Fantasy of Fire (The Tainted Accords #3)(48)

“Get out,” he says with deadly calm. She scrambles for the door.

“Roman!” barks Jovan. Roman scurries to his side. The king grabs him by the front of the tunic and lifts him onto his toes. “You better make sure her mouth stays shut.” His anger is getting out of control. I slip forward. Jovan lowers him, still vibrating with anger.

“Roman.” I place a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorrier than you can know to come between the two of you.” The older man’s eyes well up at my words. “It’s not your fault she dislikes me and please don’t think it is.”

“Her mother was killed by a mixed man, and no one believed her when she said she saw the murderer fly off,” he mumbles quickly. “I’ve never seen her like this.”

“I see,” I say. Even though I don’t. How is this an excuse for hating all mixed? “If you're able to prevent her from spreading the news, I would be very thankful.” I nod.

“You don’t even have to ask. I meant what I said earlier.” Roman bows and hurries out the door after his wife. I don’t envy him at all.

Jovan stands completely, furiously still. I peer up at him and it takes a few moments for him to meet my gaze. I don’t dare tell him I’m fine, or everything is okay. I know him better now.

I shrug and smile slightly. “One out of fourteen…”

He softens infinitesimally, but still looks infuriated. “It should have been zero out of fourteen.”

I can’t help feeling desolate at having lost a person who used to be a good friend. I think a part of me knew the relationship we had was irretrievable. “I suppose it’s unreasonable to think everyone will love me,” I joke.

A calloused finger tilts my chin. His angry blue eyes capture mine. “It’s not unreasonable at all,” he says.

I step away from his touch, too aware of the surrounding people. He growls as I turn to face the others.

“Some of this attitude will be unavoidable, though perhaps in time, my story will encourage other mixed to come out of hiding. I believe progress has been made here already,” I say.

“Don’t worry about Jacquiline,” Alzona calls as she fixes the tie on her tunic. “She always was a bitch.” Her comment grabs the attention of almost everybody there, except me and Crystal.

“You’ve decided?” I ask, brow arched. She arches one in response.

“Thank you,” I say. The more witnesses I gather, the easier Blaine’s demise will be.

“I’d ask those of you from the barracks to remain here for a few days. I’d like some help with a few things.” I look at Ice, who taps his nose with a knowing expression.

The nods and noises of agreement fill the room. My friends begin talking amongst themselves. I’m happy to see Shard and Malir talking, as well as Sanjay and Blizzard, though I imagine it won’t be long until Sanjay makes Blizzard lose his temper. I pull Ice aside and out of earshot.

“What have you found?” I ask.

“You have blue eyes,” he answers instead. I give him a dry look.

“You’re Sluti.”

“Solati,” I correct.

“Yeah, one of those.” He rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Should I be helping you?”

I shrug. “The king’s right there, and technically I’m doing this for Glacium, not Osolis.”

He shakes his head quickly. “Okay, just had to get that straight. Wouldn’t be good for guilt if I did the wrong thing.” I grin at his logic.

“Followed your two tails back from the Sixth. I’ve been staying close in case they make another move. You lost ‘em before reaching the castle. I traced the rats back to their base to get a lookie at the top dog. The person is Inner Rings or a fancy castle man, finely dressed. Below average height for a male here, and a little rounder in the gut. Thinning hair, nervous eyes.”

I sift through the assembly members in my mind. “Could be half a dozen men in the assembly. I’d have no idea about the Inner Ring.”

“I’ll take a look at dinner. I get dinner, right?” he asks. He sounds more concerned about this than he was about helping a Solati.

I assure him he’ll be fed and mentally check him off my list before moving on to the next task. Sanjay stands next to Fiona. He’s looking at me with consternation.

Alzona grabs my arm. “It’s all set. Starts in two weeks,” she says. I clap my hands and bounce up and down in excitement.

“How many?” I ask.

“You’re not gonna believe it, but all of them—even Leila,” she says with awe, talking of Willow. Leila was her working name. My own jaw drops. This was huge. Willow said she’d get the brothel’s mistress on board, but I’d no idea she intended to participate herself! Leila was the brothel’s top whore; no wonder all the women at the whorehouse joined.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be long until some of the smaller brothels join in,” she says in a quick whisper.

“I’m probably going to need Ice for a bit, and perhaps Blizzard as well…” I trail off as her jaw tightens. She doesn’t like me stealing her men.

She exhales through tight nostrils, then brightens as an idea strikes her. “That’s fine. If this takes off, I’ll move out of the pits anyway. I’ll offer positions to a few of the more reluctant whores. I’ll still need one or two fighters to take the sessions, though,” she says.