Chapter 3
The Throne Room of the Palace of Levernia, Everness
Lara
The prince’s crown was too big for his head.
Decorated with more jewels than I could count, it sat slightly askew atop his raven hair. The messy locks contributed to the appearance of a boy pretending to be king. He didn’t look like he belonged on the throne. He looked like a philandering prince who thought politics was a game and poverty was a decision. I had heard enough stories to know exactly what kind of a prince he was.
I let out a heavy breath, squaring my shoulders to show the arrogant bastard that I was not one of the people he could intimidate — something he was no doubt used to, which was evident by his boyish smirk and the questionable look in his eyes.
I would not be afraid. Even if my life was in his hands.
If I was going to die, then I was not going to die a coward.
“What is this?” He gestured as if bored by me.
“The Masked Bandit, sire,” the guard holding on to me said. He pulled off the hood of my cloak and the small group of people gathered in the throne room let out gasps of surprise as my long hair tumbled over my shoulders. The guard was about to reach for my mask — the cloth tie d under my eyes — and I pulled away frantically, when a voice echoed through the throne room.
“No!” The prince leaned forwards on his throne more eagerly. “Let’s not spoil all the fun just yet. Besides, she could be an imposter.” He sat back. “You can release her.”
I glanced up at the marble pillars of the throne room, towering and prominent, serpents wrapped around them like a noose around a neck. The thought made my stomach clench. I would prefer my own neck to remain noose-free.
The guards at either side of me seemed wary of the order, as if they expected me to bolt for the nearest door or pluck out a hidden dagger and stab one of them.
Neither was a viable option for me at that moment... as much as I might have enjoyed it. But they obeyed their prince and unlocked the chains around my wrists. I took a second to adjust my sleeves, which had got pulled up during the process of me being dragged here against my will.
I watched His Highness get up from the throne and the whole room went silent in suspense and anticipation.
He approached me slowly, as if he were a hunter and I were the deer.
I took this as my opportunity to size him up. Getting an audience with the Prince of Everness was hardly a task easily done. You would have to steal something very valuable in order to be tried for treason of the highest degree. A personal offence against the royal family, if you will.
If I had got away with it, then I would have been halfway across the kingdom by now with a sack of gold in my pocket and a brand new life ahead of me. But now the necklace would never be sold and I had the nauseating feeling in my stomach that I would never leave this palace.
Instead, I was being intensely observed by a royal prince.
Apparently, our “faithful” King Magnus had become too ill to attend public events. At least that was what I’d heard at the marketplace, not too long ago. I didn’t indulge in gossip, but rumour had it that it wouldn’t be long before the coronation of a new king took place.
Prince Lance was tall and lean, his body not quite that of a warrior or soldier who’d be willing to fight for his people in battle. Aside from the ridiculous crown, he was wearing rather glamorous attire — boots polished well enough that I could practically see my own reflection in them, and a tunic threaded with silver. Something so expensive would feed a few families for months. And that thought alone, that he lived such a luxurious life while his people starved, made me hate him all the more.
From afar, his eyes appeared darker, but the closer he got to me, the more I realised they were icy blue. Cold and uncanny enough to give one shivers.
He sneered for a moment and I looked away, taking in the vast room. I didn’t enjoy being stared at. I didn’t enjoy feeling like prey.
“I mean, you honestly expect me to believe this is the most dangerous thief in Levernia?” He gestured to me. His question was directed towards the two guards. “I was told that someone stole a family heirloom from the royal household.” He crossed his arms, lifted an eyebrow, and I swore I could hear the guard to my right gulp. The scar-faced one chose to reply.
“This is her. She stole the necklace.”
At his words, Prince Lance started to laugh and I contemplated just how offended I should have been. I was under no misconception about what I looked like — a skinny, raggedy, poor girl. But still, I didn’t find the thought of me being a thief that amusing.
“You’re telling me,” the prince started, once he’d caught his breath, “that this—” he scanned me up and down — “scrawny little thing broke into my family’s guarded residence, stole something out of our personal possessions, managed to get out of the castle, and outran all of my guards without getting caught?” His disbelief in my ability to do just that was rather insulting.
“We did catch her, Your Highness.” Scarface pushed me forwards and I tripped over the toe of my boot, falling to my knees. I kept my palms flat on the ground and I clenched my teeth.
“She shouldn’t have gotten in, in the first place. And now you dare tell me you got outsmarted by a thieving little girl?”
