Chapter 4
Lucy: The Heart Wants What It Wants, and the Heart Is Stupid
Lucy’s heart hammered in her ears. Sebastian? What’s he — She stopped herself. It didn’t matter what he was doing there, now, in front of her when supposedly… No, she couldn’t do this. Not right now.
Instead, she glared at him. “I hope you’re happy. Because of you, I probably just missed the only chance I’ve had for a job since I arrived in the city,” she growled.
Sebastian blinked, picking his jaw up off the floor. “Why would getting caught stealing—wait, why were you stealing? And from Oliver, of all people?”
“It’s none of your business,” she snapped. “I didn’t know it was Oliver, otherwise—”
“Otherwise you would have stopped to say hello, of course,” Oliver said, ambling up behind them. “Or chosen a different mark. Which response do you think would make him less mad?” He gestured to Sebastian with his head.
“It’s not funny, your grace,” Sebastian said through gritted teeth. “Oliver, she was stealing. She was probably working for that guy in the cleric’s disguise. Who knows how many people—”
“None. When you oh-so-gracefully interrupted, they were…making me prove myself, I suppose you could say. To see where I fit in. But now, they’re probably going to wash their hands of me.
Not because I couldn’t do it, but because I got caught,” Lucy muttered.
“Thanks a lot to both of you, by the way.” She shoved her way past the two men.
“Wait, Lucy, don’t go,” Sebastian said, grabbing her wrist. For a second, she froze, staring at where his dark skin met her fair complexion.
“Yeah, we were actually down here looking for you,” Oliver joined, oblivious to her mental gymnastics.
Lucy tore her gaze away from where Sebastian was touching her to stare at the two men. “Looking for me?”
“Yeah.” Sebastian fairly spat out the word. “Despite my misgivings…” Here, he looked back at Oliver before turning his gaze back to her. He took a deep breath and continued, “We need to talk.”
Lucy blinked at him in disbelief. “Now you want to talk?” she sputtered. “Two years later?”
Sebastian’s face darkened. “What? No, I—”
Lucy wrenched her wrist away from him. “Even you have to admit, it’s a little late to go digging up the past. And even if it wasn’t, I would rather—”
“As much as I think both of you would do well to hash things out, he wasn’t talking about that,” Oliver intervened, stepping between the two. “He wants to talk to you about a job.”
Lucy stared at him. “A job?” She studied the young duke, searching for any sign of mischief in his eyes.
At school, when it was just the three of them, Oliver had once had a penchant for teasing, though he rarely was meanspirited about it.
If he was lying now…she’d gladly find a way around Sebastian to exact her revenge.
Sebastian seemed to read her mind because he elbowed Oliver out of the way. “It’s not a joke, I swear. My father gave me a new mission, and Oliver suggested you might be a good support person.”
“Does this job pay?” Lucy asked, arching her brow.
Sebastian scowled. “Of course. Why do you ask?”
“Shiloh’s sick. And so is my grandmother.
We’re looking for a companion for Gran, since lately if one of the pack doesn’t visit, she doesn’t eat,” Lucy said.
She looked at where her feet shuffled against the cobblestones.
“Eden’s training with Dad and Judah’s working more hours at the shop, but they’re still not making enough money for both a companion and the medicine for Shiloh, so I came back here to find work.
Or at least, I was trying to.” The words came out in a rush, and for a moment, she couldn’t meet either man’s eyes.
“Is this the grandmother who lives in Umber or the grandmother that lives in Talon?” Sebastian asked.
Lucy couldn’t help but stare at him. He remembered where both her grandmothers lived? She couldn’t fathom it. Then she realized he’d asked her a question. “Umber,” she said hurriedly.
Sebastian nodded. “Okay, good. The Umberian palace isn’t far from her place. You’ll be perfectly situated to ensure she’s getting the care she needs. And I’ll also arrange for the healer to visit her within the first day we’re there.”
“You can do that?” Lucy breathed.
Oliver smirked. “For you? Sebastian would tear down the world.”
Sebastian glared at him. “Shut up.” Turning back to Lucy, he shrugged. “From what I understand, there’s usually a healer attached to missions like these. It’s no big deal.”
No big deal. That had been one of his favorite lines when they were courting.
It was no big deal that he brought her flowers or stayed up with her when she was as sick as a dog or comforted her when another full moon had gone by and she hadn’t manifested.
But it was also what he said when he was late meeting her at the tavern.
Or when he had accidentally knocked her into the water with his ever-moving wings. Or…
“What type of job is this, exactly?” Lucy asked, pushing the thought away. “Why would we be at the Umberian palace?”
Sebastian hesitated, shooting a glance toward people bustling back and forth in the street behind them. “It’s…it’s better that I don’t talk about it here. You never know who might overhear something they shouldn’t.”
Lucy bristled. “No one is listening. Stop being so paranoid.”
“It’s not paranoia when people are really out to get you,” Oliver quipped.
“And are people out to get you?” Lucy asked, turning to Sebastian.
“No, but…” He let out a sigh that might have doubled as a growl if he’d been one of the pack. “Just come to the palace this evening and we’ll talk about it at the briefing, okay?”
Lucy huffed. “Why do you always have to be so mysterious?”
Sebastian scowled again. “Why do you have to ask so many questions?”
The two glared at each other, ire in both of their eyes.
