Page 10 of The Heartless One
She tugged her hood a little further over her face, making sure no one could see what was beneath the shadows. “What do you think he’s doing?” she asked Sybil.
“Getting us in trouble.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. Those guards don’t look very forgiving.”
“They aren’t.” Sybil looked through the crowd, likely trying to find them an exit for when the guards attacked. “If we go through the back alley there, it should loop around to the beach. I don’t think they’ll try to chase us much farther than that.”
“I’ll follow you.”
But then she saw Elric grinning and waving them over like a lunatic. She didn’t want to go to him, but everyone was staring. By the time she and Sybil had made it to the front of the crowd, the guard was chuckling at something Elric said.
The intimidating man then looked her up and down before asking, “You the ladies he’s traveling with?”
“Yes, sir.” She tried to keep her head down, but he was peering right into the shadows as though he had to see her face.
“That’s good. He seems a right good man. You keep track of him in this district, you hear me? It’s easy for a man to get taken for a fool in this place. Keep an eye on his wallet.”
What in the fuckery was going on here?
She nodded, sharing a glance with Sybil that confirmed the witch also thought the guard had lost his mind before they were waved into the district beyond. They got a mere two steps out of hearing range before she slapped Elric’s shoulder three times and then shook him hard.
“What was that?” she hissed. “You could have gotten us caught! Do you know what those men would do if they recognized me? Those are Leon’s guards, you absolute bumbling buffoon!”
“I twisted his mind, Jessamine, calm down. He thought I was a good friend from when he was a lad. His mind was easy to break, and his memories were so simplistic it was child’s play to get him to let us in.” Elric cracked his knuckles, and that stupid grin was right back on his face. “Now, do you think the Pleasure District has changed much in two hundred years? I’m curious to find out.”
She was going to hit him. She was going to clock him right in that chiseled jaw. All the risks he had taken were going to end her life, she was certain of it.
Sybil’s hand pressed against her lower back, steering her away from the god she wanted to murder and instead forcing her to look at the dark witch. “We’re fine,” she said. “Jessamine, everything worked out in the right way. We’re in the district.”
“No thanks to him.”
“All thanks to him,” Sybil corrected. “You are a gravesinger, my dear, but you are not a god. Do not test the man who gives us power.”
She could see Elric behind Sybil’s shoulder, that shit-eating grin only spreading wider. And then, like the absolute child he was, he raised a hand and flipped her off.
“Sybil,” she said, making sure her tone was reasonable and mature. “I need you to look away while I punch the man behind you in the throat. When he has finished writhing on the ground in agony, I will treat him like a god…ifhe behaves like one.”
Sybil sighed and stepped away from the two of them. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she shook her head. “I wash my hands of you both. I have a great-grand-cousin two or three times removed here that I would like to check on. She’s not a witch, don’t worry about that. But it would be nice to see her and her little ones.”
“You’re not coming to find the witch with us?”
Sybil shook her head with a soft smile. “I think meeting a god and a gravesinger will be more than enough of a surprise for her. Nyx, are you coming with me?”
The familiar gave a little chirp and hopped from Jessamine’s shoulder to Sybil’s. And with that, the witch and familiar disappeared into the crowd.
Jessamine had mere moments to get her bearings before she was struck by the realization that she felt at home here. These weren’t the dank and dirty streets of the Water District. No one surrounding her was covered in smoke or dust from the factories. Everyone was in silk and satin. The latest fashions whirled in colorful streaks all around her. Vendors offered gems that put her royal jewels to shame. These were the people she used to see every day as she fulfilled her duties in the palace—and everyone was looking at her like she didn’t belong.
Jessamine felt every streak of grime that covered her skin. She could sense how tangled her hair was, and how awful it must appear, like billowing smog that followed a dirty cretin who had wandered into their home.
Even the buildings seemed to lean away from her, as though the verywalls were afraid she would put her grimy hands on them. What would happen if she leaned against one? Would she leave behind a smear of filth?
Looking down at her feet was easier than seeing the expressions of all these clean and glorious people. But even the streets were perfect, as if dirt was afraid to mar this place. Closing her eyes, she focused on her other senses.
The Pleasure District smelled like rosewater and lemons. It wasn’t a strong enough smell to make her head ache. It was light and airy and oh so perfect in every single way.
She’d been to the Pleasure District when she turned sixteen as a gift from her mother. The experience was supposed to be her first adventure as a woman. She’d walked these streets and not a single person had looked at her with anything other than adoration and perhaps the slightest amount of jealousy.
Even now, she could remember the slide of her silk skirts against her legs. She’d worn a pretty lavender dress that day, with sleeves that hung off her shoulders and a bodice that hugged her waist so perfectly it almost gave her curves. Her hair had been twisted up on her head in immaculate braids, and one of the makeup sellers had complimented her on her fine complexion.