Little girl. You could feel the tension in the air now that the guards were getting scolded. Punishment was not entirely out of the question for them as well. Our audience, which consisted of a few aristocrats and their social acquaintances, watched in almost excited expectation. This was not what they bargained for when they thought about lounging in the throne room.
If I were any more stupid, I would have rolled my eyes at Prince Lance. He appeared to be only a few years older than me — if not for his title and power there would be no fear in my heart of any kind. But he held my life, my very existence, in his hand like a pomegranate, with the ability to crush it any second. What it must be to have power like that!
So, I refrained from doing anything outspoken and remained kneeling, but I kept my head up high. It was all the defiance I could manage with a question ringing in my head. Was I going to die today?
“Bring in the one responsible.” I heard the two doors to the back of the throne room open. My eyes widened when I saw the young guard being pulled forwards on his knees until he was next to me, facing Lance. His leg was still bleeding from where I had stabbed him, though there was some cloth wrapped around it.
“So,” Lance said. “You’re responsible for letting her get away?”
The boy didn’t say anything, though I could hear his heavy breathing and spotted a trickle of sweat running down his forehead.
“You know the price of letting a fugitive escape, don’t you?” Lance’s glare remained on the boy, who still didn’t say anything, his eyes boring into the tiles of the floor. “Well, speak up, you dimwit, or should I cut out your tongue?”
This made the young guard look up.
“I . . . I . . . I didn’t. She is a skilled fighter. I wasn’t prepared.”
“Well.” Lance bent down, hands on knees to be on eye level with him. “You are going to regret not being more prepared.”
“It won’t happen again, please.” He was shaking.
“You’re right.” Lance stood back up. “It won’t.” He called over one of the guards. “Have him drawn and quartered.” The boy started begging, with tears soon spilling down his face. A shudder went through my body as they dragged him out of the throne room still screaming.
Prince Lance looked back at me as if nothing had happened. If he didn’t have trouble torturing and killing one of his own soldiers, I’d bet he wouldn’t have any trouble getting rid of me.
“You are well aware that you committed treason by stealing from the royal family of Everness, and therefore you must be punished without a doubt, Masked Bandit or not.”
I didn’t want to die, of course. But I had made the mistake of getting caught. This was what happened when I got caught.
“Tell me.” He stepped closer and grabbed my chin with his slender fingers. They were just as cold as I’d expected. He leaned over me slightly and pulled my mask down though my face was covered in dirt and grime and somewhat unrecognisable. Not that it mattered much now. He lowered his voice before asking, “Was it worth it?”
There was a mocking tone in his voice, a devilish grin on his face, and before I knew what I was doing, my saliva had left my mouth and rested on the smooth skin of his cheek. You could practically hear the intake of every breath in the room, and it was only after my action that I realised what I’d done.
I had spat in the face of the Crown Prince of Everness.
My eyes widened in surprise. I was definitely going to die now. Prince Lance must have seen the unmistakable look of regret written over my face, because his smile was sinister as he wiped his cheek with that beautiful tunic. He stood back.
“You ought to beg for my mercy and instead you insult me further?”
His voice rang through the throne room. My heart was beating in my throat like a lump, or even worse, like the noose that would be around my neck. He stepped forwards and grabbed me by the shoulders, pulling me up. “I should have you killed right here and now. Death is, after all, a mercy to someone like you.”
Someone like me? A lowlife thief.
He pushed me back into the hands of the guards. “Well, then?” His facial expression did not match the anger in his voice. “Have you nothing to say for yourself?”
I didn’t move. Couldn’t move. It was as if every muscle in my body had gone completely stiff. Every person in the room awaited his next words like a hungry lion waiting for its meagre prey. These monsters were actually hoping that it would be my death sentence. They always loved a good show.
“Have it your way, then. I sentence you to spend the remaining years of your hollow life rotting away in a prison cell.” He motioned to the guards. “Take her away.”
Immediately the crowd started murmuring. I had committed treason — we had established that. So, why on earth would he give me a prison sentence? Did he honestly expect me to believe he was a monarch of mercy, especially after what happened with the young guard?
Did he plan on being the charming sort that would woo the people with his many words, and yet have few actions to accommodate them? As far as my knowledge went, he’d had legislative power alongside his father for more than a few years and he had done nothing to make any of his subjects’ lives any better. The crowd continued their low chatter and I clenched a fist as the guards pulled me out of the room.
