18 Week One
Maeve
The Guild lounge is too quiet.
It’s always felt like a pocket universe—cut off from the rest of Blackmoore, all polished wood and heavy shadows, the hum of security tech disguised as antique charm. But tonight, the silence buzzes under my skin.
When Lucian first broke the news to me about the Thieves Guild. I thought Isobel had looped Lucian into some sort of prank. But when I heard about everything, I just felt it in my gut that she really did need me. The only other time I felt this way was Isobel’s birthday, and now tonight.
I lean against the edge of the table, arms folded, trying not to check the time again.
“They should’ve been back by now,” I say, not even bothering to mask the edge in my voice.
Kellan doesn’t look up from the chessboard he’s setting. “It’s the Guild, Maeve. They’re on a mission. Not students coming back from a ski lodge.”
Felix lounges sideways in one of the leather chairs, head tilted, playing with a coin between his fingers. “Maybe they stopped to grab food. We did have those mystery meat sandwiches for lunch.”
I give him a look. “You really think Isobel would stop for food?”
His smile dims just enough. “Okay, maybe not.”
Kellan moved a knight across the board with careful precision. “Worrying won’t make them walk through the door faster.”
“I’m not worried,” I say.
Felix arches a brow. “Says the girl who’s been pacing the rug bare.”
“I’m not pacing.”
“You are. For twenty-three minutes. I timed it.”
I glare at him, but it lacks heat. Because the truth is, I am worried. Obviously.
Something feels off. Wrong in the way the air goes still before a storm breaks. Isobel would’ve sent a message. Luca usually texts something ridiculous by now. Even Jace, for all his broody silence, isn’t this…absent. If anything he’d be the first to hear, he’s with Lucian, watching over controls.
“They're fine,” Felix says without looking up.
“You don’t know that.”
“I know they’ve done worse jobs than this. And I don’t know Isobel, but I know the guys, they’ve got it.”
I know Isobel. I watched her pick herself off the ground more times than I could count. And if anyone could crawl out of hell and still manage to throw a punch on the way up, it was my girl. Still. I didn’t like this.
Kellan sighs, looking at Felix. “I mean, what if they aren’t fine?”
Felix’s jaw ticks.
“What if something went wrong? What if—?”
The door slams open. We all jump. But it isn’t them. Just one of the senior Guild members, eyes scanning past us. No announcements. No news. I feel my pulse echo in my ears.
Kellan finally stands up from the chessboard, arms crossed. “I’ll check the Guild comms.”
“I already did,” I mumble. “No updates.”
Lucian had shown me how to check them earlier in the night. But I didn’t want to just sit at the desk. The three of us sit in silence, the flickering firelight casting shadows across our faces.
The sound of boots echoes down the hall before the door opens. Lucian steps into the lounge. Felix straightens instantly, his usual grin vanishing. Kellan stops mid-move at the chess table, his expression unreadable but his shoulders tense.
“Come with me,” Lucian says.
No one questions him. He just isn’t the type of person you question. You just listen.
I exchange a quick look with Felix, then follow. Kellan trails close behind, his jaw tight. The walk to Lucian’s office feels longer than it should, the marble floors amplifying the rhythm of our footsteps. Every turn, every shadow feels heavier. Like we’re heading to our execution.
When we enter his office, the door clicks shut behind us with the kind of finality that makes my stomach twist. Lucian stands behind his desk.
He doesn’t sit. The pit in my stomach grows.
“The mission was a trap,” he says.
Felix inhales sharply. Ice runs through my veins.
Lucian’s voice is measured, choosing his words carefully. “They located the cargo, but when they opened it, the team was ambushed.”
My pulse pounds in my ears. “What do you mean by ambushed?”
Lucian’s gaze locks on me, like he’s deciding how much truth I can handle.
“Noah and Luca were separated. Dakota and Isobel went another way. Somewhere during the chaos, Dakota and Isobel were forced apart. When the dust cleared—she was gone.”
I can’t breathe.
Gone.
Not dead. Just—gone. That single word detonates inside me.
Felix takes a step forward, voice cracking. “They’re looking for her, right? They’re—”
“They’ve searched the area,” Lucian cuts him off. “There’s nothing. No trace. No sign of struggle beyond the initial crossfire.”
