ating. The air was thick with the smell of cheap perfumes an

ding a piece of black fabric. It was a modern lace bra, the only piece of her old life she

ition. It was Sadie. Her eyes were gl

her voice full of longing. "So

a with a piece of animal hide, h

she pleaded. "Just for tonight. I want to catch the eye of a st

herself. It would draw too much attention, the wrong

d. "But you owe me. Tonight, you keep the heat o

. She snatched the bra and r

underwire was dramatic, giving her a figure that defied nature. The other females in th

to herself. She picked up a basin of water and a rough cloth. She

ep-set eyes, a delicate nose, and skin so pale it seemed to glo

ye she had prepared. With a steady hand, she painted ugly, mottled patches across her cheekbones an

izes too big, swallowing her slender frame and hiding her curves.

d, ordering all single fem

bing Carin's arm. "Come on! D

d, she slipped a sharpened bone dagger into

th to the square was crowded with females in their best cloth

a gray cloak. Her eyes looked past the noise and the li

wasn't a party. This was a gamb

silently repeating Brannon's name. The