5. Chapter Five

Aside from the small beach nestled by the port, Willow Row was the one place in Mistral"s Bay that Kalia could stand. It was the main thoroughfare that split the city in two. The northern end was where the palace and the subsequent white-stoned mansions of the obscenely wealthy sat. It was known for luxury, and they didn"t bother trying to hide that they turned their nose up at anyone who didn"t wear at least three pieces of gold jewelry on just a casual stroll around the gardens. Even its smell screamed opulence, with notes of amber, vanilla, and rose flowers.

The southern end, on the other hand, was known for its brothels, gambling dens, and common houses where sailors or the impoverished could rent a moldy, straw-stuffed mattress for the night—that is if they didn"t pass out in the filth-soaked alleyways first. Every so often, a wealthy lord or business owner would wander into the brothels to have a bit of fun, but the different sides of the city kept to themselves for the most part.

Kalia exited the apothecary, holding the jar of salve tightly, and crossed the cobblestone street before taking a left onto Willow Row. At the heart of it was a cheap marketplace compared to the vibrant one of Sha"Hadra, selling stale and damaged goods that made the voyage from the bustling desert city. Still, the barrels of powdered spices and walls full of dyed leather bags reminded her of home, something she had been missing as of late. Sometimes, she would sneak onto the roof of the stone buildings that bracketed the market like a prison to watch the stars blink into existence as the sky darkened into navy.

Pushing through a gap in the crowd, Kalia made her way to a stall where a sweet, aromatic steam rose from the pots on the hearths behind the counter. The owners shouted at the customers strolling the market to entice someone to buy their food. The sizzling meats and baking bread seemed only to call the attention of the stray dogs that wandered the streets, most people deterred by the barrage of yells. To Kalia, it was just another piece of home. She handed over two coins Pete had slipped into her palm on the way from the apothecary, and the shopkeeper gave her a bag of roasted nuts in return.

Kalia snacked on them as she wandered the street, watching as vendors haggled over prices and armed guards stood in the shadows of the wooden awnings that stretched over the shop entrances, their eyes sweeping over the heads of the visitors. Wind chimes twinkled their songs in the light breeze, one that carried the scent of musty rolls of fabric, pipe smoke, and stale sweat. There was a delicate hum of chatter, pierced by the peals of giggles from children running through the crowds.

Kalia"s wounds were beginning to rub uncomfortably against the fabric of her dress, and the sore stiffness that accompanied the lash marks barreled to the forefront of her mind. Still, she couldn"t stand the thought of re-entering the brothel to face the madam, not right now, and she knew that she would have some reprieve when she lathered the salve on later that night. At least, she hoped to get some decent rest.

"Thief! Thief!"

The words rang out like a cannon blast, and a small elbow caught Kalia in the hip as a child rushed past. Her gaze locked on the back of the girl"s head, her long braids bouncing against her back as she ran with half a loaf of bread tucked under her arm. At that moment, Kalia was seven years old and sprinting down the back alleys of Sha"Hadra. Now, it was her being chased through the streets, a triumphant grin on her face as she made off with an entire roasted chicken. The memory struck fast, briefly leaving Kalia lost in her thoughts.

The girl wove through the crowd, ducking under outstretched arms meaning to catch her, and shoving through a gathering of dirty-faced boys who jeered at her as she went.

Kalia lifted her stare and looked to the nearest guard. He unsheathed his sword and began to navigate the crowded street easily after the girl. The shoppers parted as the guard approached, trying their best to avoid getting sliced by the blade held in his hand. Kalia knew that he wouldn"t think twice about cutting down someone who got in his way.

The girl looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening and lips parting as he quickly closed the space between them. Kalia had seen this dance play out a time or two. If the guard could catch the girl, she would lose her hand, if not her life. If by a miracle she could get away, she would be forced into hiding as the guards hunted her down, at least until they found someone else to pass the time torturing.

Kalia dropped into the shadows of the nearest alleyway, tripping over a bent leg. She glanced down to see a man fast asleep while propped against the stone wall, the sour stench of his dirty clothes filling the air of the narrow passage. She ignored him the best she could, instead focusing on the guard.

Opening her mind, Kalia shot a thread of magic into the square, focusing it entirely on his back. She imagined it piercing his skull, wriggling into the layers of his mind like a worm and hooking into the core of his subconscious. The air crackled around her, raising the hair on her arms as though an intense lightning storm was readying to batter the port. The guard stretched out a hand, coming within inches of the young girl"s tunic before he froze.

To anyone else, it may have looked like the guard merely halted in his tracks. Kalia knew by the thrashing and gnashing his mind was doing in a sore attempt to dislodge her that the man was fighting for his life. She glimpsed flashes of memories— a boy running in a field as an older man, perhaps his father, chased him through the wildflowers. A first kiss with a freckle-faced girl. A fist slammed into his temple during a training session.

