Two Years Later

Juno clenched the letter from her brother's school tightly in her hand. Every week she received two letters, one from a teacher the school and one from the parents at the kids' home. She would receive letters from her siblings in between them, but these were the two letters that came consistently.

Killian had become fond of fighting. The school was threatening to kick him out after her punched a count's son in the face.

She would have to go to the school to talk to the headmaster. Beg them to not kick Killian out. She swore loudly, thankful that the brothel was empty. All of the girls were out at a parade to celebrate the return of their victorious army. Back from conquering who knows where.

Venus had gone along with them, masquerading as Juno so no one would know they were two separate people.

Juno had just barely got permission for Venus to stay with her. But she didn't want the other girls to know that Venus was staying there without doing any work. So she made it so no one knew she existed. No one except her roommate, Effie. But Effie was different than the others.

Juno massaged her temples. She would need to get permission from the madame, Lorelei, to go to the school. The last time she saw her brother was over a month ago. It was the few times a year she could get all the kids together. She had known about the fighting from the letters from school, but he had never outright attacked anyone like he had towards the count's son.

She wanted to tear the letter up in a million little pieces. Killian knew better than to start something with someone of a higher status. There was nothing that Juno could do to protect him if the kid's family decided to go after her brother.

But even through her anger, she knew that Killian wouldn't hit anyone without a reason. Even if his temper was a little shorter lately, usually he fought because people mocked the ruin of their family.

Juno was adept at handling insults, but she hated that she put Killian into a situation where he would also have to develope the skill. She laid her head down on her desk. She mentally went through all of her possessions. She needed to sell something in order to have enough money to make the situation go away, but what could she sell?

The last jewelry that she had, her beloved ring that her father gave her, had already been sold to pay for Killian's tuition.

Damn it. She would need to borrow the money.

She went to her bed, finding the hidden pocket she had sewn into the pillow, and pulled out the seal of her family's crest. One perk of nobility is that shady people always wanted to lend them money, no matter how high their debt. They wouldn't even care that she was a prostitute. They would probably even be willing to trade the money for her services if she found the right person.

Of course, she could always ask one of her customers for the money. The brothel she worked at was aimed directly at nobles and wealthy aristocrats. It wasn't rare for one of the girls to become a mistress or a concubine.

But Juno didn't want to have to be obligated to another noble. She had no interest in becoming someone's mistress. She would leave the brothel one day, eventually. But she would do it by her own hand.

She brought the seal to her lips and asked her father for forgiveness like she always did when she knew she was making a bad decision.

The streets were crowded due to the victory parade. It made it both easier and harder for Juno to move through the city. Easier, because she could move without attracting any attention. Harder due to the sheer amount of people she had to push through.

It took ages for her to finally reach her destination.

She swore inwardly when she saw the familiar man sitting at the front desk.

"Victor," she greeted him, shortly.

A wide, wicked smile stretched out across his scarred face. "Juno," he replied. "What can I do for you?"

Juno frowned. Had it been anyone else working, she would've used her charms and beauty. But Victor knew her tricks. She put her hand on his desk, dropping all pretenses. "I need a hundred gold."

Victor let out a low whistle. "That's a lot of money. If I remember correctly, you still owe us a debt."

"So just add onto it."

Victor eyed her. "What's a girl like you need with that kind of money? Knowing you, it's probably one of your parasites-"

Juno gave him a hard glare. "Killian punched a count's son. I need to pay damages so they don't kick him out of school."

Victor smirked. "Which count?"

"Come on, Victor. Does it matter?"

"It does to me."

Juno sighed heavily, ghosting her fingertips across her cold forehead. "Count Roix."

Victor's face lit up and he clapped his hands like a gleeful child. "Good. I've never liked that man or his son."

He dug through the desk draw, plopping a small, heavy bag of gold onto the table. Juno couldn't stop her hand from reaching out a snatching it.

But he grabbed her wrist. "As much as I like you, Juno," he looked her up and down and licked his lips. "We both know you aren't going to be able to pay this back."

A chill went down her back. She opened her mouth to speak, but Victor said the words before she could.

"I'm sure we could come to some sort of arrangement."

Juno lowered her eyes to the floor, a heat spreading across her face.

"Yes," she agreed quietly.

There was a tense moment of silence that passed between them, before Victor broke into loud laughter.

"Juno, my love, if I were so desirous of your usual services I would go to the brothel."

He had probably meant the words as a comfort, but it just instilled more fear into Juno.

"Then what is it that you want?"