The room tilts. The walls seemed too close; the air too thin. I grip the back of one chair, my fingers digging into the leather. My knuckles are turning white.
“I knew it,” I whisper. “I knew something felt off tonight.”
Lucian’s expression doesn’t change, but I know he’s putting on a face. Iz is my sister, but she’s his daughter.
“So what now?” My voice comes out harsher than I mean it to. “Because standing here talking about it sure as hell won’t bring her back.”
Felix reaches for me, but I step away. I don’t want comfort. I wanted answers, an actionable plan. I need order. I need her.
Kellan finally speaks, low and calm. “Do we have any leads?”
Lucian’s gaze moves to him. “None yet. But the Guild will not stop searching.”
He says it like a promise. But there was something in his eyes that tells me even he isn’t sure.
My knees feel weak. “She’s out there. Alone.” It isn’t a question. It’s a prayer disguised as a statement.
Lucian doesn’t respond. He doesn’t need to. The silence says enough.
I turn toward the window, the lights blurring as my vision stung. “I told her this place would eat her alive,” I mutter. “But I didn’t think it’d be like this.”
Behind me, Felix’s voice was a whisper. “We’ll find her.”
I want to believe him. God, I want to. But for the first time since I’d met Isobel Ashthorne—my fearless, strong, fire-hearted best friend—I’m not sure.
The door bursts open hard enough to rattle the hinges.
I turn, heart slamming in my chest.
They’re back. But one look at them tells me everything I don’t want to know.
Jace walks in first, his face pale under the low lights, his arm still in a sling.
His hand is shaking, though he thinks he hides it by clenching it into a fist. Luca follows behind him, jaw tight, knuckles raw.
Noah trails last, carrying his tablet pressed against his chest like it might stop his heart from falling out. Dakota is last, her head hanging.
But there are only four of them.
Not five.
“Where is she?” The words rip out of me before I can stop them.
No one answers.
Jace’s gaze flicks up, meets mine for half a second, and then drops again. That’s all it takes for my stomach to turn to ice.
“She’s not—” My voice breaks. I swallow hard, forcing it steady. “Tell me she’s fine. Tell me you found her.”
Silence.
My blood roars in my ears. I take a step toward Jace, then another. “You were supposed to protect her.” My voice shakes, but not from fear—from fury. “But you just had to get injured. Of all days!”
Jace flinches like I hit him. “Maeve—”
“Don’t,” I snap, shoving him hard in the chest. “Don’t you dare say my name like that. You lost her! You lost her! You promised me you’d watch out for her!”
“I wasn’t even there!” He throws his hand up.
Luca moves fast, grabbing my arm before I can shove him again. His grip is firm but not cruel. “Maeve, stop—”
“Let go of me!” I struggle against him, but his voice cuts through mine—grounded.
“It’s not his fault!” Luca barks, the words slicing through the room. His usual lazy confidence is gone, replaced by something darker. His brown eyes burn, rimmed red. “It was Daniel. You think Jace wanted this? You think any of us did?”
The name hits me like a slap. Daniel. That sick bastard.
I whirl towards Dakota. “What happened?”
“W-what?” Her eyes are comically wide.
“What. Happened.” I get in her face. “You were with her! Why did you leave her side?”
Dakota lifts her chin. “We got separated. There were too many people there. I thought she could handle it. It’s not my fault she couldn’t and got kidnapped.”
I raise my hand and slap her across the face with everything I’m feeling.
The room is silent.
My chest heaves, rage tangling with grief until I can’t tell which is which. My knees feel weak. I back up a step, moving away from Dakota.
Jace finally speaks, his voice low, raw. “As soon as I heard, I raced over there. We searched for her. Every inch of that yard.” He swallows hard, eyes glassy. “There wasn’t anything we could use to find her.”
The fire in my chest rages on, stoked by the weight of his words. “She can’t just be gone,” I whisper. “Not Iz. She wouldn’t let him win.”
Noah steps forward. He looks wrecked. “We’ll find her,” he says, but it’s barely more than a whisper. “We have to.”
