Page 20 of Needed in the Night (The Fortusian Mates, #2)

ISLA

Something was going on, and I wished to hells someone would tell me what it was.

Since our trip to the market, Mikas had been ten times pricklier and more grim than ever before, Nubo hadn’t criticized either my music selections or my changes to the stage lights, and even Brae had taken to keeping watch around the building all night and even throughout the day, sleeping in small increments instead of with me in my bed.

He denied he’d seen or heard anything that made him think we might be in danger, and I believed him, but his behavior only added to my unease.

Most infuriating of all, I had a new watcher who followed me everywhere: the menacing Atolani female who’d shown up at the bar to harass Mikas and now apparently had ended up on Nubo’s payroll.

I didn’t know her name yet, so I called her Slug because she’d actually thought Mikas would want to be a mercenary raider.

The worst part of the past few days was that I hadn’t had one single moment of privacy with Mikas, and not one touch. We couldn’t risk it. Somehow I’d gone from being fine to longing for him to squeeze my hand.

So when just before my shift on the third day since the market trip I received a message from Madame Ycari summoning me back to the shop to pick up my perfume, I nearly danced with happiness. Thankfully, Brae wasn’t in the apartment to see it, or I might not have ever heard the end of it.

I let myself smile and be joyful, knowing once I left to walk downstairs for my shift I had to pretend I wasn’t beside myself with excitement about going to the shop with Mikas.

Maybe someday soon I wouldn’t have to hide my feelings anymore. What a lovely dream that was.

I wore a new dress tonight, one I’d been eyeing for a special occasion.

The teal fabric had microscopic prisms woven into the threads that would catch the stage lights and glimmer as if I were a galaxy of stars.

I owned a few dresses, but most I rented from a local shop that loaned clothing and costumes to performers who worked in Onat’ras and whose tastes and wardrobe needs exceeded their budget, like me.

Unfortunately, this teal gown was rented and I’d have to return it, but for tonight, I could pretend it was mine. And Mikas would love it. He might even smile.

I finished styling my hair and stepped into my shoes with barely enough time to get downstairs and have a few minutes to compose myself and warm up before I’d have to be onstage.

The screen above my door showed the corridor outside—a common feature in apartment buildings on Fortusia, even in relatively safe areas.

A familiar shadow passed back and forth in view of the camera: Brae, waiting to go with me to the bar.

He’d been doing that since Slug started following me around.

With Brae keeping watch as a shadow along the ceiling, I took the lift from the fourth level to the ground floor. No sign of Slug, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t nearby. My good mood soured and my stomach churned.

The impassive watchers I’d had before like Scar were bad enough, but Slug’s overtly menacing presence was too much. And worse, Nubo could have ordered her to be less threatening, but clearly he hadn’t. He wanted me to feel afraid.

The realization brought with it a wash of clarity that felt like chains breaking.

I did love singing at Zaa’ga, but because I loved singing and spending time with Mikas, not because of the bar itself. I didn’t like or need this job remotely enough to put up with this misery anymore.

By the time I stepped out of the lift, my hands trembled with rage. No more , I thought, my jaw set as I made my way down the long hallway toward the bar. No more being watched. No more waiting for Nubo to pounce. Just…no more.

I stopped midway between the lift and the bar and leaned against the wall, pretending to adjust something in my shoe.

Isla? In shadow form, Brae tucked himself into the ceiling line above my head. Are you all right?

Yes. My mental voice was quiet. I’m ready to go.

Good. His relief was palpable even through our telepathic bond. When? Now?

As soon as Mikas is ready. I’m not going without him. The vehemence of those words startled even me. I’ll talk to Ycari tonight after my shift, I added. I need to make some plans. Keep an eye out for any trouble in the meantime .

You know I will.

With my decision made, my steps lightened as I made my way down the hall. I’d expected to feel sad or angry or bitter, but instead my insides fluttered with anticipation.

I didn’t have a dressing room adjacent to Zaa’ga, much less a practice room, so usually I prepared for my shift in my apartment.

On days when I came down without much time before showtime, I resorted to a quick warm-up in one of the large storage rooms behind the bar area.