Oliver just shook his head. “I see some things never change,” he muttered.
He placed a quelling hand on Sebastian’s shoulder and turned to Lucy.
“Look, Lucy, Sebastian doesn’t have many answers either.
Sir Xander just assigned him this mission this morning.
He won’t have many of the answers you’re looking for until Lady Quinn briefs him, and we hoped that you’d be with him when she did. ”
Sebastian gave a sullen nod, not meeting Lucy’s eyes. “Yeah. What he said.”
“Please, Lucy,” Oliver said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Just come to the palace. Hear Lady Quinn out. If you don’t want the job, I’ll talk to the palace housekeeper myself and find you a position.”
Lucy frowned. “I’m not some charity case, Olly. You know better than anyone that I can make my own way. I don’t need your pity.”
“Dragon’s teeth, anyone who spends over five minutes with you knows that you are perfectly capable of making your own way.
” Sebastian shook his head. “And we’re not asking out of pity.
We’re asking because we actually do think that you could help me…
us…whatever,” At last, he made eye contact with her, offering a small smile.
Lucy wavered. “I don’t know…there’s gotta be someone else who would be better for whatever this is. I’m not exactly the soldier type.”
“Well, this isn’t exactly a soldier’s mission,” Sebastian said.
His wings flitted behind him. “Please, Lucy. This is the first assignment that my father has given me that lets me out of his sight for more than a day or two. I can’t screw this up.
I need someone in my corner who won’t tattle to him at the first sign of trouble. ”
Lucy studied him for a moment. “And you really think I’m the person for the job?”
Sebastian glanced at Oliver, who gave an encouraging nod. “I think that when it comes right down to it, there’s no one else I would trust to be at my side. We always worked well together, didn’t we, Luce?”
Lucy bit her lip, as she remembered exactly what working well together used to entail. “We did that, yes.” She sighed. “Fine. I’ll come to this briefing. But if I don’t think I’m the right fit for the job, I reserve the right to back out, alright?”
“Fair enough,” Oliver said. “But you will be the right person. I know it.” He replaced his disguise and gave Lucy a wave.
“I’m headed back to the library. They’ve got some new magical medicine texts in.
Bye, Lucy. Sebastian, I’ll tell Leonard that your mission was a success.
” With that, he left the alley, leaving Lucy and Sebastian alone.
For a moment, they stared at each other in silence, not sure what to say. Sebastian ran his hand over his closely shaved head. “So…er…you said Shiloh is sick. Are the rest of your brothers and sisters…”
“They’re fine,” Lucy replied. “Well, mostly fine. The ones who have manifested are looking for their mates. Judah’s pining over some beta in the Silverline pack, and Eden’s all but promised to one of the pack alphas. I’m glad that the twins are still too young to worry about all that.”
“I feel the same way about Bridget,” Sebastian said with a weak smile, naming his half-sister. “She just started working as a chambermaid in the palace, but I’m dreading the day she falls for some footman or stableboy.”
“Well, she’ll have you looking out for her. I’m sure it will all work out fine,” Lucy offered.
“I’m not, but thanks for the vote of confidence.” Sebastian’s shoulders hunched. “Look, Lucy, about what I said earlier—”
“It’s forgotten. We should focus on whatever this job is, right? No distractions.” Lucy forced another smile.
He opened his mouth to argue but stopped, apparently thinking better of it. “Okay, but…Lucy, who was asking you to steal to prove yourself? How deep are you in there?”
She just shook her head. “I’m not deep at all. As I said, they were just asking me to prove myself. If they don’t hear from me, they’ll probably assume that you’ve arrested me or kicked out of the city. They won’t come looking for me.”
“Who is ‘they?’” Sebastian pressed. “Was it the Piper’s Guild? Sherwood Company? The Fey Ring?”
Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not going to tell you that, Seba. They don’t care about me right now, but if I went around blabbing, that’d be a sure shot to make them care.
Sebastian frowned. “I’m not so sure. A lot of these vagabonds are interconnected. They might think you know more than you actually do. And if they figure out what we’re doing—”
“They won’t. I’m too insignificant for them to worry about me, I told you. They know nothing about me and I know nothing about them. Trust me, I’m not important,” Lucy insisted.
Sebastian muttered something she couldn’t quite hear before gesturing for her to follow him. “Come on. We should get back to the palace. We don’t want to keep Lady Quinn waiting.”
Lucy nodded. “Right.” She paused. “Hey, Sebastian?” He stopped, looking at her expectantly. “Thanks. For, you know, thinking of me. I really do need this job.”
“Don’t thank me,” Sebastian said, ducking his head. “Oliver had the idea. I just agreed to come look for you.”
Lucy’s stomach dropped, disappointment welling up in her chest. “Oh. Well, still…thanks for agreeing.”
Sebastian gave her another smile. “It’s no big deal.
Come on. If we hurry, we can sneak some food from Mom before our briefing.
” With those words, he shoved his hands in the pocket of his uniform and strolled out of the alley, his body tense with feigned nonchalance. After a moment, Lucy followed him.
As they made their way through the crowd, she found herself looking for any sign that someone from the Sherwood Company was watching.
She couldn’t see anyone, but there was a prickle on the back of her neck that told her she was being watched.
She shivered and prayed that she’d been right to tell Sebastian that she wasn’t important enough for them to care about.