Fool’s Errand
Chapter sixteen
Fool’s Errand
Finn liked watching Lucianna move through the city.
There was a fluidity about the way she walked.
As though she were swimming in the shadows.
Her braided hair looked black, only turning deep brown when she passed beneath a streetlamp.
She knew how to avoid eyes, that was for certain.
The dress she’d chosen seemed the color of night itself.
And the routes she took consisted of alleyways and back gardens.
Just then, they were traipsing through an herb garden behind a series of stacked homes pressed together.
The owner was likely an apothecary, judging by the variety of medicinal herbs organized in planters.
There wasn’t much space for the garden, and it seemed to overlap into the cobblestone patio of the home to the right.
Up ahead, Lucianna paused at a wrought iron gate. She looked over her shoulder, raising a brow to indicate Finn wasn’t moving fast enough for her liking. She’d already made it quite clear that she’d rather be doing this alone.
“This is the Thornsbarrow house,” she said in a low tone. “Lady Thornsbarrow enjoys having guests over for dinner nearly every night. After dinner, she takes them to the library for cards and mulled wine.”
Lucianna gestured to a window on the back of the house that spilled light onto the lawn.
“That is the library. On the other side of the house is Cora’s window.”
Finn nodded in understanding.
“I take it we can’t go around the opposite direction?”
Lucianna shook her head, her braid swaying with the movement.
A sparkling hair pin nestled near her scalp caught Finn’s eye.
The accessory seemed unnecessary given her current style, but he did not pretend to understand the intricacies of female fashion.
His sister had made his ignorance known more than once over the years where that subject was concerned.
“Too many eyes. The street is lousy with nobles who have little else to do but stare out their windows and gossip.”
Finn smirked at the ire in her voice.
“Aren’t you a noble, Lady Lucianna?”
She rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately. Now, the only way we’ll stay out of sight is by using the hedges toward the back of the garden. There are still pockets of vulnerability, but we must hope that they are too deep in their cups at this point to notice us.”
“How many times have you snuck in here?” Finn asked.
Lucianna glanced behind them at the other house. Scanned the perimeter of the neighborhood. She did that a lot. There was never a moment when she was unaware of her surroundings.
“Enough to know we will get caught if you don’t follow my lead,” she replied smoothly.
Finn let out a soft chuckle.
“Very well. Lead the way, little thief.”
Lucianna scowled at the nickname but wasted no time in hopping the low gate.
Finn admired the ease with which she did so.
A longing to know what it would be like to spar with her in earnest flared to life within him.
His scalp tingled with the memory of her hand in his hair.
If he thought she would have received it well, he would have disarmed her and brought her to the ground beneath him.
But she needed a taste of control. Finn did not mind obliging her, especially when she made it so fun.
He followed Lucianna closely, creeping through the neatly trimmed landscape.
Lady Thornsbarrow’s back garden was twice the size of her neighbor’s.
She must have paid a hefty price, given that Enlight was scarce on property.
Finnick had heard of some ambitious folk buying up their neighbor’s properties when they died or experienced hardship.
Lucianna stopped, and Finn’s chest brushed against her back.
“Stay low. Crawl if you must. The hedges here are cut lower.”
She began moving again, still maintaining feline grace while crouching. Finn followed suit, taking care that his blond hair didn’t pop over the greenery. Soon enough, Lucianna stopped again, turning and sitting down with her back to a hedge. She met his gaze in the inky darkness.
“You must be fast and silent,” she told him. “Stay to the right as much as you can.”
He waited for more advice. None came.
“That’s it?”
Lucianna let out an indignant huff.
“It is a gamble to even be present in this garden right now. Hence why I wanted to come alone. Getting two people across the lawn is a fool’s errand.”
Finn shrugged as he came to terms with their odds. If for some reason he was caught, he could use his Gift and talk himself out of it.
“It would not be the first time I’ve been called a fool.”
“Nor the last, of that I am sure,” Lucianna said dryly before hopping into a low crouch once more. “I will go first. Wait a few moments, then follow me.”
Finn nodded, then watched as she disappeared.
He counted to twenty in his mind, then glanced around the bush.
Lucianna was already at the house. She’d moved fast indeed.
He took a breath, then shot into the dark to follow her, keeping to the right near the gate.
No exclamations came, so he hoped he’d been successful. He came to a stop beside Lucianna.
Unlike many homes and businesses on this street, this side of Lady Thornsbarrow’s house was not pressed to another. She was at the edge of the street, and there was a gap before the next assembly of houses began.
“Now, you will keep watch while I climb,” she ordered.
Finn glanced at her, then at the wall, then back at her.
“You’re going to scale the house?”
“Did you think there would be a ladder placed conveniently beneath her window?” Lucianna asked with a derisive laugh. “Yes, I’m going to scale it.”
“I can’t make out many footholds,” Finn marveled as he stared at the side of the house again.
“There aren’t many, but they’re there,” Lucianna muttered as she adjusted her scabbard belt. “Don’t get us caught while I’m gone.”
“You’re the one climbing in a noble’s window in a nosy neighborhood. Perhaps you’re the one who needs the reminder,” he argued.
“I can assure you, I do not.”
She turned to the wall and stretched one of her slender arms up until she dug her fingers into a gap in the bricks.
Finn crossed his arms and watched her carefully climb up toward the window.
He occasionally broke his mesmerized stare to survey their surroundings, but it was difficult not to focus on Lucianna.
She made the act look almost easy. He wondered what kind of training she must have endured to gather this level of skill.
A frown touched his lips when her progress halted.
She was close to the window, but he saw her struggle to grasp at a handhold.
The outer part of the window did not have a lip to grasp, just wood trim flush to the brick.
Perhaps she had miscalculated her route.
There was a chance she’d have to come back down and adjust.
Finn reached for one of his daggers. He eyed the spot above her fingertips in the moonlight.
It wasn’t an easy shot, but not impossible either.
He drew his arm back, aimed, and launched the dagger.
The weapon spun blade over hilt, glinting in the moonlight before it sunk into the wood trim that framed the window.
Lucianna froze for a moment, but then she grasped the dagger and used it to steady herself, while her other hand went into her hair.
She removed the pin he’d noticed earlier and went to work on the heavy lock outside the window.
A smirk tugged at his lips. The hairpin was a lockpick. Simple, but effective.
After some fiddling, the lock snapped open and Lucianna pushed the window in. Finn caught sight of bright red hair as a woman pulled Lucianna inside. His dagger was yanked out of the sill. Lucianna and Cora disappeared from view. And then he was alone. With nothing to do but wait.
He let out a bored sigh and turned to lean against the wall. However, as soon as he got comfortable, he heard a voice.
“The gardening society has dubbed my camellias the most beautiful in the whole capital,” a woman trilled. “They’re beautiful during the day, but the moonlight brings a certain romance to them that is unmatched.”
Finnick saw shadows flickering in the yard. Lady Thornsbarrow must have decided to take her guests to her garden. He glanced up. There was no way for him to signal Lucianna. If the lady of the house came anywhere near here, this entire mission would be derailed.
There was no way around it. He was going to have to reveal himself and distract them.
Though he preferred staying under the radar, this would give his Gift a chance to flow.
He’d begun to feel a bit restless keeping it under wraps as much as he had.
It felt like tensing his muscles for too long or clenching his jaw. A tired ache had built in his chest.
Finn released his hold on the power and felt his body buzz with the familiar warmth it brought. A smirk played on his lips as he sauntered around the corner. His wife might not like it, but Finn’s charm was about to save her.