KINGSLAYER

♕ 5 | 9 ♕

"Igor Razkoff," Alexander said. "I believe he's in the center of the city. Blonde. Tall, but not too tall. On the thinner side. You should be able to work with that."

"I can." She traced a finger absentmindedly through the ring of liquid on the table. "I also demand half my payment up front to avoid being swindled."

"Take this." Alexander dropped two gems on the table, one garnet and a pearl, where none of the other patrons could see. "And bring me his location this time tomorrow."

Taken aback, the bounty hunter examined the gems more closely. "These are not real."

"They are."

Her dark eyes slid to us, made darker by the sweeping brim of her laced hat. "No they're not. Glass perhaps. Or some cheaper stone. I require real money."

They were plucked directly from the power of a God, I wanted to say, but what would you know? Annoyed, I plucked the gems from the table and replaced them with all the money we had left. "Bring us the location by noon."

This money called to her. She pocketed it and sat up straighter to address us. "Consider it done. Now shoo. I have work to do."

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Having time to kill for once, we walked back through the streets to find an inexpensive hotel that would take our gemstones as payment. We went down a street that was lined with luxurious hotels each guarded by two footmen that opened the door for guests. And before them were merchant tables selling everything anyone might want for the festivities tonight: flowers, handmade necklaces and last minute accessories to add to the festive wear. Merchants called out to us as we went by, but I paid them no mind.

Alexander matched my pace. "You're not even planning to attend the celebrations, are you?"

"Why would I? A celebration built around cherishing those one holds dear does not exactly apply to me."

"Fine then. I'll go alone."

I gave him a meaningful look. "A celebration like this does not entail one celebrating alone and you know it." Waving a hand, I added, "I would allow you to if you did not thrive on making my life an anxious hell."

"Why?" He wore that grin I hated. "Afraid I'll be with another woman all night?"

For whatever reason, my chest prickled with anger. I was a Queen and jealousy was beneath me, especially if it included another girl taking the attention of someone I despised. Good riddance.

"I could not care less about your romantic pursuits. What I do care about, however, is that I have everything accounted for, especially being in this wicked city."

He swiveled in front of me and stopped, pointing. "Look." It was a series of cosmetics in little glass jars. The merchant leaned in hopefully. "You know you're tempted." The fact that Alexander knew I liked such things made me scowl. I pushed past him without a word. How did he even know that?

Thankfully, the gems were a worthy payment at the hotel I relented to; I assumed gemstones were not the worst payment this city had seen. Not by a long shot.

The room was like any of the rest, including two beds and not much else. That was fine, as I only paid for a place to sleep with a roof over my head. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. I plopped the pack in the corner of the room next to the bed I claimed, feeling as I always did for the box. I always checked for the locket inside too; the nearer we got to the end, the more paranoid I grew.