It didn’t make sense. Even he must have known that the people would have preferred a public execution to just another prisoner. An example of what would happen to anyone who tried to wrong the royal family. If he wanted to win their approval, then he would have done just that. So why was it more important to show mercy instead of creating fear? Fear was power after all, was it not?
I was dragged once again, away from the aristocracy and royalty and into the caverns of the palace where few dared to enter and even fewer ever came out alive. We’d heard stories about prisoners at the palace. When I was younger, I used to think they were only tales meant to scare children from getting caught doing something they weren’t supposed to do. But walking down the dark stone hallways, I wasn’t so sure about that anymore.
The cries from tortured men could be heard from afar and I tried not to gulp. I will not be afraid , I repeated in my head, though it did little to ease my angst. I would get out soon. My only concern was that soon wouldn’t be soon enough.
I was tossed into an empty cell before a key turned and the guard left me to my solitude. There was a mouse in the corner of the cell that swiftly scurried away upon my arrival.
“Sorry for the intrusion,” I muttered.
I scooted back until I could lean my head against the wall, knowing that by tomorrow morning my whole body would ache from sleeping on a stone floor. I could smell the breeze coming in through the barred window and I imagined what it would be like, had I been near the border now, instead of in a cold, musty prison cell.
Dinner was not a three-course meal... as was to be expected. I could only glare at the cold mush in the bowl before moving it away.
I could only hope that things were better back home. While rumour often got out of hand with my reputation as the Masked Bandit, I was good at thieving, and over the years it had become a responsibility of mine to ensure that my family stayed alive.
I thought about Uncle Arthur and how he was probably sitting at his table, with his hands in his hair, like he’d been doing most days for the past few months. And Ray. My childhood friend who taught me how to pick pockets. What would he say if he knew the trouble I’d got myself into? He’d probably just got back from hunting. Or maybe he was sitting in a tavern somewhere, listening to drunkards overshare valuable information. Ray had a special talent for spotting the perfect target when it came to thieving. And none of them knew I was in a prison cell. They were still expecting me to be home in a few days. And I had left them, had left my responsibility to take care of all of them. Not because I didn’t care, but because I cared too much. I had decided to run away, and look where it had got me.
There was a sound echoing through the prison passageways. Another scream. I cringed.
I had eyed everything on my way to the cell — the exits, the guards, the keys. Escaping would not be easy, but certainly not impossible.
It grew dark swiftly and I lay down on the cold tiles to attempt sleep, my cloak covering me, in the corner of the cell.
There wasn’t anything better to do... for now.
* * *
The sound of metal clanging woke me up with a start. I heard the cell door open, but it was dark and my head was clouded with sleep. Confused at my location and how long my slumber had lasted, I didn’t have time to react before two pairs of strong hands wrapped around my upper arms and I was being pulled out of the cell.
“Hey!” I don’t exactly know why I shouted or tried to yank free as they chained my wrists. I knew it was a hopeless effort. But I panicked, thinking Prince Lance had only pretended that he was sentencing me to prison and that I was being dragged out to be privately executed.
“Where are you taking me?”
The guardsman remained silent, staring straight ahead of him, his hands keeping a tight grip on my chained wrists. It was the one from the rooftop again, the one with the dark brown eyes. I was starting to get annoyed with his face. But I had a right to know if I was going to die, didn’t I? We followed a guard in front who carried a candle to light our way in the dark.
I kept quiet, realising I was being taken further away from the prison and deeper into the palace. They didn’t take people who were about to be executed for a tour of the palace, did they? So it must have been something else. It was pitch-black outside the windows, so I presumed it to be the early hours of the morning.
They marched me through long halls and corridors until I had almost completely lost track of how to get back. Eventually we stopped in front of two large wooden doors. I had a few ideas of what might be behind them. None of them were pleasing. The guard in front knocked twice and another guardsman inside opened the door. With little effort, I was pulled into the candlelit room.
The royal chambers.
The prince’s royal chambers, to be more specific.
Evident by the fact that there were the kinds of furnishings you would see in a sleeping chamber. The prince himself was lounging on a chair with his feet on the table, drinking a cup of what must have been wine. And though he had shed his tunic and only his white linen shirt was now visible, that darned crown still sat atop his head.
I wondered for a moment if perhaps he was drunk and then I wondered if I could use that to my advantage.
“You may leave.” He gestured to all of the guards.
“But, sire—” the one holding me protested.
