Chapter 301: Konstantin Crashes the Party Gilda. Gilda was her name. I remembered it from the one time we met. We locked eyes across the room, her smile persistent but her motivations unreadable. A dozen possibilities flickered through my mind. I had paused too long and my companions noticed.“Do you know her?” Raelia asked from just over my right shoulder.I figured if there was potential danger, I should make them aware. “She is a Telhian,” I said, a frown creasing my brow. “She works for one of the Praetorian Guards, but Castile was under the impression that her handler, Antonia, had been killed.” My mind raced, trying to identify her possible motives with the most plausible explanation I could come up with. “She might be here to disrupt the Choosing for her new master. Or maybe she is looking for deserters.” I looked at my companions to make sure they heard me. “We should head to one of our rooms.”As we turned to head up the stairs, Gilda stood up and headed for the back door. The sound of clashing blades echoed from the practice yard where she was going. Damn it, she wasn’t alone. The tension tightened in my stomach as I considered our options.I hurried with my companions up the stairs and into the nearest of the rented rooms. The air hit me first. A pungent mix of sweat and stale sex. The sheets were clearly unchanged, and I doubted anyone had bothered to clean since the last guests. The orcs might tolerate humans, but that didn’t mean they had to be hospitable. “Mateo, bar the door. Blaze, take the window,” I said sharply, already scanning the room for anything that looked remotely clean.I was tense, and it bled over to my companions. “What are we going to do?” Maveith’s voice rumbled in the room.