Agatine (Terres book II)

Chapter Twenty

Wren's lungs burned as she swung open the doorway and entered the lavishly-decorated room. Several girls lounged around the edges, some talking to men, some relaxing. Phina laughed behind her hand at a man who looked twice her age. Wren walked over and tapped her shoulder. 

"Yes? I'm a little busy right now," she said as she spun around. She gave Wren an annoyed look and turned back to the man. Her wings fluffed outwards and she smoothed her skirt. "I'm sorry, Wren's a little--"

"I need to talk to you. Alone. Right now," Wren said. The man Phina was with took his hand off her arm and folded his, then regarded Wren as if she were some sort of garden-variety pest.

"You heard her, girl, we're busy. Get out of here. Unless you want to join us." A wide, cruel smile split across his face. He looked straight at Wren. Her face reddened and she shot a pleading look at Phina. She bit her lip and sucked in a breath.

"No, no, we won't be doing that," Phina said. She mouthed 'Go away' at Wren, head turned far enough around that the man couldn't see her doing it. Her eyes were wide and she jerked her head off to the side a little bit. Wren glared at her and folded her arms.

"Well, is she cheaper than you?" he asked as his eyes swept over her. Wren's face burned. Phina smiled sweetly and let out a small laugh.

"It would do you well not to talk about my friends that way," she said. Her tone was like poisoned candy. The man snorted and stood up, then walked over to Wren and ran his fingers down her wings. She shuddered and took a step back as an ice cold chill spilled down her spine.

"You are very pretty, aren't you?" he said.

"Don't touch me," Wren replied.

"Why? That's what you're here for." He walked around Wren like a crouching reaver, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Wren's heart beat a little faster. She turned to follow him and stepped away, like prey about to be chased. He reached for her wrist and clutched it in his meaty hands. She winced as his fingers dug into her flesh.

Wren closed her eyes. The man released her and she opened them again. Phina pressed a tiny blade to his neck. The entire room turned to stare at her. One of the girls left for a back room with a man, his eyes wide from fright. 

"I don't know where you come from, but you'll learn one thing right now. You will not touch anyone here without their permission. We are not here for your entertainment and we are not toys. Do you understand?" Phina brought her face close to his ear. The color drained from his and he nodded as she pressed the point of her dagger into the soft hollow of his throat until it drew a small pinprick of blood. Wren could see his adam's apple bob as he swallowed, then nodded.

"Understood," he said.

 "Good," Phina replied. "Now get out." She let him go and he stumbled forward.

The man took a step back from her and held his hands up. His eyebrows lowered and his face creased. The wicked grin crept back across his face, and the cold feeling ran back down Wren's spine. 

"Now ladies, I think this was a misunderstanding. Don't you think we could--"

"Leave before I cut your throat," Phina said. The man muttered to himself and picked up his cloak off the ground. He slung it around his shoulders and glared at Phina.

"I'm sure I can find some fun down by the docks before I leave," he said as he slammed the door behind him. Wren let a big breath leave her chest. Phina's face softened immediately and she tucked the dagger away.

She touched Wren's shoulder and steered her down the hallway. Wren didn't say anything in response and let Phina push her into a room occupied only by a small wooden table and a set of dusty chairs. It smelled like old cleaning fluid and antiseptic. Wren wrinkled her nose. Phina flicked a match and used it to light the oil lamp in the corner. A soft glow filled the room and she shut the door.

"Sorry," Wren said.

"Don't be, I wouldn't have slept with him anyway. Horrible man, probably from some sea vessel and expects that he can just take us if he wants. It doesn't work that way here." She sat down and Wren followed. "Are you okay? Is this about yesterday? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Phina's eyes narrowed.

"No," Wren said, shaking her head. Phina's eyes relaxed again and Wren thought she heard her let out a sigh. Wren's hands trembled a little, though she didn't know why.  "I did what you said. And he did crack like an egg. I don't even know his name" 

She couldn't help but smiling a faint little smile that she hoped Phina wouldn't see. Phina leaned a little closer to her, the edges of her wings illuminated by the glow of the oil lamp. 

"What did he tell you?" she said. Her voice was gentle and just barely concerned, not hard and confident like Phina usually was. Wren flushed a little and turned away.

"A man named Seltus is angry with this brothel. And with marked ones, in general. He said he was the mayor, and that he wanted to kill us all and to shut this place down. I...don't know what that means." 

Phina laughed softly. The worry left her face and her eyes sparkled in the light of the lantern. Wren folded her arms and scowled.

"It's okay," she said. "But we already knew. We've known for months. I'm not the only one who's good at working secrets. It might as well be our entire purpose. Plenty of the city men come here when their wives aren't looking, or sometimes even when they are. Seltus has never liked us." She smirked. "Not enough to keep away from here, though."

Wren's eyes widened. "He's come here?" 

"Lots of times. He talks loudly but then does nothing. I wouldn't do what he wanted the last time he came in and he left in a huff. I'm sure it will take him a bit to get over it, but then he'll wander in here the same as he always does." The smile dropped off Phina's face and she folded her arms. "He picks a new favorite every few weeks. Make sure you're not."

Wren wanted to ask, but thought better of it. Her heart sank. All of that for nothing. Sure, she'd gotten a small sack of money, but she already had a place to live and nothing to spend it on. Her cheeks heated up a little, but Phina didn't seem to notice. 

"I didn't learn anything important, then," she said.

Phina took one of Wren's hands in both of hers and looked her squarely in the eye. "You didn't need to. You won't most times. I was surprised you even said yes, when he asked, because you didn't need to do that, either. And you still got him to tell you something. Something that would have been very important had we not already known. You don't need to impress me, Wren."

Wren did her best not to look away as a sudden wave of dizziness washed over her. "I'm not trying to."

"Good," Phina said, and she let go, leaned back in the chair, and crossed her arms. A subtle grin crept across her face. "Was it terrible?"

"No," Wren said. She folded her elbows across the table. Suddenly she didn't feel so useless anymore. A hard determination came over her. Maybe she could help. Maybe she could help even if she was still scared and anxious and terrible at keeping emotions off her face. Maybe that wasn't even a weakness.