Page 57 of In The Dark

“Is two weeks not long enough for you to be graced with my gorgeous face?” Rydian quips. His smirk is as entrancing as it is annoying, but his tone drips with mockery.

My gaze shifts to him, and the sight only deepens my frustration. Dark auburn hair slightly curls around his ears, only adding to his irritating charm. His eyes glint with a mixture of amusement and what appears to be annoyance.

Then I begin to notice the details, realizing he’s not wearing a mask. His boots are still on and—is that a weapon?My eyes narrow, leaving me to rip off my mask. My scowl deepens, and Rydian raises his brow, the corners of his mouth twitching in quiet amusement.

“Did you finally sleep enough to venture out of your fancy little castle?” he asks, then relaxes into the settee, like he doesn’t have his own castle in Aurelia.

His jab infuriates me though, and before I can stop myself, I somehow manage to summon an orb, hurling it at his smug face with a grunt of frustration. He dodges it, his grin widening as the orb sizzles against the back of the settee, eyes flaring with surprise. Frustration rises in my chest, irritated that he dodged it so easily, leaving me to throw another one.

Oh, I could get used to this.

“Those were expensive! No magic,” Bess yells, her voice cutting through the air. She steps between us, leaning against the hard edge of her desk with her arms crossed.

“Maybe he should have thought about that before acting like an ass,” I snap. “Do you know how annoying you’ve been these last two weeks?”

“I’ve missed you too,” he says, his voice teasing, but his expression flickers with something a little deeper than amusement. “I forgot how much fun it is to watch you lose your temper. But if you didn’t want to be annoyed for two weeks, perhaps you should have met with me like we planned. Though it brings me great joy knowing you couldn’t respond.”

I shift my attention to Bess, ignoring him as my temper flares.

“He keeps me company while we wait for you,” she says.

“What about me?” I flick my eyes between the two of them, suddenly feeling like I’m trapped. “You know what? Never mind. I came to see how we could rent a room here as a private meeting location for that one.” I point to Rydian. “But I guess you have it all figured out.”

Rydian chimes in. “Well, yes, since you’ve been gallivanting at the castle for two weeks, I had to take it upon myself to find my own accommodations. Renting at the Silver Lily was not going to happen given my last… experience there. So yes, it’s already taken care of. We were just waiting on you.”

Our plan was to always meet here for meetings, but I didn’t expect Rydian to rent a room at the brothel. If that’s what hedid. A heated shiver runs down my spine at the thought of all the brothel noises during those meetings.

“I haven’t been gallivanting. I’ve been working,” I say, and then my brows rise, curiosity spiking. “And already done? So does that mean we’re good to meet here then?”

I look at Bess as she glances back and forth, like she’s mentally cataloging every word. With a sharp turn, she uncrosses her arms and strides behind her desk, the picture of composure. She sits, her posture straight and authoritative, and I feel off as she glances at me.

She looks every inch like the shrewd brothel owner now—detached and professional. Nothing like the Bess I thought I knew, and a pang of sadness creeps in as I study her, realizing now that maybe I don’t know her at all. The warmth she often offered me is gone: the easy smiles, the laughter.

“Yes.” She sighs. “He’s staying here, and you’re welcome to meet whenever. Just keep it private. Also, Pete already knows of the arrangement, so he’ll let you in when you come.”

Pete. So that’s the large male’s name at the door. Wait…

I growl and exaggerate the jingle of my coin bag in front of my face, which is now empty, so it just sounds like shaking leather. “What do you mean he knows? He just took all my money.”

My brows lower when Rydian attempts to hide his smirk from behind his hand. I throw him a stern look, warning him to shut up before I stab him with my… right. I don’t have a weapon.

Bess smirks. “Well, you shouldn’t have bribed him. He would’ve let you in regardless.”

“So where is this meeting room?” I ask.

“She gave me the entire right side of the top floor,” he says casually, offering me a shit-eating grin, as if he’s also in disbelief.

My brows pinch. “How did that happen?”

I assume she doesn’t know anything, and I wonder how he managed this. My eyes flick to Rydian, who’s leaning back with his arms resting on the settee.

“Can I speak to you outside?” I ask him.

“She knows everything,”he says, immediately catching on to what I want to ask. I peek at Bess, who’s flipping pages in her ledger with her head down. Turning back to Rydian, I mouth the word,everything?And he nods.

“Would you… care to explain?” I ask Rydian out loud, but Bess looks up.

She shuts her ledger. “What would you like to know?”