, kitten? The night awaits,” he says, all smiles.
Inessa gives me a knowing look while Anya hands me the finished black cape, a mist of sadness orbiting around her hourglass frame.
I put on the cape and pull the hood over my head, and tell Teo to lead the way. He’s also wearing a similar-looking dark robe, one that ensures his face is covered.
“We’ll ride on horseback to the city’s gates but then we must walk the rest of the way there so as to not draw attention to us,” he says when we step outside the palace and find two horses waiting for us.
I have this urgent need to ask him about what my handmaidens had discussed with me previously, but as he excitedly lifts me up to straddle my horse, I bite my tongue, knowing that now isn’t the right time to bring up such politics.
As he planned, we ride to the city and leave our horses at the gate, walking down the busy streets to one of Nas Laed’s most beloved brothels. I pull on my cape’s hood to keep my hair covered as we pass a never-ending crowd.
“I didn’t realize the city would be so alive at this late hour,” I all but yell at him as I rush to keep to his hurried pace.
“Nas Laed never sleeps, kitten. Never,” he says proudly, grabbing my hand so I don’t get lost amongst the crowd.
“I’m starting to see that.”
“Come. We’re not too far now,” Teo informs me with an eager smile.
Inessa’s words of caution are still at the forefront of my mind, but they fade away when Teo stops at a red door, a lion’s head on the handle. Teo doesn’t waste any time pulling it, banging at it three times.
“Now what?” I ask impatiently.
“Now, we wait.”
“Well, that sounds vague and ominous,” I mutter under my breath sarcastically.
But just as I say the words, the red door flies open halfway, a pretty brunette with large brown eyes and nothing else under its arch. Her stunning eyes scan us up and down, and it’s only when Teo flips his hood back and shows his face that she smiles and opens the door fully to let us in.
“Are you here to watch or…” she starts as her eyes linger at me once I’ve also pulled down my own hood. “Entertain?”
“Too early to tell.” Teo winks at her, entwining his fingers with mine and pulling me into the pleasure den.
My heart is lodged in my throat as Teo walks his way around the lavish home, knowing exactly which hall leads to what.
“Let’s start soft, shall we?” he whispers softly, pulling the pin Inessa dug into my hair to make it fall down my shoulders. “There. Much better. Come, kitten. We have so much to see and so little time.”
I give him a curt nod, unable to form words as I’m too out of my depth to summon any.
I don’t know what I expected, in all honesty.
Maybe poor lighting so people could live out their desires in the dark.
But the reality is the complete contrast of anything my imagination could have come up with. The home is bright, spacious and airy, a square open courtyard at the heart of it. Like the woman who greeted us, most of the people inside have discarded all their clothing, preferring to frolic around in the nude. People are drinking, eating, and laughing as they converse with each other in the courtyard, no hint of sexual tension at all in the air, save for their lack of clothing. It all looks so civilized that if I closed my eyes, I would think I was at some feast or celebration back in Tarnow.
“Are you ready?” Teo asks, pulling me away from the courtyard.
“Ready?” I parrot, not really understanding what he means.
“You came to learn, right? Well, there isn’t much learning to be done out here. The fun is up there,” he says, pointing to a staircase that leads to the second-floor balcony.
My throat is parched, and my chest feels like it’s about to cave in on itself.
