Steel and Promise

by Alexa Black

  She closed her eyes and breathed deep. Her purpose was to serve. In public, that meant being a credit to her client.

  She thought of the charge the courtesans’ goddess had given those who served her. She focused on that thought and took a deep breath, hoping to clear her mind.

  However she might feel about all of this, she could worry about it later. For now, she would focus on her duty.

  “Lady Nivrai,” the councilwoman said, “why take exception to what we’re offering you? You’re the perfect one for this job.”

  “I?”

  “Whatever you do to him, the council members promise they will fully pardon.”

  Teran turned a cold smile on the councilwoman. The quiet hall filled with her laughter. “Fully pardon? So that’s what this is about. Did you think offering this would flatter me? That you can toss me anyone at all, like meat to a dog? That you could give me an enemy of the state, someone who despises me on principle, and expect me to think of that as a gift?”

  The woman’s voice dripped sweetness. “Everything is set up in your favor. Surely you’re not going to refuse and aid treason.”

  Teran sighed. “Is that how it is, then? In that case, I will not defy you.”

  Cailyn blinked. Had she heard that correctly?

  “Maybe so, but the Councils have already made their determination. And assigned you your duty.”

  “Very well, my lady.”

  Cailyn looked down at Teran’s hands. She saw holes in the tips of the black leather gloves, small dents in the table under her slender fingers.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cailyn didn’t trust herself to speak. She walked a step behind Teran, using any technique she could recall to project strength and calmness.

  Other nobles loitered in the halls, staring after Teran and Cailyn. Some whispered.

  “Cailyn Derys,” called one, waving her over. “I never would’ve expected to see you in such company.”

  Apparently, Lady Liana wasn’t the only one who wanted to talk. Not bothering to stifle a sigh, she turned.

  She knew the man, a minor noble ranked almost as low as Teran. He had hired her once, shortly after he’d inherited his estate. Giddy with the power of it, he’d shown off by spending his money on one of the best courtesans he could hire.

  For her part, Cailyn hadn’t enjoyed their encounter. He had bragged about his skill at seduction, his money, his anatomy. Cailyn hadn’t found any of the three impressive.

  He’d ground into her for a few minutes, panting comments about himself all the while. Too disgusted to be delicate, Cailyn had shushed him, convinced him to start over. She’d coaxed him into allowing her to touch him. She’d caressed his skin, teasing responses from every part of his body besides the obvious. Chastened, he’d lapsed into silence. Only then had Cailyn straddled him and guided him inside herself.

  Once it ended, so had his moment of humility. He’d shooed her out, grumbled about her fee, and waited months before calling her again.

  She’d turned him down politely. His face had reddened, but Cailyn had hoped he’d understood in the end.

  Apparently, he hadn’t.

  “The company I keep is mine to choose, Lord Nalar.” Cailyn glanced over at Teran, whose jaw was set in a hard line.

  “Of course.” He stroked his moustache and his lip curled. “But I never would’ve thought you would be Teran’s whore.”

  Whore. The word went through her like cold water, seeping down into her bones.

  She’d heard it before, of course. Every courtesan heard it sooner or later. Sometimes people who disapproved of the nobles’ extravagance hurled it at them. Sometimes the nobles themselves sneered it, disgusted with themselves for what they wanted.

  And some people just liked the sharpness of the word, when they rolled it around in their mouths.

  But this…

  “Really,” he went on, “are you that greedy, Derys?” His eyes swept over Cailyn’s attire. His gaze fixed on the rubies hanging between her breasts.

  Cailyn raised her head, willing herself to find her voice. “My lord, it’s no one’s business but my own what I do. Or how much I’m paid to do it.”

  “I thought you were better than the dark channels. Those people are barbarians. And even they won’t do the things Nivrai does.”

  “Barbarians?” Teran’s voice was quiet and calm. “How do you know that?”

  Nalar blanched under Teran’s stare. His lips twisted, and his face purpled with rage. “Everyone knows that. And everyone knows about you.”

  “Do you?”

  He opened his mouth to speak and sputtered.

  Teran chuckled. “If you don’t know, how can you comment on it?”

