The Catalyst

Chapter 68

Strutting along Castle Road in broad daylight turned out to go as smoothly as Alexa had predicted. The handful of Azurian soldiers on duty snapped out of their lazy patrolling to greet them with leers and obscene comments that only Zemisha, Kitera and Alexa could understand. Kitera had been taught by her mother, and Alexa had explained that she used to have regular Azurian customers.

"We'll take care of you on our way back," Alexa purred at the men now.

"You whores make sure of that," one of them said. "We're very good tippers." That made his friends laugh, for some reason Kitera didn't want to know.

"I'll fuck a blonde one," a soldier said to the guy standing next to him.

Shuddering inside, Kitera was grateful to lead the group away alongside Alexa. They made their way to the inn with the shingled roof, pale stone facade, and Fellera's blue star atop its door. All the curtains were drawn, concealing what lay inside. Exchanging a glance with Alexa, Kitera pushed the door and it creaked open.

As they stepped into the dim dining room, the clinking of their heeled boots across the floor made the young man at the bar look up from his pint. He wore red trousers and short sleeves, his neatly trimmed hair and beard were dark brown, and his thick eyebrows furrowed as his tired eyes roamed over the unexpected guests. Two of Bastian's soldiers donned masquerade masks, so that Zemisha was not the odd one out.

Before anyone could speak, Ivy slithered from the group and, with a warm, sensual smile, went to massage the young man's shoulders like it was completely natural. "What's your name, honey?"

Apparently, he knew enough Felleran to answer, "Captain Nikos. Yours?"

"I'm your dream come true, Captain." Ivy's lush auburn hair brushed his muscular arm as she leaned closer.

Meanwhile, Alexa drifted over to a table by the hearth, in which a fire blazed. Two men sat face to face, one at least as young as Nikos, round-faced and somewhat good-looking. The other was rather blocky, in his fifties, grey claiming his close-cropped hair. They didn't look alike, but something about the way they fell silent and observed the girls made Kitera suspect they were related.

"Care to offer these beauties a drink?" Alexa inquired in her accented Azurian. She placed one graceful hand at her hip, extending her other hand towards the girls.

The older man looked slightly suspicious, but the young man grinned and got up excitedly.

"Gods and Goddesses! This is exactly what I need." His lustful gaze preyed over the women.

"Amary," the older man said, "where did they come from? My orders were to clear the city."

"Who cares, father? They're whores!" Amary went to slap Nikos' shoulder, and both young men grinned as they came closer to the girls.

"Choose anyone you'd like," Alexa beckoned.

"I've already got mine," Nikos said before kissing Ivy's hand.

At the back of the room, sleep-ruffled men started to emerge from the shadows as they climbed down the creaky wooden stairs. An old man with an extensive belly croaked, "Did someone say whores?"

Sick to her stomach, Kitera was glad that she'd skipped breakfast. She made sure to keep a charming smile on her face regardless. They'd come this far; it was too late to back down now.

"Captain Ronius!" Amary greeted the bulky man with a slap on the back. "It's hard to choose, wouldn't you say?"

"Not that hard." He waded towards a thin girl with full lips and white-blonde curls.