Heir of Beasts

Ch.1.2- A Peculiar Harmony

WARNING: Language and sexual content. Children, avert your eyes lest ye be corrupted!

The door opens just a crack, the chain still attached in case we try to shove our way in. It's a woman I've never seen before. She's exquisite. Small hands, lips a dusty rose, skin rich and dark. Her eyes, unexpectedly, are a pale blue. She's swathed in gauzy silk that covers most of her body but clings to her curves, revealing the stiff peaks of her nipples through the fabric, the fullness of her breasts, the subtle dip of her hips.

"Kathta ka, danara ym," she murmurs silkily, then her eyes drift to mine and she smiles a little brighter. "Y'xa? Ilox ni unam osu Madan, y'el ta xoranan markina ki, osu namír, sa."

"She asks which House of Breath you come from. She'd remember if you came from hers."

I raise my eyebrows. "And what is a House of Breath?"

He looks at me and starts breathing faster, chest heaving, eyes dilating with desire as he mimics the breathy throes of lovemaking. "A particularly delicious Yi'ili euphemism, isn't it? Oh, and she also wants to know how much I paid for your company."

"Paid?"

"Well, we are at a brothel, after all," Irei murmurs against my ear. "If it helps, she also said you've a face that could make men come with just a look. I'm going to tell her I agree."

"He sold me his very soul," I reply in common, smiling wickedly at the beautiful courtesan in the doorway. "He emptied his treasury and sold his manor and laid all of the profit at my feet and I still left him wanting. He couldn't fucking afford me."

She laughs. "I'm Korra. I like you, Shikkan. I assume you two need a room?"

"I suppose so. I sold my manor for him, after all," Irei deadpans.

Korra smirks, opening the door wide and ushering us in before barring it again. "I take it this is a matter of some discretion?"

"Of course. I can't have everyone knowing that I sold all of my worldly wealth to buy this harlot."

"This harlot," I seethe, "owns your ass, Irei Nara, not the other way around."

Korra makes us take off our shoes, then leads us down a long hallway decorated in shades of slate and blue. There are gold threads woven through the carpet that glitter as our feat compress its pile. And for the second time in my life, I'm walking through Belkau house. For the first time, I'm here for a room.

"What did they want, Korra?" A woman with flaming hair and plump red lips asks, pausing when she sees Irei.

"I'll go get Mirsi," she tells us, spinning on her heels.

"No, you won't, Lidiya," Korra trills. "The Ambassador is here for a room."

Her eyebrows raise almost imperceptibly. "Is that so?"

"You better be worth it, darling," Irei breathes low in my ear. "Esato was bad enough. Now Mirsi and her sirens are going to give me hell."

"Then I'll give you a taste of heaven first," I counter, biting my lip as I watch the shadows dancing in his dark eyes.

"Amshira," he says so quietly I'm the only one to hear, "can't you see that you already have?"

"All I see is you," I admit, looking away and blushing at the startled look that steals across his face. When I look back at him, he's smiling to blot out the sun.