The acoustics weren’t good, but the bar noise and the thick walls ensured I couldn’t be overheard even if I sang at the top of my lungs.

Let me know if you see Slug , I told Brae.

He fluttered his wings in acknowledgement and slipped away along the ceiling toward the bar before I closed the door for privacy.

I’d finished my scales and was midway through rehearsing my most vocally demanding song of the evening, a Fortusian folk song that was always a popular choice, when the storage room’s door slid open and Nubo appeared, his bulk filling the wide doorway.

I cut myself off mid-word and silenced the music playing on my wristcomm.

“Hello, Isla,” Nubo said, smiling widely. He lumbered into the storage room, which suddenly felt much too small. “I did not mean to interrupt. Please, go on.”

“I’m done practicing, actually.” I forced a smile as if I didn’t hate him with the fire of a thousand suns. I didn’t want to tip him off that I planned to leave as soon as Mikas and I were able. “I’m due to be on stage very soon, so I need to have a few minutes of quiet to clear my head.”

“I am sure the boss will forgive you for being late today.” Nubo’s grin didn’t waver. “I have it on good authority he is very accommodating…and generous, to a fault.”

An icy chill swept through me. Brae , I thought, while I held onto my smile with such determination that I feared my face would crack. I need you to come back to the storage room .

“Someone as talented and lovely as yourself could take advantage of such generosity,” Nubo continued, leaning against a heavy-duty shelving unit filled with casks of ale .

He was doing his best to appear casual and friendly and nonthreatening, but his eyes remained as cold and calculating as ever. He’d deliberately cornered me in the storage room because he wanted to scare me. He wanted me to know no place would be safe if I didn’t do what he wanted.

The sensation of my forearm sheath and the dagger it held had never felt as reassuring as it did now.

A winged shadow appeared near the ceiling just inside the doorway. I kept my gaze on Nubo’s face and hid my relief.

“You could have every luxury,” Nubo said. “A penthouse residence. Chef-prepared meals. A wardrobe filled with the loveliest clothes in Onat’ras. There is no need for you to hire cheap gowns when with a word you could have the best.”

I’d expected some version of this speech from the moment I met Nubo. And I’d been prepared for almost anything, from seemingly sweet persuasion to threats and even a physical attack. And the latter two might still be coming my way.

But what I hadn’t braced myself for was Nubo Wex to corner me in the storage room, smile in my face, and refer to the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen or worn as a “cheap gown.” And it hurt way, way more than it should because on purpose or not he’d gotten me right in what might have been one of my few soft spots.

I had no idea what my expression looked like, but his smile evaporated like a drop of water under the Solani desert sun.

“Thank you for the offer,” I said, forcing a tone that was polite at best. “I don’t want to keep everyone waiting tonight, though.”

“Give my proposal due consideration,” His smile was cold now, to match his flat stare. “I have a lot to offer someone like you.”

“I know you do,” I said, as if I didn’t know what he meant by someone like you . This time my smile was sweeter, and I made my tone conciliatory. “Can I have some time, and some space, to consider it?”

“You have had months to think,” he said flatly. “I am not stupid, Isla Mair.”

Time for a different approach—one I’d used before with people like Nubo. I’d known what kind of man he was from the moment we’d met. Reading people had been essential for my survival before I came to Fortusia, and that hadn’t changed.

“Of course you aren’t stupid.” I let my smile grow and become almost smug, as if it was me who’d cornered him and not the other way around. “But neither am I. Maybe I want to negotiate my terms?”

His eyes widened. I’d startled him by flipping the power dynamics. He’d landed a punch with that offhand comment about my dress, but we were going to play things my way now.

“You’ve got something I want, and I’ve got something you want.” I smoothed my hands over my hips. “We both know the game. But it would be a lot more fun if we played it a little differently than what you’re used to, don’t you think?”

“I do not think so,” he said, but a beat too late for it to be true. I’d hooked him, all right.

“Oh, I think you’ll really like how I play,” I purred, emphasizing the word play for maximum innuendo.

