1. Chapter One

Present Day

The man seated in the cushioned armchair wanted his cock sucked.

More specifically, Cranford Reed, the crooked-nosed and greasy-haired regular who liked to sit in the armchair next to the roaring fireplace, wanted his cock sucked by Nadine Booth. She was the best at it; everyone who worked or frequented The Sand Glass Bordello knew it.

Gods, even Kalia Salam knew it. And Kalia tried not to know anything about the ladies who worked at The Sand Glass Bordello. Not because the madam didn"t allow for fraternizing— she preferred it, truth be told. Seeing the topless ladies laughing in the great room together gave the clientele something to consider. Kalia, however, had been employed long enough to know the likelihood of the ladies sticking around was low. They weren"t worth fraternizing with…at least longer than it took Kalia to send visions of them to the men in the brothel, anyway.

That was Kalia"s job. To manipulate the clientele who frequented the bordello into choosing a lady for the evening. To send them visions down the threads of her magic that would harden their cocks and make them lust for a woman who hadn"t been booked yet. That kept the pockets of the madam"s expensive silk dresses stuffed to the brim with coin.

It was the only reason Kalia was alive after the madam witnessed her wield her mind magic like a sharpened blade. The only reason she had been plucked off the streets of Sha"Hadra and dumped into Mistral Bay"s most expensive bordello. She spent almost the first twelve years of her life alone, fighting to survive the harsh realities of the guarded alleys and running from the threat of the rope dangling above her head.

But that was fifteen years ago, and Kalia now knew better than to showcase her ability. Instead, she honed it to a subtlety. A flash of a woman peering through her lashes here, a vision of another moaning as her hips snapped over a cock there. Enough to twist the weak-willed minds of men into spending their hard-earned money.

Weak-willed minds like Cranford Reed, for example.

Unfortunately, Kalia also knew more about Cranford Reed than she ever wanted to. Because when she sent her threads racing down the bridges of these men, she more often than not caught glimpses of their violent visions barreling back down the bond she had created.

Kalia had inadvertently found out that Cranford Reed was the one who had beaten Mintie Lynk two weeks prior. Beaten her so severely that Mintie crawled, bloodied and broken, down the marbled stairs of the bordello to beg the madam for leave to seek a healer.

Of course, the madam denied that request before forcing Mintie to return to her room and await instructions for her next client.

Kalia bided her time, letting the vision of Cranford"s fists slamming into the side of Mintie"s head fester until he dared to show up like clockwork three days later. Mintie had been too afraid to rat Cranford out to the madam, mostly because he was a highly valued client and because Mintie knew the madam would fire her instantly. She wouldn"t even bother to turn Cranford over to the capital guard but would surely welcome him back after things cooled down.

And that was something that didn't sit right with Kalia.

Kalia leaned against the marble pillar in the back of the great room, sweeping her green eyes through the cigar haze that settled over the patrons. The scent of stale sweat and sex seeped through the soft glow from the iron chandeliers, blanketing the plush cushions, the burgundy curtains, and the potted greenery that decorated the space.

Though clean and fairly well-regarded, the bordello was steeped in nothing but bad memories. Ones that Kalia was desperate to rid herself of. That was why she kept a small purse hidden under the floorboards of her bedroom, savings for the day she could buy her freedom from the madam. A year, maybe two at the most, and she would leave all of this behind.

And, gods, that day couldn"t come soon enough.

It was busy tonight, busier than it should have been for a random day mid-week, and she had been watching Cranford through the gaps in the crowd for damn near an hour now. A moan elicited to her right, cutting through the sultry whine from the string instruments, and she slid her gaze over to spot one of the ladies straddling a man, her nipple clamped firmly between his teeth.

That day really couldn"t come soon enough.

"Alright tonight, Kalia, love?" a husky voice sounded as it sidled up to her, the owner leaning a shoulder against the opposite round of the pillar.

Kalia hooked one sandaled foot over the other, feeling the thin satin of her high-slit dress brush against her leg. "Odion," she purred in return, shifting her stare to the handsome private guard who patrolled the great room. "You know she doesn't like it when we chat."

