Page 109 of The Legacy of Ophelia
“Mm-hmm. That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“Me neither,” Tol admitted. But he kissed my neck and said, “Can you show me the light again?”
Dismissing concerns of the god, I spent the rest of the flight going over my plan and attempting to not give in to Tolek’s taunts as his hands slid absentmindedly along my skin. Hidden up in the clouds, I practiced small, controlled displays of each of the seven types of Angellight, explaining to Tolek how they varied.
By the time we landed on the roof of the pleasure house in Lendelli, it was the middle of the night.
The city was still, but a hum radiated from the building beneath my boots.
“Keep watch, girl,” I said to Sapphire as Tolek scaled the ladder down.
I followed, jumping right into the air and testing my wings to float myself to the foot of the stone steps below. It was a choppy descent—a large portion of it more of a fall than anything—but I kept myself aloft and landed with barely a stumble.
“Progress,” Tolek said, kissing my temple.
I flexed my feathers. “Do you think if the gorgons can banish their wings into another form, I can, too?” I asked as we climbed the stairs to the ornately carved front door.
Tol grabbed the handle, pausing. “Do you want to?”
“It could make it more comfortable for us on Sapphire.” Truthfully, though, the wings were beginning to sync with my muscles in ways I hadn’t expected. The flow of communication from my mind to the new appendages was instinct, their weight a welcome presence.
Tol observed the feathers peeking over my shoulders, and he smirked. “I like them. They’re beautiful, legendary, and strong like you are. And you know I love a challenge.”
Wings beat through my chest, but without another word, Tol tugged the door open and gestured for me to step inside. I didn’t even have a moment to respond before the alluring thrum of the brothel stretched out to us, wrapping around my being and enticing me in.
We crossed the threshold into the dimly lit foyer, the rich finishes and scarf-covered mystlight exactly as it had been last time we were here. The pull was even stronger, though, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of my seraph or the fact that it was even later in the night now. More hours for the proclivitieswithin to sink into the stone, for the air to become heavy with temptation.
Doing my best to shove the lust to the back of my mind, I approached the desk across the foyer, arches rimming the space and beckoning us into their shadows.
The madame was exactly as I recalled. Hair pulled back and accentuating her sharp cheekbones, lifting her eyes. Dark fabric wrapped her body tightly to her chin, and a pipe hung between her lips.
“Welcome back,” she hummed.
I quirked a brow. “You remember us?”
She blew a ring of sweetly scented smoke in her air, eyes glimmering. “I remember everyone who enters my hall.” There was a threat in there, a twist of her tone that implied she knew more than she let on. But she continued, “You two had a very fun night in the public rooms last time you were here.”
Last time we were here.When Brystin, one of Queen Ritalia’s fae guards, had snuck in and gravely attacked a Storyteller, leaving my sister panicking because her myth magic ripped the woman’s spirit from her body, finishing the kill.
But before that...
Flashes of Tolek’s hands grasping my body. Of his breath hot against my skin and his clear desire jutting against my back. Of his threats to take me, to claim me right where everyone could see, and how desperately I’d wanted that. The spot between my legs throbbed at only the recollection, and I glanced up at Tolek. He gave me a knowing smirk, stepping closer and sliding an arm around my waist. I shivered at the touch.
Spirits, this place did things to me.
Swallowing, I matched the madame’s glinting stare. “We certainly did.”
“You have new…additions?” the madame asked with a purely curious glance at my wings.
Tolek dragged a finger down the feathers. “She does,” he stated, voice sultry, and I had to release a slow breath to stay focused. “And they make the games even more fun.”
The madame grinned, holding out a hand for the coins we owed to enter. We paid despite the fact that we wouldn’t be using any of her rooms or staff. Allowed her to think we were.
“Enjoy yourselves,” she said as she waved us through one of the archways.
“You’re certain about this?” Tolek checked once we were well out of earshot, his hand roaming up and down my spine leisurely.
Over the moans echoing from behind closed doors, I met his gaze, trying my best not to give in to the hunger in my bones and focus only on him. “If we’re looking for truths about the seraphs, gorgons, or gods, Aimee will be the one to know. She was the only Storyteller who knew anything about the Angelcurse.”
