I hesitated, feeling torn in multiple directions. Though I hated to admit it, the fact of the matter was that the mysteries had grown beyond my capacity to handle on my own; if I hoped to continue navigating this labyrinth of riddles, I would need a guide. For all his irritations, Evander appeared to hold several of the answers I desperately sought.
Yet the more awake I became, the more memories from the dream I was able to recall…namely the illusion of Evanderwarning me against trusting him. Nothing about his charming smile and dancing grey eyes seemed to bear any ill will…which only made him all the more dangerous.
The best way to figure out the reason for the warning given by the dream version of Evander and whether or not it could be trusted was to investigate him myself. Faith extended beyond words; with time, Evander would prove whether or not he was worthy of mine. Until I knew for certain, I didn’t want to discount the assistance of the one person who might be able to help me.
At my continued silence, some of his show of confidence faltered; he looked down at his feet, posture haunched in a manner that momentarily made me remember the dream version of him…if that was really him at all. Part of me hoped not, so I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of being the literal man of my dreams.
He appeared so nonthreatening in this moment, even innocent. I couldn’t quiet the secret part of myself thatwantedto trust him, a dangerous desire that went against my previous determination to always keep my distance from others. I’d always been an independent thief, and so far he hadn’t proved reliable enough to change that…though the risk certainly provided additional thrill.
“If I were to partner with you,” I began cautiously. “What would you need my help with?”
Evander hesitated. “I don’t particularly remember.”
For a moment I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly. “Pardon?”
He simply shrugged, as if to say ‘it can’t be helped,’ as if forgetting one’s goals that would require the services of a master thief was commonplace.
I sighed. “Do you at least know where whatever you’re after is?”
Once again he shook his head. So the man was not only unhelpful towards my goals, but now his own as well. This certainly complicated matters—I’d undergone many difficult heists, but at least I’d had something to go off of. Should I accept his request, this would be the first one I navigated almost entirely in the dark.
“Is there a particular reason why it’smyhelp you’re after?” He didn’t appear to be one who’d need to engage the services of a thief—or even a princess if it was my fake role he sought—but I more than anyone knew that appearances could be deceiving.
“You do possess quite the unique skillset, and your role as a royal grants you access to any part of the castle.” He lowered his gaze, a show of vulnerability that only persuaded me to his plea; if the man was a master manipulator, I was succumbing to his spell at an uncomfortable pace. “Then there’s the small matter that you’re the only one who can see me.”
He’d spoken the magic words—ones that should have assured me I would enter the exchange with the advantage. I was the only one who could see him, the only one he could appeal to. For all its risks, the power being firmly in my control made the partnership feel safe enough to accept—the dangerous wish some secret part of me had already chosen.
Yet rather than celebrate my triumph, I found the certainty oddly difficult to hold onto. I tried to ignore the disquiet pooling in my stomach as I took his hand. Unexpected warmth bloomed from the point of contact, slipping through my careful defenses before I could stop it. My pulse fluttered, and for a fleeting, reckless instant, I found myself wanting to hold on.
I hastily yanked my hand away. I’d learned not to trust anything too perfect, especially not dreams that bled into waking. And yet here I was, striking a bargain with a man who may or may not exist, whom I’d been warned couldn’t be trusted.
Evander had a maddening way of making every exchange feel like a contest I had not agreed to and yet couldn’t resist playing. Every time I thought I’d gained ground, he met me there with a smirk, a deflection, or a teasing quip that tipped the balance again, so that I was no longer certain who held the upper hand.
I ought to have found the sensation intolerable. Instead, to my growing alarm, I found myself drawn to it. I had spent my life priding myself on my ability to outmaneuver traps, to stay three steps ahead of anyone who might try to corner me. But each time Evander slipped from my grasp and seized the advantage for himself, some treacherous part of me thrilled at the challenge. I liked that he could best me. The more often he slipped beyond my reach, the more keenly I felt the thrill of pursuit.
Which meant he was more dangerous than any lock, any guard, or any curse this palace had yet thrown in my path.
I had spent my entire life outmaneuvering traps. Yet somehow, with Evander, the danger wasn’t losing the game—it was that the longer we played, the less certain I was that I wanted to win.
CHAPTER 14
Moments into this new partnership and I already regretted it. It wasn’t merely that Evander and I possessed the unfortunate combination of two strong personalities accustomed to each getting our own way—though that alone promised endless conflict. Worse than vying for control was the unsettling effect he had on me. I had always relied on my instincts to guide me through danger, yet around him those instincts felt strangely unreliable, as though the compass of my judgment had begun to spin out of my control.
Which made the first task of our partnership all the more inconvenient: escaping the locked room together, a feat made all the more challenging with the secret passageway’s disappearance. The challenge might have felt like a welcome puzzle had I been alone. But with Evander watching my every move, the game carried an unfamiliar edge of anxiety.
A quick perusal of the room didn’t reveal any other concealed passages. I stared longingly towards the window, the most convenient solution under normal circumstances. I doubted the option was feasible for a man who’d spent his life as a pampered prince. But he had surprised me on more than one occasion.
“Does your regal skillset happen to extend to escaping through the window or scaling walls?” I asked hopefully.
He lifted a brow. “I should have suspected such a question after witnessing you on the rooftop, yet I still find myself surprised. Unfortunately, I’ve always lived my life with both feet firmly on the ground; I haven’t so much as climbed a tree.”
Unsurprising, yet disappointing all the same. Escape would have been within easy reach had I been alone…at least as long as the cursed weariness didn’t strike again. Strangely, I didn’t feel too much regret at the added complication, which only deepened my annoyance.
“Too bad,” I said. “I might have found you more interesting.”
His lips twitched. “Perhaps one day you can teach me when the stakes aren’t quite so pressing; it can be a courtship outing.”
My heart fluttered at the thought before I could stop it. “I’m only interested in stealing objects, not hearts.”
