Page 41 of Betraying Korth

There was another couple already being painted, and I couldn’t help but stare. The woman was stunningly beautiful, but what made her particularly noticeable were the nearly transparent wings sprouting from her back that gave off a continual mist of golden glitter. Her back was angled toward us, so her wings were clearly visible above her backless green dress. A pirate with black hair and a small golden hoop dangling from his ear had an arm that ended in a curved hook rather than a hand, which he had draped around the woman’s bare shoulders.

“That’s the pirate I was telling you about,” Korth said softly.

“The girl…who…whatis she?”

“That’s Captain Hook’s wife, Tinkerbell, and she’s a pixie.”

The painter, clearly in awe of the pair, was dabbing the finishing touches onto their portrait, speckling golden flecks around the border. The pixie stood on tiptoe to whisper something into Captain Hook’s ear, who grinned and raised his eyebrows at her. She smiled mischievously and batted her eyelashes. As the painter pronounced them finished, Captain Hook leaned down to plant a kiss behind the pixie’s ear.

I couldn’t help but be slightly jealous. Korth wasn’t nearly as affectionate with me as the pirate was with his wife.

“Would you like me to pose you?” the painter asked us as the couple walked away. “Or do you have something specific in mind?”

“Just her, not me,” Korth said, hastily shying away from the stool where the models could sit.

“Come on,Heath.You can keep your mask on if you want to.” I was fairly confident that I wouldn’t be recognized but stayedmasked all the same and combed my fingers through my hair. “Don’t you want to remember tonight?”

“Yes, I do.” Korth barely murmured the words, blushing scarlet as he fumbled with his coin purse to pay the painter and stand next to me.

The portrait turned out beautifully. The artist had accentuated our best features and downplayed the less flattering ones, and the result had Korth staring between the picture and me, his lips parted as he compared. We were told it would need time to dry in the artist’s station, and to collect it before we went home.

“It looks just like you,” Korth told me as we left the booth.

“That’s what artists do,” I teased, looping my arm around his elbow as he guided me through the press of people. “And now you get to have a picture of us to keep forever.”

Korth smiled. “As we will be married soon, I would like to think I get to haveyouforever. I’m a lucky man.”

My stomach dropped a little, and I pretended to be engrossed in watching a chef sear a cut of veal in order to avoid answering.

Korth, smiling more than I’d ever seen him smile before, led me through the crowd, a protective hand on the small of my back as we wound our way toward the performers. With each new act, he clapped, enthusiastically exclaiming over his favorite parts and beaming at me.

At the end of one particularly impressive tightrope walking act, Korth pulled out his purse and shook a few coins into his hand to toss to the performers. The jangling drew the attention of a furtive-looking man, and I saw the familiar hollow look in his eyes as his gaze flicked down to where Korth was pouring the extra coins back.

I pulled on Korth’s hand as he tossed a coin. “Let’s leave.”

“They’re about to start another?—”

“Please, Ko—Heath, now.”

After one look at my panicked face, Korth nodded and kept his hand firmly at my back.

“Are you armed?” I asked quietly, looking over my shoulder.

“No; I thought a sword would be a little conspicuous.”

“No dagger? Nothing?”

He shook his head.

“Then we need to move and find a guard.” I threw another glance at the crowd we’d just left. “I think we’re about to get robbed.”

“What did you see?” Korth asked, mimicking me and staring at the crowd. “No one is following us.”

“A smart thief won’t attack his mark right away. He would wait until he can make his move without being detected.”

“Then shouldn’t we stay with lots of other people?”

“It’s too easy for him to lift your purse when we’re always being jostled. Here, give it to me.” As Korth handed the small leather bag over as we turned around a tent, I was suddenly struck by the realization that if I wanted to, it would’ve been all too easy to lure Korth into a trap. He was far too trusting. Once concealed from the crowd, I used him as a shield and wedged the coin purse down the front of my dress. Korth hastily stared up at the sky.

---