Odion smiled, his lips splitting wide to reveal a right-sided dimple. "I can't help it. You're a sight to behold this evening."

Kalia lifted a hand to tuck a strand of dark hair behind her ear, a move that adjusted the low-cut collar of her red dress enough that the top curves of her breasts peeked over the material. Odion gave a low whistle, turning his head to survey the room again. A coy smirk played on her lips. She knew what she did to him, what she had done to him. It was no secret.

"I'm still surprised that the madam doesn't let you become a lady," Odion said. He shifted on his feet, letting a casual hand rest on the pommel of his sword. "All the gods know that you would be the most sought-after one here." He cleared his throat. "I believe you are even now."

Kalia let out a humorless huff through her nose and darted out her tongue to lick her lips. Pleasure coiled in her belly when Odion's eyes dropped to her mouth, and she remembered the feeling of his muscled weight pinning her to her bed just days before. Gods, he was a good lay—one of the better ones she had recently. "Don't let the madam hear you say that. I've just been allowed to resume my duties in the great room."

Kalia had been sequestered to the second-floor balcony for nearly a month due to an incident involving one of the men, a rabid honey badger, and an ancient wine opener she found in the marketplace. An incident that the madam could not officially blame on Kalia but determined was her nonetheless.

And the madam would have been correct.

Odion chuckled, the sound skittering over her bones. That chuckle had been in Kalia"s ear when she moaned his name, when she threw her hand up to keep him from thrusting her into the headboard. She wondered if she could convince him to come back later that evening. From the way he kept shifting his sword in front of his cock, she was sure she could make it worth his while.

"Maybe it's all for the best in the end. You wouldn't want to take away from the others who need to make a living." Odion paused to drink in her bronzed, high cheekbones, the delicate length of her nose, and the arrogant quirk of her brow. "When do you reckon the madam will allow me to take you to a tavern?"

Kalia's smile was genuine this time. "Never, I'm sure. Certainly, as long as I'm in her employment and I'm–"

"Honor bound to your debt," Odion finished with a dramatic sigh. "You've said that once or twice now. You know, to this day, I'm still unsure what you do for the madam."

Kalia opened her mouth to reply when Cranford rose from the armchair. His shuffling footsteps wound past two writhing female dancers, their hands teasing on waists and exposed hips. Kalia straightened, pushing herself from the pillar as he approached Nadine. There was a violent gleam to his stare, which she pinned with her own.

The image of Nadine's lips wrapped around his cock was funneling through his mind faster than the king's prized warships as they careened into the bay. He reached down to adjust himself, seemingly not caring that he did it in plain view of another lady, who scrunched her nose at the sight.

"Kalia," Odion said sharply, warning marring his once playful tone. "What are you–"

But his question was lost to the music and humming chatter as Kalia pushed through the crowd, following Cranford to where Nadine had perched on an overstuffed cushion.

"Kalia!" a whispering voice cracked through a sudden chasm in the crowd. "Kalia! I'm free for the next hour—" But the demand of the lady was swallowed just the same, and Kalia pressed on, not bothering to look back.

Kalia maneuvered toward Nadine, positioning herself against the red velvet curtain draped from the golden rods near the ceiling. She nearly blended in, slipping into the marbled room"s background.

Just as the madam liked her.

"You're a pretty thing," Cranford rasped when he reached Nadine, lifting a dirt-crusted hand to caress his knuckle down her cheek. "I'm happy to see that you're available tonight."

Nadine smiled in response, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder. Despite the sensual gaze she was sending Cranford, Kalia recognized the stiffening of her shoulders and the tick in her jaw as a suppressed shudder.Disgust was one thing many of the ladies had gotten quite good at covering up, something Kalia still couldn"t manage to do. It was always written in the violent roll of her shoulders and how she clenched her knees together.

"Twelve coins for the half hour or twenty for the hour. Unless you"ve spent too much on your fion tonight," Nadine responded, pouting her lips into a sultry frown. She was good, one of the best in the bordello. She could play the men like clay, lightly tugging on their egos.

