Page 2 of Frost Bound

Dahlia shook her head and pushed the loaf of bread away, despite how her mouth watered. “We didn’t agree on bread, and I can’t afford it.”

The barkeep’s eyes narrowed, and he stubbornly pushed back the bread. “It was slightly burnt. I couldn’t sell this. Take it. Every time I see you, you’re paler and thinner.”

Heat burned in her cheeks as she held his gaze, her fingers twitching against the bread. He pitied her. A few years ago, Lia’s pride would have kept her from accepting such a gift. And a gift it was. The loaf didn’t have a bit of char on it.

“Thank you,” she murmured, giving in for the sake of her brother. She swore he had a hollow leg with as much as he needed to eat.

Viro gave her a sharp nod, the tension on his face easing some. The older man didn’t smile often but this was as close to satisfied as she’d ever seen him. “Eat, and then I’ll settle your payment.”

Dahlia bit her bottom lip and glanced out the window. It was far beyond dark, and she didn’t want to wait any longer to visit the Giver. Their debt was due by sunrise. “Can you pay me now?”

The barkeeper nodded and dug into his pocket. “I can do that. May I ask where you’re off to in such a hurry?”

She debated telling him a lie, and decided it was smart if at least one person knew where she was going. “The Giver.”

Viro stiffened, and glanced around the tavern, his gaze resting on the Recurrence before slapping the coin into her open palm. She quickly hid it in one of her secret pockets. There were way too many pickpockets in their city.

“Lass, you should know better than cavorting with that miscreant.” Disproval dripped from his words. “He’s a monster. One ofthem.”

Lia hid a shudder and shrugged. “I had no other choice.” She balanced the bread over the top of one of the bowls and pushed itback toward him. “Will you keep this in the back for Cosmos and give him a message for me? I lost track of him during the set. I am going to eat and then visit the Giver. I’ll be back for him later tonight.”

Viro now outright glared down at her. “You’re going alone?”

“I know how to protect myself.” To a point. It wasn’t as if she was some great warrior, but she’d picked up some skills over her travels in the last nine years. Enough to get her into trouble. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

The barkeeper grunted before holding up one finger. “Don’t leave before I come back.”

She shrugged and dug into her stew. Flavor exploded across her tongue as she tried to savor the soup. It was just too good. The veggies were sweet, the meat tender, and the broth salty. Just as she gulped down the last bit, just short of licking the wooden bowl, Viro moved back to her. He placed a tiny canvas bag on the bar before her.

“Take this with you. If you run into any trouble, just toss a little of that at your attacker, or dip your fingers into it and smear it across their face.”

She eyed the bag. “What is it?”Please don’t be poison.

“Ground chiles from the south. Don’t get any near your own eyes or you will want to tear them out to stop the burning for about twelve hours.”

That sounded horrible. Carefully, she placed the little spice bag into her pocket. “Thank you once again. I’ll pay you back.” Lia didn’t know how, but she would try.

“No need. You bring me more customers than any other bard in the area.” He plucked her bowl and spoon from the counter and turned away. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

Steeling her nerves for the task ahead, Dahlia retrieved her threadbare cloak from the paneled wall, tossed it over hershoulders, and slipped outside. The air held a chill, signaling that fall was soon to be gone for the year. She lifted her hood over her hair and avoided as many people as possible as she made her way down to Wicked.

Lia avoided puddles of unmentionable liquids on the cobbled lane and breathed through her mouth to try to filter out some of the wretched stench that permeated the edge of the area. Brothels, peepshows, and gambling taverns filled the rookery. Whatever your diversion or perversion, the Giver supplied it. She crept along the street, trying to avoid attention, but from the way the hair stood up at the base of her neck, she knew she was being watched. The Recurrence was always creeping around, surveying the Giver’s personal kingdom.

Upon reaching the Giver’s palace—a gentlemen’s club that no real gentlemen would ever enter—she inhaled deeply and fortified herself for what was to come. Stars, she wished she had Cosmos. While he was only fourteen, the boy was nearly six foot tall, and scared off interested men just by scowling at them.

That was a selfish thought. She’d never bring her brother anywhere near the monster of the slums. The half-blood frost giant struck terror inside her every month she had to pay down their debt. Each time she stared into his soulless black gaze, all she could see was the Haunt as he beat her mother half to death. A shudder wracked her body, but she pushed through it.

Time to get this over with.

She pulled a king face card from her pocket and held it up to the guard at the door. The rough-looking man nodded to her and opened the sturdy door to the brothel.

Lia kept her expression placid, and just barely kept her nose from wrinkling at the scent of rose perfume, sweat, spirits, and sex. She quickly strode down the gaudy, low-lit corridor, and kept her eyes straight ahead. One time in the past, she’d madethe mistake of looking into one of the rooms, and it still haunted her to that day.

Her pulse sped up as she reached the double mahogany doors at the end. Two Recurrence dressed in livery guarded the door. It was a joke, really, an attempt to make his thugs look more civilized. They were animals in lace protecting a monster parading as a king.

Shoving her thoughts away, she once again held up the card, and they let her inside. Dahlia didn’t hesitate to go inside the Giver’s repayment chambers. Hesitation was weakness in this world, and she wouldn’t be seen as their prey.

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