Mara smiled, and even from behind, Julian could hear the satisfaction in it. "I thought so. You’ll be placed beside him in the lounge. Close enough to converse naturally."
She paused to let Helena navigate forward.
"Talk to him. He enjoys talking about himself, which makes it easy. n like Kraven, once they decide they like you, beco extraordinarily generous."
"Generous how?"
"In the ways that matter. Access. Information. Introductions." She tilted her head slightly. "He has the ear of people in this city that even I can’t reach. If he decides you’re worth knowing, doors will open for you." A pause. "And I suspect you have use for open doors."
Julian chuckled softly. "I might."
"Good. Then we understand each other."
They walked in silence for a mont, the only sound their footsteps on stone and the faint, distant sound of music from sowhere ahead.
"You seem quite cheerful about all of this," Julian observed.
Mara laughed softly. "Is it that obvious?"
"Sowhat."
She didn’t answer imdiately. Julian watched her glance back once toward Helena before she turned forward again.
"Yes," she said finally, and her voice carried a warmth that was almost startling given the context. "Yes, I am excited. Genuinely." She paused, choosing her words with sothing like care. "Occasions like this one don’t co together easily. They require the right pieces and the right timing. "A small pause on that last word. "When everything aligns—when it actually cos together exactly as you imagined it—there is a satisfaction in that. A real one."
Julian glanced at Helena’s back as she walked forward. Her shoulders were straight, her breathing controlled. She was managing herself with more dignity than most people would have in her position.
"This will be a turning point," Mara continued, almost to herself. "For . For the inn." She said it without cruelty—simply as fact. "Kraven is not the end. He’s a door. And tonight opens it."
Julian studied the back of her head. "You’ve thought about this for a long ti."
"I think about everything for a long ti," she replied simply.
They rounded the final curve of the passage. Julian could feel the warmth of the chamber ahead now.
He let a mont pass before speaking again.
"Tell sothing," he said. "Does Skreek know about any of this?"
Mara’s steps slowed slightly. It seed his question caught her off guard.
"No," she said.
"No?"
"Skreek and I are partners of a kind," she said thoughtfully. "We help each other, here and there. Information moves both ways between us when it benefits us both." A small pause. "But we are not confidants. I am quite certain he runs operations he has never ntioned to —things I know nothing about, and likely never will."
"And you do the sa."
"Of course," she said it without apology. "That is simply how it works. Trust is useful. Total transparency is a liability." She glanced briefly back at him. "I suspect you understand that."
Julian smiled. "Perfectly."
"Good," she said. "Then you already know how to handle Kraven."
A few minutes later, the passage opened.
The hidden chamber unfolded before them exactly as Julian rembered it. However, with it being prepared for the special occasion, it sohow felt larger. The massive pool in the center of the room caught the light from the oil lamps arranged along the walls. The water had been freshened and treated with sothing fragrant, and the whole atmosphere was filled with a warm scent.
The watching lounge was arranged with care as well. Two big sofas sat positioned on a raised platform so that both offered a perfect view of the water. Between them, a low table held a bottle of dark wine and two glasses already poured. Beside the second glass, dried fruits, soft cheese, and other small delicacies were placed.
Everything was perfectly arranged.
Helena stopped just inside the entrance. She stood very still, taking it in—the room, the pool, the sofas, the wine already waiting. Julian watched her absorb it. Watched her understand what she was about to do.
Her voice, when it ca, was quiet.
"Where are Sarah and Thomas?"
Mara had already moved past the sofas and was currently checking the position of the lamp.
"In the back," she said, without turning. "There’s a dressing room through that door." She gestured toward a low archway set into the far wall, half-curtained with heavy fabric. "I’ll take you to them."
Helena nodded.
"Co," Mara said, and her voice was softer than usual.
Helena moved towards her, and Mara guided Helena toward the archway, then paused and turned back to Julian.
"You," she said, with a slight tilt of her head toward the sofas, "can take your place, Mister Julian."
Her lips curved.
"Kraven will not be long."
Julian settled into the sofa on the left, enjoying the comfort it provided. He reached forward and lifted one of the wine glasses from the low table, examined the color briefly, and took a sip.
Good but not exceptional. Mara had taste, even if her ambitions ran in unusual directions.
He let his eyes move over the chamber again—the pool, the lamps, and the archway through which Helena and Mara had disappeared. Everything was quiet.
He waited, and surprisingly, he didn’t have to wait long.
The passage door opened with a soft click, and footsteps entered the chamber.
Kraven was not what Julian would describe as imposing. He was broad-shouldered, perhaps thirty years of age, with dark hair that was perfectly combed back. He wore expensive clothes and had the expression of soone who had gotten anything he wanted from young.
The typical young master of nobility.
Behind him was Mara.
She had transford the mont she stepped through that door. The composed, almost calculating woman was gone, replaced by soone submissive—her eyes were cast downward, her back slightly bowed.
"My lord," she said, falling into step just behind Kraven’s right shoulder. "Everything is arranged. Exactly as discussed."
Kraven’s eyes moved over the chamber. "The water is fresh?"
"Changed this afternoon, my lord. Treated with jasmine oil, as you prefer."
"The wine?"
"Poured and waiting. The Verentian red you favored last ti."
A small sound of approval from Kraven. "And Helena?"
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