Violet Shadows

22

Taking her arm, Nicol took the lead in approaching the gambling den from the railing. The eyes caught were daunting enough, some of which Solamaand's own folly, but Christine advanced with the confidence of a maiden who thought themselves worthier than others, and allowed those feelings to descend across. Henri joined them at a sluggish pace as if he'd eaten several plates of desserts mid-way through. Knowing his restraint, he probably had. Maze forced him to remain behind before he could interrupt whatever introduction Nicol had concocted.

"My apologies for not being able to greet you so soon, Mr. Solamaand." The faint insincerity from Nicol's voice was more obvious to Christine than ever. Not because it came out of flattery, but that Nicol would betray whatever treaty placed in the end.

Solamaand rose, unexpected to reserve such an audience. His kin parted like the sea, eyeing Nicol terribly, but some young woman's smiles turned serpentine, delighted that the master of the house would go out of his way to say hello. "I'm surprised you came at all," Solamaand sneered, hoping to see Nicol flinch as his younger attendants did. "I heard of you. Some stupid bloke who filled out favors by hanging around the canal scum to sell some gossip. I ignored you. But then you fucked me over. So now you have my undivided attention before I throw you into the marine."

Christine touched Nicol's arm in warning, that any remark shouldn't be so easily slipped, but it was like he intended to begin the night riled. "And have such a story in the newspaper?" Nicol shook his head. "Nevertheless your welcome towards me, I think tonight would end better without the Iris River turning red. I came here to negotiate."

"You're here to talk business?" He spat, a scowl crossing his face as if someone had cut right toward it. "Who's this then?" Solamaand racked his eyes through the lot of them as though he were tramping through mud. Christine did her best not to shrink underneath it, smiling politely and bowing like any pretty lady would do.

"Friends," said Nicol. "Soon yours as well."

"My friends?" He let out a mighty laugh and mumbled something in a disyllabic language with a loose rhythm. She didn't understand the words, but saw that they were directed to Henri.

Henri, who stiffed as those words receded through him, but summoned a polite smile out of thin air. "I don't speak Dajhan."

"Fuck me." Solamaand let out a long blow of his wooden pipe. "What that bloody Valltore king does to us, I'll never see the end of it. At least my son knows the common tongue. You... your ma ought to think of you as a disgrace."

No offense stormed through Henri's eyes, but his smile stayed wilted. "I suppose."

There was an irritated sigh, but it was replaced with a pinch of intrigue as inhaled another breath of his pipe."You may be a bastard, master of the house," He said, smoke snaking around the divots of his spit lip, "But you've got good taste. My squares the finest block you'll get in this shitshow. I can tell by your partner. She must be your lov—"

"Siblings." Christine interrupted. "Brother and sister. He couldn't manage to find a partner so he dragged me here." Solamaand's party wasn't of a singular sex, having pretty girls who delighted with any pretty face, even masked, but Christine wasn't short-sighted enough not to see how they watched Nicol with fervent glee. More primal than attraction. She would not become the brunt of that attraction.

"Really?" Solamaand said, brows pulled together.

"Poor thing is hated by all the locals." She added with a wry smile, "Kept going on about how nobody gives him any attention. Such a poor baby."

Maze coughed unexpectedly, excusing himself with an insincere apology. Nicol watched him in warning, partially her as well, but Christine was having her own fun.