“I thank you for wanting to protect me, Rhen, but you are dismissed.”
The prince repeated himself, half annoyed, and reluctantly the few guards left. Rhen unchained me and then closed the door behind him.
I stood frozen, unsure of what to do next, waiting for him to say something, to perhaps explain why I was there. He stared at my face and I knew my identity had already been revealed to at least half a dozen people. A character I had spent years creating... gone in a moment. But there would be no use in sulking about it. I tried to comfort myself with the thought that, should anyone start spreading stories about it, no one was likely to believe them anyway.
“Would you like something to drink?”
I glanced at the wine and shook my head. “No, thank you.”
“How was prison?” He asked casually, as if asking me about the weather.
I crossed my arms. “Not quite the luxury service I was expecting, but certainly a royal-quality stay.”
He chuckled, putting his feet down, and proceeded to get up from his comfortable seat.
I eyed him as he walked around the table, taking off his crown. Based on his mannerisms, I could definitely confirm that he was not drunk and I might even admit that I was slightly disappointed at this fact. To escape from a drunken prince would be much easier than from a sober one. My eyes scanned for the windows, my mind in the habit of looking for the quickest way out. Lance caught me doing this, but he didn’t say anything about it.
“So, you do talk? Tell me,” he started. The knot in my stomach tightened. My life was still in his hands. “Why did you try and steal that necklace?”
I wanted to grin, just a little. He might have had the upper hand in power, but I was a trained thief. Of course, I had a few tricks up my sleeve. I had to remind myself that even though I’d made a mistake, even though I’d got caught, I was still the best bandit in the business and that I would not be belittled by a spoiled prince any longer than I had to be. He could always have me hanged, but not if I escaped first.
“Tell me something first.” I tested the waters. Lance was unpredictable but I might still be able to talk my way out of this. It was worth a try. I had nothing to lose... Except maybe my head.
He tilted his chin up, his expression intrigued. “You want to ask me questions?”
“Why am I here?” I quickly replied, trying not to sound nervous or afraid.
Lance squinted a little. “I don’t think you’re in a position to be interrogating me.” His tone suggested a strange form of familiarity, as if we were old acquaintances. Before I could think of how to respond, he asked, “What is your name?” Not the question I was expecting, but one innocent enough that I might just be able to keep him distracted while I figured out my plan to get out of there.
“I have many names,” I replied somewhat truthfully. “Thief, rogue—”
“Masked Bandit.” He finished my sentence.
“You said I was an imposter.”
“But we both know you’re not.”
I started walking around the large oak table he’d clearly dined at earlier, each step calculated like a move on a chessboard. I slid into one of the chairs. What he failed to notice was the knife that was on the table, which I slid into my sleeve.
“I’m talking about your real name.”
I settled back comfortably as if I owned the room and all its luxurious décor. Even though my heartbeat pulsed in my ears, I couldn’t allow him to sense my fear. “I see,” I said, as if thinking it over. “And why is that of importance?”
“I like to be on a first-name basis with everyone who steals from me,” he replied, sounding almost bored. I once again found myself wishing he was drunk. Maybe he would be less of a prick.
He approached me slowly.
“I can’t imagine you would care about the identity of a pathetic little pickpocket.”
He came across as the kind of person who’d feel insulted if he had to breathe the same air as someone who didn’t have a title.
“Pickpockets don’t steal from the royal family.”
I stood and grabbed him by the collar with my left hand and pointed the knife at his throat with my right. His eyes went wide in momentary surprise.
Yes, little rich prince . I may never be your equal. But you should be afraid of me.
“You don’t want to do that.” Lance didn’t sound quite as desperate or afraid as I would have liked, but at least there was more uncertainty in his voice than before. “I have half a dozen guards waiting outside who’d be more than happy to escort you to your death.”
“Isn’t that why I’m here? So you can kill me yourself?” I spat out.
Lance gulped, the apple of his throat bobbing under the knife. “I have no intention of killing you.”
It was my turn to be surprised. “You don’t?”
“If I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead.” Maybe he did have a point. But that didn’t mean I was going to trust him.
“Then why am I here?” I remained unmoved, with one hand clutching his collar and the other holding the knife.
Lance tilted his head towards the table. “Maybe you’d like to put the knife down first.” I wouldn’t like to, but I didn’t want to risk him calling his guards.
“Fine.” I jammed the knife into the wooden table.
