man like you.”
Tauran huffed a small smile and ran his hand through Icren’s soft hair, feeling him lean into the touch. He knew the speech. He’d heard it countless times, expertly designed to make him want to return, to increase his tips and maybe even tell his friends at the local bar. And he hated that it worked, hated that those meaningless words settled inside him and spread like warmth to the rest of his body. Damn it, he was so ridiculously desperate and easy. He cleared his throat. “I should get going.”
“You’ve still got about fifteen minutes,” Icren said, despite not having looked at a clock since they’d entered. It didn’t surprise Tauran. Most of the people working in the Red Rose seemed to have an instinctual sense for the length of an hour.
“It’s fine,” Tauran insisted. He sat up. Suddenly, this was all too much. He felt exposed. “You were fantastic,” he added, before Icren could worry that his early departure had been a sign of inadequacy. “Here.” He fished another ten scales from his pocket and held them out to Icren, whose face lit up with joy.
Tauran really was bleeding money, today.
“Do you need a hand?” Icren asked, when he saw Tauran struggle with his left boot, but Tauran shook his head.
“I got it. Thanks.”
“Thank you, handsome,” Icren purred, staying where he was, naked and propped up on the bed like an ornament when Tauran left the room.
CHAPTER 13
Sneaking into the Sunrise Tower after sundown was a task that required steady nerves.
Luckily, Tauran was the epitome of calm after his pleasant excursion the day before. He didn’t have to fear the dragons, and even if he got caught, it wasn’t as if he wasn’t allowed to be here. Falka had given him permission to go wherever he pleased. Tauran knew it was wrong to take advantage of Falka’s good will, but when a dragon needed feeding, you really had to do what you had to do.
Tauran left his transportation outside the eastern wall and went for the gates.
They let him onto the guard grounds without question, and none of the guards still around on third watch paid him much attention as he steered for the tower, past the usual curious glances at his irregular gait.
Pushing one of the double doors of the Sunrise Tower open, Tauran paused.
The entrance hall was dark and empty. At this hour, Roric, Catria and recruits would be sleeping or enjoying their personal time, in their quarters or at the nests. During his time with the Sky Guard, Tauran had been among the few who had spent nearly every waking hour with the dragons.
Tauran’s steps echoed against the mosaic floor. He looked down. The motif wasn’t the same as in the Solar Tower, but it was just as intricately detailed, depicting roaring dragons twisting into each other through spiraling tails. If the layout of the Sunrise Tower was identical to the old one, the feed storage would be in the cellar, the meat kept cool by chunks of ice flown down from the mountains. The first time Tauran had watched them hook an entire cow and drag it to the feeding pit for the dragons to devour, the sight had covered his whole body in chills of excitement.
The cellar entrance was beside the grand staircase. Going through the outdoor entrance would have been easier, but it was kept locked until they needed to hoist a cow, and Tauran wasn’t sure he’d be able to explain to a passing guard why he was trying to pick the lock of the meat cellar.
The indoor entrance, however, was never locked.
Tauran took a lamp off the wall and flicked the switch to spark the flame, then pulled both cellar doors wide open. He descended the stairs carefully in the dark. He wouldn’t have a lot of time. It wasn’t forbidden for riders to come and go during the night, but if someone found him down there, he’d be hard pressed to come up with a good excuse.
For each step he took, the air grew colder. When he reached the last step, his breath misted in front of his face.
Hanging the lamp on a hook above his head, he looked around.
The cellar extended several hundred feet past the foundation of the tower, but the space inside was largely empty. Near the entrance hung about two dozen half and whole cows and silverhorn on meat hooks, smaller slabs of meat stacked on a nearby rack. The rest of the