Cranford smirked, leaning down to set his empty goblet on the wooden table at his knees. "I certainly know how to pace myself for this."

Another flash of a vision erupted in Kalia's mind, one of his hands gripping Nadine's slim neck as he pistoned into her with rough thrusts. Kalia barely tempered her forming scowl—foul, disgusting man.

Nadine rose from her seat as Cranford dug into his pockets to extract twelve coins from the inside. He certainly wouldn"t take that long…though Kalia was now aware of what he preferred to do with the other twenty-nine minutes of his time. Nadine"s bare breasts shifted against her upper abdomen, the front panel of her skirt coming to rest between her pale thighs.

Cranford was bouncing with glee when he twisted on the toes of his boots to walk toward the sweeping marble staircase. Nadine made to brush past, her lips suddenly pressed into a hard line at what lay in store when Kalia reached out to clasp a hand around her wrist. Nadine stopped in her tracks, an expectant brow quirked in Kalia"s direction.

At the silent, blank stare Kalia returned, Nadine looked to Cranford and said, "Go ahead darling, warm the bed. I"ll be up in just a moment."

Cranford looked ready to argue but caught the glare Kalia sent his way. He hesitated, gaping for a beat, before crossing to the staircase and tromping to the second floor. Even his walk was foul with dried dirt falling to the stairs in clumps.

Nadine spun toward Kalia, her once honeyed voice now brimming with venom. "This better be important. I"m short on coin for the madam tonight."

Kalia turned a bored expression to Nadine. "Mintie Lynk." Nadine"s eyes widened, shoulders dropping as her defenses waned. "Yeah, that"s what I thought, too."

"How did you–" Nadine started, but Kalia cut her off with a curt shake of her head.

"No matter, but it was him." Kalia"s gaze slid to the second-floor balcony, where Cranford had already disappeared behind a door just beyond the balustrade. From the corner of her eye, she saw Odion begin to navigate his way through the crowd.

Recognition flashed over Nadine"s face, and she reeled her head back. "What did you do now?"

"What should have been done two weeks ago," Kalia flicked her gaze to Mintie, whose eye had finally turned a sickening shade of green and who still had to hide her limping gait.Revoltingly enough, plenty of men liked an injured woman, as shown by the concerningly large horde of extra clients Mintie had taken on in the past week.

"She"s going to kill you for this," Nadine hissed. "She"s going to–"

Whatever Nadine thought the madam was going to do was lost to the piercing, blood-curdling scream that ripped from the second floor. A hush fell over the crowd, furrowed brows and worried gazes turning upward when a second scream echoed over the domed ceiling.

A door flew open, and a very naked Cranford appeared at the threshold, his hands thrashing through the air as he tried to bat away the…

"Are those hornets?" Nadine asked, a frown curling the corners of her lips downward.

As Cranford stumbled down the marble staircase, in full view of the three dozen people whose attention was now fixed on him, Kalia saw at least fifty telltale red welts blooming on his skin. Perfect, just as she planned.

"They seem to be aggressive ones," Kalia responded with an air of shocked innocence as Odion steered toward Cranford to herd the man and the hornets through the front door.

Nadine tried and failed not to look impressed. "How does one get a nest of hornets…" she trailed off, glancing back toward Kalia.

"Under the mattress?" Kalia offered as she watched Odion stomp on a hornet that had landed on the marble floor before slamming the door shut behind Cranford. "Delicately." Small welts were still between her fingers where some of the hornets had stung her.

Silence descended, and no one moved, seemingly unsure of what to make of the sudden scene when a side door flew open with a crash that had the clientele jolting in surprise. It was a crash, however, that the ladies had grown used to. More often than not, it had to do with her.

"Kalia!"

Her name whipped through the room, and the voice managed to suck the oxygen from the air, sending even the most hardened sailors scrambling in the opposite direction. Kalia glanced to her left, eyes meeting the severe stare of the bordello"s madam.

Nadine kept a small distance between herself and Kalia, her pretty face plastered with a knowing expression mixed with fearful pity.

"My office. Now."