Page 66 of Bred
The man smirked as he looked me up and down, and then the door closed in my face with a resoundingthud.
“Hey!”
I smashed my fist against the door.
The door opened again and a different man, older than the first, and with a leaner bulk. He still towered over me.
“I was sent by Tannyl,” I blurted out. “You have to let me in. I’m here to see Artin!”
“Are you just,” he said. His smile was sly as his gaze slid over me. “And why should I let you in?”
I glared up at him. “I was told to come here at midnight— I’m here. Let me in.”
I glanced over my shoulder, suddenly nervous that I might be seen loitering in the doorway of a brothel when I should see to my Lady’s instructions for the kitchen staff for the morning…
“Please,” I hissed. “Let me in.”
The man’s mouth twisted in a shadow of a smile before he opened the door wide enough to allow me to dash inside. I had to brush against him as I did so, and his chuckle made my cheeks burn.
I was grateful to be inside and away from prying eyes, but I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do now.
“Tannyl sent me,” I stammered, and pulled the piece of parchment the goblin had given me from a pocket in my cloak. I held it with a shaking hand and the man snatched it out of my grasp and read it quickly.
“Sent you to what?” he asked.
I blinked at him in surprise. “To— I’m supposed to ask for Artin. That’s all I know.”
“You’re at a brothel at midnight,” he said as he stepped closer. He was roguishly handsome in the soft light from the lanterns. With dark hair that swept over his forehead and a scar that marred his left eyebrow and disappeared in the hair that covered his elegantly pointed ears.
“What usually happens to beautiful girls in brothels?” he murmured. A long-fingered hand stroked along my cheek, and his thumb brushed over my lower lip.
I knew what happened at brothels.
Was this the examination?
It couldn’t be.
I pushed his hand away and ignored the heat that flared in my stomach at the gentleness of his touch. I’d only ever known roughness, but I wasn’t here for this…
“I’m here to see Artin,” I repeated firmly. “I want to be a royal surrogate, and you don’t look like any king I’ve ever seen.”
Anger flashed in his dark eyes, but only for a moment. “A surrogate,” he said. “You don’t look like the kind of girl who usually has such ambitions.”
I lifted my chin. “And?”
His chuckle made my throat tighten.
“And nothing,” he said. “Follow me.”
CHAPTER THREE
Heshovedtheparchmentback into my hands and strode down a stone corridor. I hurried to keep up with him and wondered if I’d insulted him — did it matter? Had I passed a test?
“Wait for me,” I hissed.
“Keep up,” he called back.
A wooden door opened, and I stumbled on the uneven stones. He stepped into a room lit with elegant lamps, and the smell of the silverbeeswax filled my nostrils and made me feel a little dizzy.
