Betrothed to the King. Cursed since birth.
All her life, Carissa's been betrothed to a man she's never met and inflicted with a curse she's never seen. Tired of waiting for her betrothed at 18, she flees to forge her own destiny and discover love, b...
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Author's Note: As you can probably see above, my little sister has decided to start a new club, based off of the events that happened in the last chapter. If you're interested in joining, we have a limited time offer where membership is currently free 😉 Let's just say she doesn't think too highly of Viltus as the moment...
And congrats to the readers who have already joined the "Burn Viltus' House" club! ;)
***
10 Days Later
The air was thick with sickly sweet incense. Carissa had long since grown immune to the cloying perfume, but it seemed the delicate girl in the corner hadn't. The girl was a new nightwoman—or a doe, as the other women called them, for their wide eyes, innocence, and shyness. The latter two would eventually fade if one were to become a professional.
The girl was Akar's latest acquisition, probably for her curls that were a purer gold than even Akasha's hair. The day before she'd been with Akar, she'd looked brave, even defiant. Now she was huddled against a marble pillar, clutching the low neckline of her dress with a white-knuckled grip in a vain effort to preserve her modesty.
"Woman. More wine."
Carissa swept the silver pitcher off of her tray and poured an elegant ribbon of red into his goblet without tearing her gaze from the girl. The pitch of splattering wine grew higher, and she replaced the pitcher on the tray, knowing she'd filled his goblet nearly to the rim.
She had many other things she ought to be worrying about—keeping her job, avoiding men who mistook her for a nightwoman, supporting Aleck and preserving his innocence, the incessant attacks from the Esmerians. She didn't have enough strength to even think of anyone else's burdens, and Akar permitted her no breaks.
The girl would have to survive on her own.
"I wan–wanna some wine, Veiled Woman."
Carissa padded over to another man. He'd emerged from the curtains to hold out a goblet. She filled it, and the man disappeared behind the curtain, his sloshing wine leaving splotches of what looked like translucent purple blood.
Thick red curtains were drawn between marble pillars to separate the common area, where nightwomen and men initially met and food was offered, from the sampling area.
In the sampling area, the man discovered if the nightwoman was to his liking. If he liked what he saw and felt, he purchased a room. Carissa had never stepped foot in the sampling area.
A shrill whimper floated above the drunken murmurs and tittering giggles.
Despite herself, Carissa glanced towards the girl again. A man was trying to coax her into the sampling area. She was straining against his grip and looked to be near tears. Carissa set the tray of goblets and the pitcher on a marble table and strode towards the pair. She had to help the girl before she broke into tears. Akasha did terrible things to nightwomen who wept during the job.