  “Why should I want to know exactly how you ruin a beautiful woman like Cailyn Derys?”

  “Ruin? How have I ruined her?”

  His jaw worked. His mouth opened and closed, but once again, no words came out. He stared as Teran stepped up to Cailyn’s side.

  “People like you are the reason the rebel group hates us. It’s no wonder they try to kill people when they have monsters like you in mind.”

  Teran’s face was a frozen, bloodless mask, lips drawn in a grim line. A gloved hand clenched at her side.

  Cailyn put a hand on Teran’s arm, thinking of what the hidden newsteel could do.

  “So I should be killed, is that what you’re saying? And you say I’m worse than a barbarian.”

  “Killed? No.”

  “Then what are you saying?”

  “I’m just saying our enemies get their violence from somewhere.”

  “Somewhere.”

  Nalar stabbed at the air, at a loss for words again.

  Metal glinted through the rips in Teran’s glove. Cailyn tensed.

  Teran glared at Nalar for a long moment. He blinked, and Teran turned away.

  “Come with me,” she said. She nodded to Cailyn and swept past Lord Nalar before he could say anything else.

  Happy to get away, Cailyn followed.

  *

  Teran slammed her against the wall as soon as the doors closed behind them. Cailyn didn’t protest. Rough use would drive all those insults out of her mind.

  But when the newsteel in Teran’s fingers clicked awake, she twisted away. Had Teran really just said she would torture someone?

  “Be still,” Teran hissed.

  Metal clinked against metal as Teran’s claws tore through the delicate golden chains on Cailyn’s shirt. Numb, Cailyn stared down as the claws broke each chain. When it was done, Teran reached to stroke Cailyn’s exposed skin.

  Cailyn recoiled.

  An unfortunate business, Lady Liana had said. She’d warned Cailyn against getting caught up in it.

  She’d thought she could avoid it by accompanying Teran as companion only. But Teran was the one the council members wanted. Now that they’d revealed why—

  Could she serve knowing what they wanted?

  She remembered her training, the contract, her promises, Teran’s touch. Nothing soothed the queasy feeling in her gut.

  “My lady,” she ground out. “Do you plan to go along with the Councils in this?”

  The hand froze, the tips of the claws half-dug into Cailyn’s skin. “Plan to?”

  “You told them—”

  “What they’re asking me to do is ridiculous. They have people to do that job. If anyone should.”

  “But you said you wouldn’t defy them.”

  “Of course I did. What else could I say?”

  “Then how can you—?”

  “They have to believe that I’m almost convinced.” Fingers moved on Cailyn’s skin, slow and reassuring.

  Cailyn swayed, wanting to believe their promise. The mere suggestion had made Teran angrier than Cailyn had ever seen her.

  The hand moved again. It pulled back the fabric, widening the exposed expanse of flesh. Laughter filled Cailyn’s ears again. Steel spidered its way along Cailyn’s exposed skin.

&nb
sp; “Teran’s whore.”

  Cailyn’s gorge rose all over again. She flinched. “My lady? You like that someone called me that?”

  Teran’s voice was smooth as a purr. “I like that he called you mine.”

  Cailyn twitched. Her flesh slipped open as Teran’s hand moved down. She froze, wanting to respond and hating herself for it.

  Teran kissed her, hard. The steel tipped hand moved along her breasts. The claws of Teran’s other hand clicked as they slid back into Teran’s fingertips. Cailyn let out a breath, expectant, as they moved lower.

  Cailyn kissed back, her lips chasing the echoes of the words.

  Whore. She could hear Teran’s voice pronouncing it, slowly, savoring the sound.

  And “mine.” Teran said she liked that word better. But that wasn’t much less frightening.

  Teran’s fingers slid into her. “Are you frightened of me now, little one?”

  “Of this,” Cailyn panted as the fingers filled her.

  “Of being what they claim?”

  Cailyn squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to nod.

  “If they call you dross, take pride in it.” Teran kissed her again, her tongue filling Cailyn’s mouth.

  She drew away and licked her lips. “What better to be than something small-minded people scorn?”

