Saeldian lied better than anyone Kell had ever met. They lied so well that Kell could only spot their deceit when he knew the truth. They even looked genuinely surprised and upset to learn what had happened to Kell. But he knew better.
“No. You don’t get to pretend you’re innocent.”
Saeldian smirked. “When would I ever claim to be innocent?”
“When it got you what you wanted.”
They nodded. “Fair. But you know me too well to believe me.”
Saeldian smiled, all sparkle and presence. Kell leaned away as if it would snap the threads of enchantment Saeldian never stopped spinning. Still the same. Still relentless. Still like a magnet that drew everyone closer.
It hit him then—their hair was longer, their clothing suited to the blossoming eve of Waterdhavian spring, and that was all. Ten years were ten days to their face. Black hair held back by a beaded band and allowed to tumble around them in shivering, bouncy curls—Kell still remembered just from looking at them how soft those curls were. An expertly applied layer of makeup covered their golden-blush skin, but their eyes still shone like a starry night. The same curving lips and strong bones that made people stare at their beauty and mystery.Looks like a lodestone,he’d said once, and they had laughed.
Saeldian looked just the same as the day they’d left, wearing the same subtle illusion that perfected their features. Was it the illusion magic that left them looking so young? Or was that the timelessness of elf-human beauty?
When they turned their face away, Kell finally realized he’d been staring.
“I do know you too well, Saeldian.” Kell tried to add just enough boredom to make that perfect façade crack, but all they did was roll their eyes.
“You see,” they said to Briona. “It’s best if I go. Release me and Jubilee. Let him have the job.”
“I said don’t do me any favors.” Kell turned to Jubilee. “I don’t know you. But I know your story. You were a pickpocket, weren’t you? A light set of fingers. You could steal purses, trinkets in shops, but you got your start with stealing food. Bread?”
Jubilee made a face. “Cinnamon.”
“Daring. Why cinnamon?”
“Ran out,” Jubilee said. “M—Someone needed it for a cake.”
Kell had an idea about what the first thing a thief ever stole meant about the person. Saeldian had taken coin from theirfather’s purse so they could sneak away and disappear. After Terandis had pushed Kell out of Essanderon’s Rest and into the Material Plane, Kell waited for his father to come through and tell him that it was safe again. On the third day, he had been so hungry, he stole a pie hot enough to burn his hands from a windowsill. It had been made from mortal fruit and not of the crust Terandis cut with two magically chilled knives. Every bite told him he would never have Terandis’s anyberry pie again.
But Jubilee’s first theft stung his heart. “Stealing helped people you loved. Then one day you saw a fat purse swinging from the hip of an oblivious…young man? Head in the clouds, or reading a book and walking at the same time?”
Jubilee’s lips tightened, but she glanced at Saeldian, who was standing still and quiet.
“You got caught. But when the pretty elf caught you, they offered you a job, and your share was more money than you ever saw stealing from shops.”
Saeldian didn’t move as Kell told the story of how he and Saeldian met, but Jubilee leaned forward a little.
“Charmhand’s great. Clever, right? Fun and funny. They make you feel like you’re half of a whole. Bread and butter. You’ve been dressing better for years. Eating better. And it’s fun to pull off these schemes, isn’t it? You never imagined what a good friend you’d have, or how you could do anything, even though it’s just the two of you against the world.”
That was the wrong thing to say. Kell felt it the moment he said it.
Jubilee leaned back. She shook her head. “You’ve got it wrong. Sheld isn’t like that. They’re walking away to let you have a chance. And your thanks is this—telling a mean little story from a cold reading off a mark, trying to take their friend away.”
Fuck.
“Come on, Sheld.” Jubilee stood up. “You’re right. It isn’t worth it.”
Now Saeldian looked shocked, but this time at Jubilee. “I did catch you stealing my purse while I walked and read a novel.”
Jubilee shrugged. “Oldest trick in the book. Come on. The roof will keep.”
Briona set her goblet down, and the soft thump snared everyone’s attention. “Well! Interesting backstory. I’m quite intrigued, of course. But now, to the point. You agreed to the job, Saeldian. You did too, Jubilee. Explicitly. Neither of you are going anywhere, so you may as well sit down and hear the rest.”
“Release us,” Jubilee said. “We don’t know anything, so you can let us go. We’re not stupid enough to tell anyone.”
“Release you?” Kell asked. “What are you talking about?”