Kalia hated diving like this. She preferred the light, superficial impressions that she had become accustomed to. Sorting through old memories and distant thoughts made her prickle with discomfort and made her know the person she was connecting herself to. And that was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. Any sympathy would only lead to pity, an avenue for weakness that ultimately leads to betrayal.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, though, and Kalia instantly decided that she would save that child"s life as no one would have done for her.

A pounding headache began to nestle at the base of her neck, and her clammy brow furrowed as she struggled to remain tethered to the man"s mind. She inhaled deeply and sent a vision down their new bond, transporting him somewhere else entirely.

They were at the port, and the guard"s cheeks blistered red from the whipping winds. Kalia made it as believable as possible, down to the salty scent of the water and the sound of the chains rattling against the masts as the ships bobbed in the waves. The guard blinked, confusion etching into the soft lines of his face. Kalia watched as he gazed over the barnacles latching to the docks near the waterline and the birds gliding over the crates of fish being carried across the narrow wooden ramps.

Because of this, her magic at the end of it all was what the king feared most. With her in his mind, showing him something that only existed to them, she could make him do nearly anything. She could force him to walk off a roof, thinking he was walking along a beach. She could have him eat a poisoned berry while he thought it was a sweet pastry from the market.

Kalia pulled back on the connection just enough to see that a woman had stepped in front of the guard, lifted a hand, and was waving it in front of his dulled, lifeless face. Another man snickered as the woman began to snap her fingers. The young girl was lost to the crowd.

Kalia released the threads of her power, and they whipped back into place. She grimaced as jarring pain shot through the split of her brain and settled into her skull. The aftermath of using the entirety of her magic was always uncomfortable, but it was worth it to see the child keep both of her hands for another day.

The guard woke, a slack expression loosening his jaw when he stumbled forward. His chin flinched back as though he were trying to remember where he was, and he rubbed his forehead with the tips of his fingers.

"Come back to the present, did ya?" A man shouted from the opposite side of the street. He let out a low chuckle as he shook his head. "Couldn"t even collect a street girl. Waste of the guard, you are."

Waves of laughter followed at the quip, and a fierce blush crept up the back of the guard"s neck. Unease crawled through Kalia"s belly. Taunting a guard was almost as bad as taunting the king, and the punishments were nearly the same.

Cries of protest rose from the crowd as the woman assisting the guard was suddenly hit in the face by the pommel of his sword. Her basket of fresh oranges spilled onto the cobblestone path while a nauseating crack sounded through the market. A few people rushed forward to survey her nose, blood now gushing from both nostrils, while others helped to gather the fruit. A small boy with an ash-smeared face collected one that had rolled to his feet and took off down the nearest alleyway.

"Back to your cart, sir, or I"ll have you arrested," the guard said as he approached the man who had spoken out, settling the tip of his sword near the vendor"s chest.

"Arrested for what?" the man responded in outrage, but he clamped his lips together when the guard pressed the sword into his flesh just enough for a droplet of blood to stain his tunic.

"Disturbing the peace," the guard spat in reply. "Whatever I would like. I"m sure I can come up with something." The vendor"s nostrils flared, but he remained silent. "That"s what I thought. Does anyone have anything else to add?"

The same jingle of windchimes was eerie now that an unsettled silence blanketed the market. The guard sheathed his sword, that flush of red still curling over the shell of his ear. He would undoubtedly be looking for retribution soon, for nothing except to soothe his embarrassment, and Kalia had no interest in seeing who he would level that attention on.

The skin on the back of her neck prickled, and while she didn"t see anyone lurking in the shadows when she glanced over her shoulder, she couldn"t help feeling that she was being studied. She gazed over the crowd, taking in the tense scene that kept the market frozen in time. No one paid her any mind, not the children still obliviously playing near the mouth of the alley or the men still gathering the spilled oranges.

There weren"t many in the capital who could pinpoint her as the culprit, as magic users didn"t dare to practice in public, but she had stayed too long nonetheless. Without a second look at the man still snoring behind her, Kalia slid from the alleyway and skirted the shoppers of Willow Row.

Kalia slinked through the bordello, taking the door from the back alley. The path brought her through the hot, overcrowded kitchen and up the rickety staircase only used by the servants, ending in the narrow hallway that led to her room.

It was the bedroom Kalia had been assigned since her arrival at the bordello, one that she tried to spend as little time in as possible. The small window overlooked the same back alley and housed four panes of glass that were all cracked in one spot or another. If she glanced down in the daylight, she could easily spot the rust-pitted garbage bins, puddles of dried vomit, and grease-covered pools of water that sunk between the cobblestones. At night, drunken brawls and howling stray cats could be heard above the noise from the street.