  Then the fingers entered Cailyn again, hard and sudden. She gasped.

  “Besides, the word means what you do now. Claim it yourself, and it has no power over you.”

  Cailyn cringed. After all this talk of torture, she wasn’t sure she wanted force. Or pain, which would follow soon enough.

  She took a deep breath to center herself. Even if she couldn’t respond the way she wanted, she could still give pleasure. She’d always enjoyed doing that, at least.

  A hand wound in her hair, dragged her head back. “Are you pulling away from me, little one?”

  She’d pulled away before. Sometimes the nobles were too boring or unpleasant for even Cailyn to endure with a smile. Awkwardness reflected badly on any courtesan, but it came with the job. Everyone dealt with it. Even her father had, sometimes.

  The thought reassured her. The desire she’d felt became a distant glow, waves lapping gently inside her. The gods knew that after so much time with Lady Nivrai, she could use some gentleness.

  The fingers battered her, driving in and in. Her body felt limp. The plunging fingers held her up. Their relentless rhythm tore her away from the world she swam in. She heard herself cry, a high, thin noise, and pushed back onto Teran’s hand.

  She knew by now that Teran would never use the claws, but she found herself imagining them anyway. All memories of decorum or training fled, torn to shreds by the steel-tipped fingers glinting in her mind. She moved with Teran’s fingers, no will of her own driving her.

  Was she coming? She didn’t know. She knew only the ache of her mouth twisted into a scream.

  Her body emptied, her sex still yawning open. Arms wrapped around her. She trembled. They gripped her tighter, the response automatic.

  “What exactly was that, little one?”

  “I don’t know, my lady.”

  It was the only answer she could give without shivering again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The color-changing scarf wrapped Cailyn’s shoulders in airy softness. She liked the color, too, after so much gray and black. She wore it with a bright green dress, a lime color she’d never get to wear in Teran’s chambers. The fabric swished against her thighs and she walked faster.

  She’d looked forward to this meeting for a while now. Seeing a favorite client always offered welcome respite. She needed that now more than ever, no matter what Lady Liana had said that day in the hall.

  The door slid open. A lavender gown hung loose over Liana’s full-figured frame, sheer enough that Cailyn could see the breasts beneath, the brown of the noblewoman’s nipples.

  Dark brown eyes crinkled with laughter. “Welcome, Cailyn Derys. It’s been too long.”

  Cailyn grinned. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, my lady.”

  A blush spread over Liana’s cheeks. “I don’t remember you flattering me this much.”

  Cailyn laughed, trying to think of an appropriate response. She finally bowed.

  “That’s a lovely dress,” Liana added. “Those things Nivrai puts you in don’t suit you.”

  No, they don’t, Cailyn thought.

  The room had rich purple walls, a deeper shade that matched Liana’s gown. Instead of a bed, a pile of purple cushions filled the center of the room. Golden embroidery winked from the pile.

  Light filtered in from large windows overlaid with sheer curtains. Cailyn looked up at Liana, imagining her body laid out on them.

  Liana wasted no time in stepping over to Cailyn. She ran her fingers along the soft fabric of Cailyn’s bright gown. Her fingers moved to its fasteners and loosened them one by one. “Let’s have a look at you.”

  Cailyn shuddered as the bright green fabric fell to the ground. She still bore Lady Nivrai’s marks.

  Maybe a regenerative treatment now and then would be a good idea, she thought as she stepped away from the fabric pooled around her feet.

  But Liana didn’t seem interested in her backside at the moment. Her hands wandered over Cailyn’s chest, skipped down her breasts. Cailyn arched her back and pressed them into Liana’s hands.

  “Come here,” Lady Liana said, her voice warm with approval.

  Cailyn let herself be led to the pile of cushions, careful to hide the marks on her back and buttocks. It felt strange to shield a part of her body, a body that she made available to people like Lady Liana every day of her life. Did she want to see them, or to pretend they weren’t there?

  “You’re hiding something.”

  Cailyn froze. Did Liana want her to turn around?

  Brown fingers tapped the collar around Cailyn’s neck. “So, you just came from seeing Lady Nivrai?”

