Page 98 of Nightbane
All right. There he was. Somehow, they would have to get information from him. “He seems preoccupied. How are we—”
Grim looked from the dancers to Isla. Then back again.
She scoffed. “Absolutelynot, you cursed demon—”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Then we’ll find another way. I just thought, you being a temptress and all, you could useyourpowers, since I’m unable to use mine.”
Powers.She was supposed to be a cursed hearteater, able to tempt a person with a single look. Capable of bringing anyone to their knees with her seduction. Somehow he hadn’t seemed to notice her powerlessness, beyond a few pointed statements. He couldn’t find out she didn’t have ability. What if that was why he was working with her in the first place? Would he rescind his offer to help her during the Centennial?
Roaring began filling her ears. They hadn’t found the skin gloves. She and Celeste needed him.Herpeople needed her. They were suffering.
“Can’t you just torture the information out of him?” she asked. Suddenly, that option sounded a lot more appealing.
Grim looked amused. “Of course I can, Hearteater. But one of the most infamous thieves, one of the only people who knows about the sword, turning up dead in such a violent fashion? It would be suspicious ...” He shrugged a shoulder. “I suppose, if you are unable to actuallyuseyour powers—”
“Of course I can,” she said quickly.
Grim looked unconvinced. “It’s fine. We’ll find another—”
“No.” She was suddenly intent on wiping that look off his face. She reached back into her dress and shoved her starstick at him. “Take this from me, and you’ll see myotherWildling curses in action,” she said.
Then she turned on her heel, toward the tent behind the stage.
All her previous bravado was gone. She had traded one of the girls in the show a ruby from her necklace in exchange for her extra set of clothing. Now, she stood just offstage, trembling. Her chest was covered only by a thick strip of black fabric. Her other parts were covered only by a skirt that truly had not earned that description, for it barely concealed anything.
The sheet was over her, but she had seen it at work in the light. Everything would be revealed.Shewould be revealed.
Get it together, she told herself. Her people were starving. The mark above her heart was only the faintest scar now, but the encounter had left more than torn flesh behind. She had seen the women’s desperation. They looked guilty, but they were hungry. She was their ruler. It was her responsibility to do whatever she could to survive the Centennial and break their curse.
With her people in mind, a stupid dance in front of a thief seemed easy. She had a plan. Seduce him, bring him to a private place, and feed him the bottle of liquor she had also bought off the dancer.
“A drink of this, and any man will be flat on his stomach,” she had said. “Lets us accept payment without doing most of the more unsavory acts.”
Finally, Isla had asked for advice. “Do you know the man with the serpent?”
She had rolled her eyes. “We all do, unfortunately.”
“How do I get him to notice me?”
“Easy,” she said. “He likes attention.”
All she had to do was dance in front of him.
How hard could it be?
She was wearing a mask. Anonymous. No one knew her here—except for the cursed demon, who she doubted would even be watching.
With a burst of confidence, Isla stepped onto the stage, wrapped in the cloth she knew was made completely transparent by the lights behind, casting her body in full shadow.
Gazes were brands searing her skin. At first, she rejected it, felt disgusted, but then ...
This was a choice. She was not being forced. They were here to watch, and she had agreed to be part of the entertainment.
She positioned herself right in front of the man with the snake, making sure to give a smile just for him, and she began to dance.
The music was a rush of drums and strings so fast and intoxicating that her body moved to its rhythm, matching the routine of the others. Her hips swayed, dipped, her arms reached above her head, she ran her fingers down her stomach, touching her body through the fabric ...
And met his gaze.Him.
