~ 2 ~
ANYA
My foot taps restlessly against the wet stone. It’s been for-fucking ever. The scout said they had entered through the southern door an hour ago. How long does it take a trained unit led by the princess herself to get down a hallway? Seriously. We even closed off all the side passages to make it easy for them.
Bunch of royal snails. I don’t wanna wait anymore.
I sigh, louder than I probably should. The sound echoes in the cramped darkness; Minx gives me an annoyed look from where they’re crouched.
I shrug and jerk my chin. With a roll of their eyes, Minx presses their thin face back to the crevice in the wall.
We’re in the tight remains of a servant’s corridor, looking through a crevice that overlooks the main hallway. The long chamber below must have once been a greeting hall or meeting space back when this part of the estate was a temple. Now, it’s stripped to the bare bones. And disappointingly dark.
“You sure they had torches?” I whisper to Minx.
“Kind of hard to mistake a bunch of fire balls in the dark,” Minx hisses. “You think I’m an idiot, Anya?”
“Nah. I think they’re idiots.” I stretch, but the corridor is too small—I have to bend my elbows and press my hands against the low ceiling. The tiny candle nestled among the rubble at our feet flickers as I move. It gives us barely enough light to see, but not so much that it would shine through the crevice and be visible below. Probably.
The royal army is laughably slow. It took them the better half of a day to form a circle around the ruins. From there, they slowly tightened the ring, attempting to create a chokehold. In theory, it’s clever—cut off supplies and prevent anyone from coming in or out, right? In actuality, none of us use the front door. These upper ruins are almost always empty. We’ve got more than enough space down in the labyrinth of tunnels below.
I didn’t include that in the tip I planted for Her Highness, of course.
A brazen lack of valid knowledge didn’t stop her, though, oh no—Princess Sabri came marching in, torches shining and army in their loud and clunky regalia. I’m willing to bet she thinks she has us surrounded, which is, again, absolutely hilarious. That’s nobles for you.
“Maybe the critters got ‘em,” I offer, only partially joking.
There’s no way that some creepy crawlies would stop Princess Sabri when she’s got her one-track mind set on something, but if the ruin locals took out a few royal guards, it wouldn’t keep me up at night.
Minx snorts quietly. “What critters? You cleared them all out.” They pause, readjusting their knees on the hard floor. “Well, most of them.”
I shrug in shared amusement.
The minutes trickle by like snow melting in late winter.
“Minx,” I say.
They grunt, not looking.
“You definitely saw the princess enter the ruins, right?”
Minx turns around to level me with a flat look.
“Yeah, yeah. Not an idiot. I know.” I twist my hand, pretending to observe the rings on my fingers. “Just tell me.”
“She’s here. For sure.”
“Good.” I can’t have her ruining this for me, too.
I tuck my fingers one by one, curling them into a fist. I squeeze, then shake them out.
Minx’s already thin eyes narrow further. They lean back from the window, crossing their arms over their bony chest. “The others were right. You seem tenser than usual.” Their expression softens slightly in a questioning way. “Are you sure you’re okay to do this?”
“Absolutely.” I might be a little riled up—after all, this has been in the making for a long, long time—but there’s not a drop of doubt in my mind.
Minx scoots closer, looking up at me from beneath their messy bangs. “It’s risky bringing the Crown here. And to confront them alone? We all trust you, Anya, but how can we know this is going to be worth—”
“Shh!” I slap a hand over Minx’s mouth.
Their glare is more bitter than any curse they could have flung at me.
“Look,” I whisper, nodding to the window.
Minx twists their head to peer into the hallway below. In the distance, the far wall is slowly changing color.
I can’t help the smirk that sneaks onto my face.
She’s here.
“You get into position with the others,” I say to Minx as I blow out the candle. The tight space plunges safely into darkness. “Don’t let any of them give you trouble, especially the one with the medals—he’s tenacious.”
“Will do.” There’s a shuffling sound as Minx crouches into a stand. “You sure you don’t need backup…?”
“Nah.” I’m the only one who can handle the princess; I know more about her than anyone else.
Besides, no one has more of a right to her than I do.
All these years. What are you gonna think, I wonder?
I had been content to blaze my own trail, determined to not look back and not fall into grudges, but with the Thieves’ Guild under my control and times turning desperate, we need to go bigger. And what better way to poke at the Crown than from the inside? If fate wants me to mess with an old “friend” in the process, then all the better.
“Go on,” I urge Minx.
I feel their hand on my shoulder for a moment before the air shifts. There’s the sound of shuffling fading down the corridor and Minx is gone before my eyes have readjusted to the dark.
Through the crevice, flickering light is visible against the far wall. I can hear the distant echo of footsteps. They’ll enter the chamber below in a few more seconds.
Part of me wants to stay—to see her with my own eyes, even from far away. It’s been such a long time...
But we’ve got a plan, and pieces are finally falling into place. It took months to work this out and get everything lined up, and I’m not going to risk it all for a whim. The new Thieves’ Guild and all the people who rely on us depend on this operation going smoothly. I can’t let anything—especially useless memories—get in the way.
I take a deep breath, trying to direct the adrenaline spiking through my veins into excitement rather than nerves. I fix my black scarf securely around my head, making sure it covers the bottom half of my face.
With one last glance, I push away from the window and head toward the trap room.