“You sure you two will be all right on your own?” Lyria teased.
“By the Angel, Lyria.” I sighed, tipping my head back and pretending I hadn’t been thinking precisely that. “We told that woman no, didn’t we?”
In a sing-song voice, she said, “She didn’t try very hard to persuade you.”
“We’ll be fine,” Mila said with a laugh. “We’ll meet you all out front?”
Ophelia nodded.
As Mila and I left the rest of them to figure out their groups, I wrapped an arm around her waist, whispering in her ear, “This worked out well for us.”
And she flashed me a feline grin. Because Mila and I had come here with the intention of finding the Storytellers—and asking our own questions about history.
Chapter Forty-Four
Ophelia
“You knowthey have their own agenda tonight, right?” Tolek whispered, nodding after Malakai and Mila.
“Definitely,” I said. “But they’re also here to help, so if they want to keep a secret, that’s okay.”
Tolek nodded. “How are we splitting up?”
“You two go ahead,” Santorina said to Tolek and me. “It’ll be easiest for you to pass as a couple looking for a bit of fun if none of us are trailing after you.”
“I’m going to go on my own,” Lyria said. “See you all outside.” And she flounced down the darkest corridor, her steps nearly inaudible.
Jezebel pointed to one of the remaining halls. “We’ll take this one, you go that way.”
“Be smart,” I told her, but she merely rolled her eyes and walked away, Rina laughing as she followed.
And with that dismissal, Tolek and I strode down the final corridor, the moans and gasps through the walls certainly living up to the establishment’s name. My skin heated with every door we passed, knowing what was happening beyond these doors, feelings Tolek’s body brush up against mine at every turn. Theallure in the air was thick and hard to ignore, but I tried to listen for the poetic tones of Storytellers.
“What do you say we make this task a bit more fun?” Tolek asked, voice gravelly.
I blinked up at him. “How so?”
“Up for a game, Alabath?” And the smirk he gave me was pure evil.
Tolek pulled me through the nearest archway, into a room of writhing bodies. A whirl of ornate, woven tapestries and low-sitting divans were scattered about as he pushed me up against a waist-high partition. The edge of the wood dug into my spine, but since it was in the center of the room, it gave us the perfect sightline to see who was speaking with whom. If any crowds gathered.
“What’s the game?” I asked, hands crawling up Tol’s chest as he surveyed the employees of the Madame with keen observation. A blur passed through the corner of my eye, piquing my attention. Whoever it was seemed familiar, but they were gone too quickly to know for certain.
“See if you hear what you need,” Tol murmured, ducking to kiss my neck, “while I take care of our disguise.”
I dug my fingers into his hair, behaving like a lust-drunk young girl here for solely one thing. Tol lifted his head, brushing my hair back from my face. A shimmer of mystlight fell across his defined features, darkening the shadow of scruff along his jaw and highlighting his lips.
Who was I pretending to fool? I was entirely enamored with Tolek Vincienzo regardless of where we were. We didn’t need to put on an act to play his little game.
“CK would have hated this,” Tolek commented.
I scoffed, pushing at his chest. “Are you truly thinking about Cyph right now?”
“Should I not be?”
“How would you feel if I was?”
Tol’s eyes darkened, and he stepped closer, wedging one leg between mine so he pressed against my center, and I gasped. He nipped at my ear. “I would be forced to bury my best friend if he was on your mind right now, Alabath.” As a very clear sign, he dragged his teeth up my neck, biting.