“What is it with you peasants always resorting to violence?” He rubbed his throat but I knew for a fact I’d caused no damage to his skin.
“Violence is an unfortunate consequence,” I answered. “Sometimes we must do unpleasant things to stay alive.”
“That’s the first thing you’ve said that we can agree on,” Lance admitted.
I wasn’t sure what he meant. What did he know about surviving? “You may call me Lara.” He looked almost disappointed for a moment and I suspected my name was neither as grand nor as sinister as he’d hoped it would be. But it was gone as quickly as it came. To my displeasure, he pressed his lips into some resemblance of a smile before saying, “Lance. My name is Lance.”
“I know that,” I replied. Obviously.
“An introduction is still considered polite manners from a prince.”
“You threw me into a prison cell — I think we are way past polite manners.” Never mind the knife I’d just held to his throat.
“You stole my family’s jewellery. Did you expect me to invite you in for tea?”
My jaw clenched in dissatisfaction. “Why am I here?”
“I’m afraid I’m not quite finished with my questions, yet,” he said. What kind of interrogation was this?
“So, tell me why you tried to steal that necklace?”
I looked around the room and spotted the family portraits that decorated the walls. They were beautiful, but clearly done a long time ago as the living successors were still young children. One of them was a painting of King Magnus and his first wife, Queen Estella, holding a baby boy with black hair that could only be Lance. The next one had the Queen with two baby girls in her arms. Princess Eloisa and her stillborn sister. The story goes that Queen Estella died after giving birth to the stillborn sister. I assumed the painting was an artistic impression, something the King wished could have been. The kingdom mourned for months, but that was before my time, so I have no memory of it. And the last one was a painting of the King, Lance a little older, and Queen Rivana. Rumour had it that King Magnus married her on a whim to save some alliance. The marriage didn’t last very long before it got annulled.
“I like the paintings,” I said, just to annoy him.
“Why did you try and steal that necklace, Lara?” His tone was firmer this time, dressed with a hint of annoyance.
I couldn’t help but let out a small sigh. “Try is an awful word.”
“What?”
“Try sounds as if you attempted to do something only to fail at it. At least, in the context you’re giving it.”
He frowned. “What are you insinuating?”
“I’m saying that I didn’t try to steal the necklace.” I reached into the hidden pocket in the back of my bodice before pulling out the string of fine-cut jewels and tossing it to him.
“I’m saying I did steal it.”
It could have been a stupid move, giving him the necklace, but I was slowly running out of options and bargaining chips. Jumping out of the window didn’t even seem like such a good idea anymore. I walked to the other side of the table.
His jaw slackened a little, to my satisfaction. “How did you...?”
“Steal it?” I allowed myself a small smirk. “Well, that’s my favourite part. You see, I was mid-escape when your guards caught up to me and took the necklace. One of them — what did you say his name was again? Rhen, I believe — placed it in his pocket.
“I should tell you that your guards are not immune to pickpocketing and that even an eight-year-old boy could have stolen that necklace back and replaced it with a fake, without being noticed — all before we reached the court. I’d originally planned to replace the necklace with a fake to buy me some time but then the whole plan went up in shambles when the guards discovered me.
“You might want to consider improving your security, Your Highness.” Of course they took any weapons I had, checking all the visible places, but thinking they had the real necklace, no one thought to inspect any further. “Now will you tell me why I’m here?”
He surveyed me for another moment before looking at the necklace in his hands and, after some inspection, realising that it was in fact his sister’s. His sister who was halfway across the kingdom, staying at the family’s Autumn Castle. I eyed him, expecting an answer to my question.
Instead I got another question. “Why?”
Why? I withheld a grunt of discontent . “I already answered your questions. Now answer mine.” Never mind stealing from him. I could be hanged simply for the way I was talking to the prince. Although his face didn’t tell me he was grossly offended.
“Yes, I’m afraid you’re not very good at bargaining.”
“You want to know why I stole it?” I asked. “Because there is good money in it, even you could have guessed that. That’s why people steal things... to get what they don’t have or can’t afford.”
Lance shook his head. “You’re not that stupid. There are a lot of things you could steal that would make you rich, none of which would be treason. This—” he held the necklace up, letting the string of jewels dangle between his fingers — “has a bigger purpose.”
Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as I thought. Not that it really mattered. He was still a prince. He was still the enemy. Perhaps I did have another bargaining chip after all.
“I have two conditions before telling you.”
There was that bored expression again. He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m listening.”
