stared at Tauran like he’d seen a ghost.
Tauran smiled. “That it is.”
“You’re back!” Albinus grinned and stepped around the counter. He raised his hands to cup Tauran’s cheeks, then thought better of it and wiped them on his apron instead. “Oh, it’s good to see you, my boy.”
Tauran chuckled, patting Albinus’ shoulder. “It’s good to see you, too.” In his youth, Tauran had found peace in Albinus’ shop like nowhere else. On warm afternoons when he was too tired from his training to head to the bar, he’d go to Albinus’ and watch the old man work, help him clean and listen to his stories of the past.
“I hoped one day you’d walk back into my shop,” Albinus said, wiggling a finger in the air as he discarded the apron and dried his hands on a clean cloth. “Making your first saddle was a dream project. It’s not often I get to work on something as hefty as a titan saddle. Oh, the length of straps needed to reach around that lady’s chest.”
“It’s not for me, this time,” Tauran said quickly, before Albinus could continue. He licked his dry lips. “It is a saddle. But it’s... for a friend. For a swiftwing.”
“Ah, I see,” Albinus said. “Catria, is it?”
“Uh... yes,” Tauran said, slowly. “If you could keep quiet, though. It’s a surprise.”
Albinus winked at him. “Very well. Tell me what you need.”
Tauran handed him the note of scribbled measurements he’d made, described the style, then handed over payment. It was a solid sum of two-hundred large scales, a rather sizable dent in Tauran’s budget now that he wasn’t relying on the Sky Guard for a rider’s salary. But it was worth it. He had little else to spend his monthly allowance on, and Falka was paying his rent.
Tauran left Albinus’ Leatherworks with the promise that the saddle would be done in two weeks. It was hardly any time at all. When Tauran graduated, the waiting time had been four times that. It had been agonizing. He’d crossed off the days on a calendar and he’d been both ecstatic and profoundly jealous when Emilian had gotten his saddle first.
On the corner of Daffodil Avenue and Clover Street, Tauran paused. With nothing to occupy his mind now, his thoughts drifted back to Kalai. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the twinge of strained muscles. Tauran wanted to see him, but it was still so early in the day. Kalai needed rest. Besides, he’d look desperate if he showed up on Kalai’s doorstep like a lost puppy before a full day had even passed.
He didn’t want to go back to the apartment, and he wasn’t much in the mood for the ground recruits nagging questions, either. Instead, he turned and headed in the opposite direction.
Kalai was hopes and dreams, while he was issues and ruin. Skies, he had to remember that.
His feet carried him where he wanted to go before his mind was even aware.
Nightshade Alley.
He stopped in front of an old-style building with a red and brown facade, cast in shadow by larger buildings on either side. He knew the place. He’d been there more times than he could count in his Sky Guard days, sneaking in under the cover of darkness for an hour of fun and pleasure.
The Red Rose.
“Thinking about it?” A woman’s melodic voice called from an open window. She leaned her elbows on the sill, her tight-waisted dress accentuating a well-made chest. She gave Tauran a honey smile. “Don’t be shy.”
Tauran huffed out a smirk. Four years ago, ‘shy’ hadn’t even existed in his vocabulary. Being here now, he fell surprisingly easily into that old mindset.
He strode forward before he’d even fully decided.
The inside of the brothel was dimly lit despite the harsh sunlight outside, the red velvet curtains casting the interior in a warm light. Since Tauran had been here last, the establishment hadn’t changed hands. Ma Rosa sat in a high-backed armchair by the far wall. She held a young man on her lap. He was beautiful and delicate and wore only a hand-towel around his waist. His hair was damp from a recent shower.
Ma Rosa looked up. Tauran saw recognition in her eyes, but she didn’t greet him like the others had. She simply smiled at him, and tapped the young man’s waist, making him stand so she could lean forward. Faint voices filtered from other parts of the building, but at this early hour, the bar room was mostly empty.
“What are you looking for, sweetheart?”