Nubo eyed me and huffed in an almost oxen-like way.

I glanced at my wristcomm and strode toward the door as if I planned to plow right through him. “Showtime, Nubo. I’ll come see you tomorrow. Be ready to talk terms.”

A second before I ran into him, he moved aside. I trailed my fingertips over his massive leg on my way past. He huffed again and licked his lips. I had to resist the urge to wipe my hand on my dress.

Chin high and without looking back, I strode down the hall to the door to the bar, feeling Nubo’s stare on my back the entire way. I kept my expression blank, but my stomach roiled and my hands trembled with adrenaline.

Are you all right? Brae asked, his shadow following directly above me. Gods above, Isla, you really outdid yourself making him think you might actually? —

I didn’t have much choice . I took a deep breath and exhaled to slow my racing heart. I’m okay, but we’re officially out of time to plan a getaway. We’re going to have to wing it. I hope Mikas will go too.

I think he will , Brae said, his tone dry.

No time to ask why he thought so, or why he sounded so wry. I plastered on a brilliant smile, scanned my palm to open the door, and strode into Zaa’ga with Brae following close behind so the door didn’t close between us. He’d be stuck to me like a Barmian barnacle for the rest of the night.

I scanned the bar as if taking in the size of my audience, then looked for Mikas, who was busy behind the bar pouring a couple of drinks. He glanced up, gave me a nod, and put the drinks on a tray for a service ’bot to deliver to a table. At least he appeared less grim tonight.

I wanted to stop and say hello before I went onstage, but it would have been ill-advised even if Slug wasn’t leaning against the wall with a tankard of ale.

Nubo must have asked her to wait in the bar rather than follow me downstairs from my apartment because he planned to accost me in the storage room.

I made sure to thank the regulars for their patronage on my way to the stage.

One notable absence was the amphibious Prylothian who usually occupied the small pool near the stage.

Tonight a serpentine Altasian had coiled up in the water, his head, shoulders, and vestigial wings resting on stone as he sipped an unfamiliar bubbly beverage through a long tube that ran into a small cask next to the pool.

Given how impatient I was to go to the market with Mikas after our shifts, I expected my set to drag on interminably, but instead it flew by.

I didn’t avoid looking in Mikas’s direction since that would be as suspicious as watching him too much, but each time I looked that direction, he was busy fulfilling orders.

My heart ached as I watched Mikas drop a hefty handful of credit chips into his collection box.

He made good money here. Would he come to regret leaving with me, especially if he struggled to find a job that paid equally well wherever we ended up?

That was a concern I could bring up at Madame Ycari’s shop later, I supposed.

I tried not to let it worry me for now. I had plenty of other things to worry about in the meantime.

Earlier in the week, when I’d chosen the songs for tonight’s set, I hadn’t planned on this being my final performance on this stage—but maybe I’d subconsciously made my selections on the chance or hope it would be.

Every song was one of my favorites and the patrons certainly seemed to appreciate the music.

My tip jar filled more rapidly than usual.

I did make one alteration to my set list, though, near the end.

Right before my final song, which was the folk tune the audience habitually joined in on, I sang “Warm Waters” because it meant something different to me tonight than ever before—especially its poignant first line: “ When I remember all the places I have left behind, it is your touch I ache for the most .”

Unlike earlier in the week, I hadn’t chosen to sing “Water Waters” as a ploy for more tips, but the magic worked again tonight.

Before I even sang the final note, patrons were coming forward to drop credits and coins into my jar, which was now my escape fund.

And during the final song, the generosity continued, nearly bringing me to tears as I bowed and thanked everyone for listening.

I wouldn’t miss Zaa’ga, or Nubo, or the strain of living under surveillance the past three months, but I would miss singing and being onstage very, very much. My heart ached thinking about the prospect I might not find another singing job for a long time, if ever.

But I couldn’t stay. I wouldn’t. I deserved better than this.

The Isla who’d arrived on Fortusia with a single case of donated clothing and a few hundred credits to her name hadn’t thought she deserved anything good at all. So however tonight turned out, believing I deserved a good life was a victory worth celebrating.