“After I tell you why I stole the necklace, you tell me why I am here.”
“And your second condition?”
My gaze shifted to the necklace. “My second condition is that I get to keep the necklace.” I was in so deep over my head, I didn’t think I’d be able to dig my grave any deeper. But I was too far gone to stop now. To my surprise, he tossed me the necklace, which I barely caught. Maybe he only did so because he still planned to kill me. But I had plans of my own.
“Deal.”
I stared at him, flabbergasted for a moment.
“Very well.” I tried to sound casual, but it would do little to aid me now.
“I want you to tell me everything, from the beginning,” he requested, and I took a deep breath.
“I was hired to steal the necklace.”
“By whom?”
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. “The person wanted to remain anonymous. I received a letter, with a sum of money, saying that if I stole the necklace, I could keep it. They gave me the location of the necklace and everything. I assumed this person had bad blood with the Crown, perhaps an ex-lover of Eloisa who didn’t want her to have it anymore, but didn’t want it himself either, you know... that sort of thing.”
“And none of this seemed even slightly suspicious to you?”
I placed my palms flat on the table. “Look, your people out there are starving. It doesn’t matter who asks you to do what, or if it is treason. If the money is good enough, most of us would do anything.” Lance didn’t come across as the caring sort of prince. No matter how much he might pretend to be one to the court.
“Besides, it’s just a stupid necklace — Eloisa has lots of jewellery, and I doubted she was going to miss one of her necklaces.”
Lance pressed his lips together, and my concern grew.
If I couldn’t jump out the window and I couldn’t talk my way out of there, I didn’t have many options left. His guards must still have been waiting outside the door. I couldn’t exactly just knock him unconscious and make a run for it.
“I’m afraid stealing this necklace isn’t as harmless an act as you thought.”
He walked over and took the necklace from me again. “This necklace being stolen could lead to war.”
My eyes widened. My anonymous benefactor had failed to mention this. Then again, why would they?
“My sister is engaged to the prince and future king of our neighbouring kingdom, Norrandale. This necklace was an engagement gift from Prince Cai to her.”
I frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Lance rubbed his chin in a moment of thought. “I was really hoping we would be honest with each other, Lara.”
Where was he going with this?
“You see, I know you didn’t tell me the whole story. Because you weren’t just asked to steal the necklace, you were asked to leave something in its place. Weren’t you?”
The letters. How could he possibly know about the letters?
“Did you know the contents of those letters when you left them in my sister’s possession?”
“No, I didn’t care. I’m not exactly opposed to committing treason, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“So you did know that you were possibly committing plotted treason.”
I felt my breaths getting shorter. “Of course I did. The question remains, how do you know?”
“They were fake romantic letters from a made-up secret lover, telling her how he loves the necklace she sent him as a token of affection.”
Maybe I should have taken the time or the care to read those letters before I placed them.
“You see, Prince Cai will be visiting the kingdom and my sister in a few days and he will expect her to wear the necklace at their engagement celebration. When it is discovered that she no longer has it, combined with the letters, Prince Cai and Norrandale will be furious to have been betrayed, and will wage war on Everness. King Eric’s army may be weak, but he has too much pride to let something like this go.”
He pulled up one of the chairs and sat down again. “I know all this, because I’m the one who hired you to steal the necklace.”
My mouth fell open, and my palms began to sweat.
“It was you? But why?”
“A few reasons actually. I needed the necklace without my sister getting suspicious, and I needed a thief. You have quite a reputation around here.”
“But you’re willingly putting your sister’s life and your kingdom in danger! And for what?” “We don’t have to do any of that.” I didn’t like him using the word we in a sentence when it meant the two of us .
“What are you talking about?”
He placed the crown atop his head again, still slightly askew. “As well as testing you, I needed to get you and the necklace in the same place at the same time. This was the easiest and most efficient way to do so. Now, I know about your loyalties and your skills. You are most welcome to applaud me anytime you wish.” At least now I knew why the guards were upon me so quickly. It was a set-up. By the royal heir, of all people.
I swallowed hard. I was wrong — he wasn’t a philandering, partying prince. No, he was a scheming, conniving liar. “What do you want from me?” What was all this for?
He took a sip of wine. “I need you to steal something for me.” I could hardly believe what I was hearing. All of this, everything, so I could steal something for him?
“And what is it that you want me to steal?” The question made him chuckle and I felt a pang in my stomach.
“I need you to steal from a prince.”