Ether-Touched (The Breaking Stone Trilogy Book 1) by L. M. Coulson

Author:L. M. Coulson [Coulson, L. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Paper Blade Press
Published: 2020-05-22T05:00:00+00:00

✽✽✽

The Golden Orchid smelled of lavender.

Vylaena wasn’t certain why this bothered her more than the curvaceous women and spattering of statuesque men who lounged half-naked around the generous antechamber in various states of repose. Surely a place named for a specific flower should smell like that flower and not another. But, no, lavender it was. She’d always disliked this place because of it.

The Golden Orchid drew heavily from the aesthetic of Estryn—adobe walls, tiled mosaics, jewel-toned hangings, creamy stone fountains. Sheer, hanging silks obscured darkened alcoves and carved screens hid clusters of plush velvet cushions. Men were drawn to the exotic—things that were foreign were exciting. And the Golden Orchid made a killing off of excited men.

Vylaena led Thyrian through the antechamber with a leisurely stride, peering over her shoulder to gauge his expression. He missed her gaze; he was too busy surveying the room with the sharp eye of a guardsman: careful, detached, absorbing the nearest exits and chokepoints and pieces of decor that might serve as a makeshift weapon. He did look at the women, who watched him with avid interest behind splayed fans or delicate scarves, but his eyes didn’t linger. Perhaps he had a woman of his own, back in Galiff. He seemed the honorable type—the type to remain faithful to a partner even kingdoms apart. Or perhaps he preferred a different type of excitement . . .

“You’re disappointed that a brothel doesn’t unbalance the sheltered, highborn prince,” Thyrian said without meeting Vylaena’s eyes, as if knowing where her thoughts had flown.

“Not disappointed,” she replied, returning her gaze forward. “Merely learning.”

He did look at her then; she could feel his eyes lingering on the back of her neck.

“Vylaena!”

A tall, elegant woman with large, brown eyes and sharp cheekbones appeared from beneath an archway, her slender jeweled hands parting the silks that covered it. She smiled demurely at Vylaena, stepping forward as though moving through water, her gait as smooth and fluid as the silks fluttering in her wake.

The woman was pure Estryn—deep, brown skin; willowy build; twisted locks of dark hair held up in a hammered gold clasp and cascading in a waterfall of braids down her back. A copper Mark swept across her delicate forehead; she had a Knack for drawing baths that took days to grow cold, a perk the patrons of the Golden Orchid very much enjoyed.

“I’d heard you were back in town,” she crooned. “I’m so pleased you stopped by to see me.” The woman’s doe-like eyes slid to Thyrian, then lazed down his torso. Her smile grew. “And who is this?”

“I’m here for information, Kaesra,” Vylaena said, recapturing the woman’s attention. “We’re looking for a man named Serk. I’m told he’s a patron here.”

“Aye,” Kaesra replied, motioning for the two of them to follow her beneath the archway. Her eyes lingered on Thyrian’s lower back as they passed. “He’s paid my ladies a fortune these past few months. A generous man, to be sure.”

The room beyond the arch was some sort of office, with an ornate mahogany desk to complement the array of giant velvet cushions.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.