No matter how often Kalia cleaned the surface of the end table or the simple wooden chair in the corner of the room, they both somehow ended up grimy and slick by the end of the week. She attributed it to the near-constant stream of cigar smoke that wafted through the window from below, but the rotting garbage and mildew weren"t helpful either. She kept the room neat, much to the madam"s expectations, but aside from the trunk at the foot of her bed or the loose floorboard where she once stashed her coins, she didn"t bother keeping any personal effects there.

When Kalia opened the door, the room was washed in a glow of golden candlelight. She was unsurprised to see Odion seated on the mattress and his sword untethered from his belt resting against the far wall. She stifled a sigh and closed the door with a soft click, drowning out the music and raucous laughter from the main room of the bordello.

"I could have guessed you would have made it to the apothecary," Odion started when his eyes dropped to the jar in Kalia"s hand. "Mintie had all sorts of things to say about the state of the madam"s office after you were dismissed."

"I"m sure she did." Kalia crossed the room and sat at the vanity, gazing at her reflection in the cracked mirror. She leaned forward to inspect the split flesh on the top of her shoulder, ignoring Odion"s stare that she could feel boring into the center of her back. "Mintie always has things to say."

Odion was silent as Kalia unscrewed the jar and dipped two fingers into the salve. Sucking in a breath through her nose, she began to smear the concoction onto her shoulder and her chest, swallowing back the hisses of pain that clawed up her throat. Behind her, the bedframe groaned as Odion stood, and his boots fell heavy against the wooden floorboards. He reached over her shoulder to pluck the jar from the vanity before sweeping her hair over her right shoulder.

"You shouldn"t anger her," Odion said as he untied the satin ribbons that held the back of her dress together, letting the straps fall onto her bare shoulders. He dipped his finger into the salve and lightly painted it across the lashes on her back. "If you want to stay in the bordello—"

"The madam isn"t going to let me go, no matter what I do," Kalia interrupted. She lifted her hands to pin the front of her dress against her chest, keeping the swells of her breasts covered. She glanced up to look into the mirror again, only to see that his intense stare was studying her. "I make her too much coin. Plus—" She trailed off as she let out an involuntary moan when he smeared the salve over a particularly sore welt near the base of her shoulder blade. "Despite what you may think, I"m only trying to help."

"By setting loose a nest of angry hornets for Cranford Reed to find? I don"t think anyone asked you to do that. Especially not Mintie or Nadine."

"No one had to. Cranford Reed, he—"

"Kalia," Odion cut her off as he leaned forward to set the jar back onto the vanity. It clunked a little too hard against the surface. "Everyone knows Cranford Reed is a disgusting man. Gods, half of the men who frequent this bordello are disgusting men, but you can"t just—"

"Are you reprimanding me?" Kalia shot back, a surge of anger overtaking the burning pain from her wounds. She stood quickly, sending the stool from the vanity skirting harshly across the floor. "I don"t believe I asked for your opinion, Odion."

Odion"s lips parted as he stared at her, and tension clouded the space between them. "I care for you; don"t you see that?" he finally returned. He stepped forward to close the gap, his leather armor brushing against the skin on the back of her wrist. "If you would just let me in—"

"I think we"re done here, Odion," Kalia interjected, side-stepping him to sweep toward the door. "What we had the last couple of weeks was fun, but it certainly wasn"t something that would last. I"m not here to be cared for or looked after. I can do that myself."

Odion scoffed as he lifted a hand to run it through his hair. Kalia knew the feeling of her fingers curling into his locks, and, for a brief moment, she imagined herself apologizing before taking him to her bed. She held steady against his scrutinizing gaze, which lasted far too long for her liking. Instead, she reached for the knob and yanked the door open, flooding the room with the humming chatter from below. The silence seemed endless, and the beginnings of regret thrummed through her, but Odion finally lurched forward to grab his sword from the far wall.

"Just because you can look after yourself doesn"t mean you have to."

"Please just leave. We don"t need this to be difficult."

Odion paused at the door long enough to tether his sword to his belt. "I"ll ask the madam for a transfer then?"

Kalia glanced into the narrow hallway, where two servant girls were now perched on the staircase, no doubt listening to their argument. She was sure they hoped to overhear something they could take to the madam for additional compensation. They giggled as they turned away. She looked back up at Odion. "You can do what you wish. I"m not your keeper."

Odion pursed his lips, his gaze roving her face for another minute before he curtly nodded. He was barely over the threshold before Kalia snapped the door shut behind him. She closed her eyes, letting her forehead rest against the cool wood. The pain in her back was creeping up her spine, and the welted laceration on her shoulder had begun to leak again. She would take care of those later.

She wanted to lay on her bed and stare at the ceiling. There was no use in getting close to the guard, no matter how handsome or kind she found him. At the end of it all, he would betray her, or she would betray him. It wasn"t worth the heartbreak. No, it was better this way. It was better to cut all contact and be done with it before either fell into a heap of feelings they could no longer control.