  Cailyn blushed. She’d almost forgotten about the metal circling her neck. “Guild law prevents me from answering that.”

  Liana ran a hand through her long hair. A frown tugged at her lips. “Either way, working for her must be terrible.”

  Cailyn said nothing. Guild law meant she didn’t have to, after all.

  “Your father’s very famous.”

  Not this again.

  “My lady, there is no need to—”

  “Isn’t there some other way?”

  Cailyn hesitated. Teran’s whore. The rumors about her had already begun. If she sounded too eager for Lady Nivrai’s company, they would surely only get worse.

  “I chose this,” she said after a moment. “I told you so before.”

  Liana’s brows knitted. “Well.”

  Cailyn lay down on the soft cushions and pulled Lady Liana down with her. “Shh.”

  She wrapped her hands around Liana’s head and drew her into a kiss, reveling in Liana’s mouth as it opened to her.

  With deft fingers, Cailyn guided Liana into turning over. There would be no chance of Liana discovering her bruises if she couldn’t see Cailyn’s back.

  Liana sank into the cushions and slid out of the loose-fitting dress. Cailyn reached out to run her fingers along Liana’s chest.

  She slid her fingers over Liana’s nipples. They hardened as Cailyn caressed them, eager brown buds. Liana’s breathing came sharp and quick as Cailyn’s fingers moved.

  Cailyn leaned down to kiss Liana’s skin, touch it lightly with her lips. She traced slow patterns with her mouth.

  She liked this, her lips tracing kisses along the body of a woman, seeking the place between her legs.

  And there was nothing complicated to do now. Lady Liana gasped in anticipation and opened her legs. Warmth spread through Cailyn, and she lowered her head to Liana’s vulva.

  She waited a long moment and lost herself in the smell and feel. Lady Liana’s hand wound in her hair and pressed her closer. She opened her mouth and began to lick.

  Lia
na shuddered and tilted her hips, pushed her flesh against Cailyn’s mouth. Cailyn slid two fingers inside Liana and began to move them. Breathless cries answered her rhythm.

  Cailyn drank it in, hungry for Liana’s desire. It felt good to serve and serve well. She drove her fingers in, pushing until Liana bucked and cried out again.

  Cailyn wrapped her free arm around Liana’s hips. She held her there until her spasm passed.

  She slid her fingers free and looked up. Liana smiled back at her and beckoned with one hand.

  Cailyn slid up to Liana’s side. Liana’s arms wrapped tight around Cailyn’s body. One hand reached down to Cailyn’s buttocks and squeezed.

  Before she could stop herself, Cailyn let out a small cry.

  Lady Liana drew back her hand as if Cailyn’s skin had burned it. “What is it?”

  “Nothing, my lady.”

  “Did Teran Nivrai do something to you there?”

  Cailyn cursed under her breath. The very question she didn’t want to hear.

  Right on the heels of Liana’s pleasure.

  “My lady, Guild law prevents me from answering you.”

  Lady Liana moved her hand and looked into Cailyn’s face. Cailyn willed herself to keep it expressionless.

  A courtesan’s face must reveal nothing she doesn’t want her client to see. She repeated it over and over in her mind, as her instructors had so many years ago.

  “She did, didn’t she?” A frown furrowed Liana’s pretty face. She touched Cailyn’s cheek. Then her fingers lowered. They moved down Cailyn’s neck and over her chest.

  What was Liana doing? Did Cailyn’s skin feel different now? Would everyone know who she belonged to now, know it in the tips of their fingers as they traced their way along her skin?

  A gem in a world of stones, Teran had called her. She was the gem, but who were the stones? The other courtesans? Most people? Everyone?

  Lady Liana’s voice cut through her brooding. “I never understood what people saw in those things anyway. What’s so wrong with this?” She slid her hands along Cailyn’s body, drawing her into a kiss.

  “Nothing,” Cailyn breathed.

  “Then why?” Liana’s fingers traced Cailyn’s nipple. It hardened at her touch. “You don’t seem bored, or jaded, or bitter, like the people on the dark channels.”