“That is true.” The corner of Ryliss’s mouth twitched, the closest he had come to a smile all night. He looked at Tryss, then Drilli. “I will be back in the morning. Please do not make a mess.”

With that, he strode out of the bower and disappeared. Tryss looked at Sreil, confused.

“What step?”

Sreil’s grin widened. “I don’t believe you asked that.”

“Oh!” Tryss felt his face beginning to heat as he realized what Sreil had meant. Drilli giggled.

“Sometimes I wonder how someone so clever can be so silly,” she said.

“Me too,” Sreil agreed. “Well, then. I’m sure you’ll have no problems finishing off the ritual. You don’t need my help, so I’ll head back.”

“Thank you, Sreil,” Drilli said.

“Yes. I owe you,” Tryss added.

Sreil feigned innocence. “I had nothing to do with all this.”

“Nothing at all,” Tryss replied. “Go on, then. We won’t say a word.”

Sreil chuckled, then backed out of the bower and pulled down the hanging. Tryss listened to his footsteps crunching in the snow. They faded into the distance. Drilli lifted a hand and regarded the ropes, then raised an eyebrow.

“I do hope Ryliss hasn’t tied these too tightly.”

32

The brothel’s caravan was an impressive sight. Twelve tarns stood before the building, each pulled by two arems. The first six tarns were brightly painted, their sides bearing Rozea’s name. The sturdy covers were trimmed with matching colors. The last six were plainer and servants hovered around them, the women waiting beside one of the vehicles, the men adding a few sacks and boxes to another.

Brand and Tide made appreciative noises, their breath misting in the air. They started toward the fourth cart with Emerahl and three other girls. An hour before, waiting in the dance hall, they had been asked to form groups of six, then Rozea had selected cart numbers for them by taking marked tokens out of a bag.

Our employer does like to appear to be fair, Emerahl mused. I wonder if Moonlight agrees. Does she know that Rozea intends for me to return as the brothel favorite? Does she hate me? Or is she happy to be relieved of the position?

It didn’t matter. Emerahl didn’t intend to return. She planned to slip away from the caravan as soon as she was free of the city.

That is, if I can get out of the city unnoticed, she amended.

She resisted the temptation to run her fingers over the hem of her sleeve. Tucked into it were small nuggets, each a compressed lump of formtane. Taken in this form the drug took effect slowly and lasted about an hour.

It was not an unheard-of drug in Porin. The usual method of taking it was as a tea or burned in a pipe. It produced a blissful calm, quashed nausea, and in strong quantities put one to sleep.