Lucian’s voice is a low rumble from behind us. “You will. But not tonight. You’re all exhausted. She’s resourceful. If she’s alive—and I believe she is—she’ll find a way to survive until we can get to her.”
His faith in her should comfort me. It doesn’t.
It just feels like another lie we’re all trying to believe in.
I look at Jace again, and something inside me cracks. His mask—the one I used to think was indestructible—is gone. There’s just a boy standing in front of me. I want to hate him. I want to hate Dakota for failing to protect my sister. I want to scream until it fills the room.
But all I can do is whisper, “Bring her home.”
Jace’s eyes finally meet mine again, and this time, there’s fire behind them.
“I will.”
And the way he says it—it sounds less like a promise and more like a threat.
With Isobel missing, it’s all hands on deck, so Felix and Kellan join the rest of the Guild and search for Isobel. Everyone’s trying to find intel on Daniel and his movements.
Now, I’ve been stuck to Lucian’s side. He arranged for me to be “sick” so I can do all my classwork online in his office at Blackmoore. He wants to protect me for Isobel. But I want to be close in case we hear anything about her.
Lucian’s office smells faintly of cedar and old paper—rich, masculine, intimidating. I’ve been holed up here for hours, pretending to focus on my assignments while my stomach twists with every new report that comes in.
No word from Jace, Luca, Noah, or Dakota. No word about Isobel. Nothing but silence and the clicking of Lucian’s mouse as he works like the world isn’t falling apart around us.
I’m halfway through pretending to read an article when the door opens.
“Lucian,” a smooth, deep voice purrs. “You’re a tough man to pin down these days.”
Every muscle in my body tightens. Even without looking up, I know that voice doesn’t belong here.
Lucian doesn’t stand. “Gideon,” he says coolly. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Gideon steps into the room. Expensive cologne, sharp suit, shark’s smile. Everything about him screams power—and poison.
He looks like Jace, if Jace had carved out everything soft and left only the cruelty.
I sink a little lower in my chair, slipping both earbuds but leaving one to sit loosely. The music’s not on—it doesn’t need to be. I just need to look like I’m not listening.
Gideon strolls to the window, hands clasped behind his back. “I heard about your little setback,” he says casually, like he’s talking about a business deal that went sour. “Tragic, really. I do hope you find the girl before she ends up another liability.”
The girl. Like she’s not his daughter.
Lucian’s jaw tightens almost imperceptibly. “She’s not a liability.”
Gideon hums. “No? Because last I checked, she’s cost you one initiate, half your resources, and a great deal of credibility. Tell me, old friend—how much longer can you afford to keep looking for her?”
The air shifts. Lucian’s tone turns to ice. “You forget yourself, Gideon.”
“I’ve forgotten nothing.” Gideon turns. “I remember when the Guild was efficient. Ruthless. Now you’ve got a bleeding heart at your center, and it’s leaking all over your reputation.”
My hands curl into fists under the desk. Every word feels like acid.
Lucian leans back in his chair, unreadable. “You came all this way to criticize my management?”
“Hardly.” Gideon steps closer, resting one hand on the back of the chair opposite Lucian’s desk. His gaze flicks toward me. “Just checking in. Offering my… support. I’d hate to see another promising young woman lost to poor leadership.”
His smile is all teeth.
I keep my head down, but his eyes linger on me for a second too long. I feel it like a hand on the back of my neck.
Lucian’s voice cuts through the tension. “You can keep your concern. I don’t recall asking for it.”
“Ah, but you will,” Gideon says, straightening his tie. “You always do, eventually. Let’s hope the girl’s still alive when you realize it.”
Lucian stands now—not abruptly, but with enough quiet force to make even Gideon pause. “You’ve made your point.”
Gideon grins, unbothered. “And you’ve made yours.” He turns toward the door, stopping only once to look over his shoulder. “Do tell your daughter how fond I am of her. She’s been quite the… conversation starter lately.”
The door shuts behind him with a soft click.
Lucian exhales, the kind of breath that sounds like it’s holding back murder.
My heart’s hammering, but my voice doesn’t waver. “He’s awful.”
Lucian doesn’t look at me, just stares out the window. “He’s worse than that.”
And for the first time, I’m not just worried about finding Isobel. I’m worried about who might find her first.