My stomach clenched at her words. I knew only too well just how much practice he'd had. "So you took him in."
She nodded. "It's a decision I haven't regretted. I had no idea just how handsome he would turn out to be once he had a few meals in him and some rest. Nor that he would be so strikingly similar to Prince Styxx. I kept him for three weeks before I let him work. From the first night he was taking clients, he was so popular that we had to start a waiting list.
"If you're interested in purchasing an hour with him, I can put you on the list, but as it stands, it'll be at least ten weeks before there's an opening."
I sat there stunned by her words. Stunned by what had become of the small boy I used to hold on my knee and bounce while he laughed.
What had they done to him? How could this be his life? It wasn't fair and it made me want to cry.
"Is there any way I might speak to him privately?"
Catera looked skeptical at the suggestion. "He prefers not to speak with his clients."
"I don't want to be a client," I told her sternly. "I happen to know him personally."
She arched a brow at that. "A friend?"
"Something like that." I said, unwilling to let her know the truth of our relationship. I pulled out more money and handed it to her. "Please. I will pay you anything if you can give me just a handful of minutes alone with him."
She debated for several heartbeats before she answered. "Very well, if you can come by my stew tonight—"
"I can't be seen by anyone in such a place."
"I understand, but I doubt he'll go out to meet you. He refuses to see anyone off the premises. Today is the first day since his arrival that I've been able to get him outside at all.
"But," she said thoughtfully, "If you can come by right at dawn, there's seldom anyone around. We're cleaning up from the night and all our clients are gone. I could let you in to see him then."
Relieved, I smiled. "Thank you. I'll see you at dawn."
May 18, 9529 BC
The morning was cold as if it were as afraid as I was. Alone, I snuck from the palace and crept silently through the city, following Catera's directions until I found her stew.
As she predicted, there was no one around.
She let me inside through her back door, then led me quietly through the house to a room in the far back. I kept my head and face well covered and did my best not to look at the poor souls we passed.
She opened a door.
I stepped inside hesitantly, expecting to see Acheron. He wasn't there. Instead, I heard water splashing in the room set off to the side and knew he must be bathing.
The musty scent of sex hung heavy in the room and I tried not to look at the freshly made bed. I closed my eyes as I thought of Styxx and the way he lived his life in comfort and peace while Acheron was forced to this.
I couldn't imagine the degradation that Acheron must suffer every day. The pain.
He entered the room completely naked, toweling his hair dry. He pulled up short as he caught sight of me standing just inside the threshold.
"Forgive me, my lady," he said in that sultry, smooth voice of his that held just a hint of an Atlantean accent. I was grateful that at least the balls were no longer lining his tongue. "I thought I was through for the night."
I lowered my cowl.
Recognizing me instantly, he narrowed his gaze. "Well, if it isn't Sister Ryssa. Tell me, are you here to save me or to fuck me? Oh wait, I forgot. When you save me, you do fuck me, don't you?"
Tears pricked my eyes at his hostile disdain. But then who could blame him for it? "You don't have to be so crude."
"You'll excuse me if my manners are lacking. Being a whore, I'm not very well versed in how decent people speak. The only time any of them converse with me is to give me instruction on how to better screw them." He dropped the towel on the bed and moved to a chair by the window.
Ignoring me, he sat down and opened a box on the table. I watched in silence as he placed several strange weeds and flowers in a flagon. He lit them, then closed the lid. Picking up a small clay bowl, he held it to his face, covering his mouth and nose, and inhaled it.
"What are you doing?"
He took several breaths before he pulled the clay bowl away from his mouth. "I'm using Xechnobia." At my frown, he explained it to me. "It's a drug, Ryssa."
"Are you sick?"
He laughed at that, then inhaled more of it. "That's a matter of opinion," he said after a small pause. A tic started in his jaw as he watched me closely. "I use it so that I can forget how many pairs of hands I've had on me in one day. It allows me to sleep in peace."
I'd heard of such things, but in my world they didn't exist. No doubt it was Estes who'd shown him the drug. I wanted to weep at what had become of the Acheron who used to bake bread and play games with Maia.
"So why are you here, Princess?" he asked.
"I wanted to see you."
"Why?"