Page 52 of A Thief Among Fae

“Then let’s start with lesson one.” He sits down on the chair, leans back, and kicks his legs out. “Thirty push-ups.”

I raise a brow at him. “Why? That’s not a lesson.”

“Battles don’t wait for the late.” He nudges the mat with his foot. “Argue, and it’ll be fifty.”

Swallowing back a retort, I drop to my hands and knees. He watches me during every repetition, even as he drinks another sip of water.

At least all the farm work has toned my arms. I finish and roll up to my feet.

Desmond teases his bottom lip. He swallows, then stands. “Let’s start with your form.”

As he walks me through defensive stances, teaches me how to jab and punch without losing balance, and corrects my form with surprising gentleness, I realize he’s not telling me how to use my Gift to fight. After two hours of drilling me through the basics of hand-to-hand combat, I finally cave.

“Why aren’t we focusing on my Gift?” I ask, slumping into the chair to catch my breath. Desmond hands me the pitcher of water, and I drink.

He takes it back from me and drinks from the same spot my lips lay, but nothing in his expression suggests that he’s noticed. “That’s something you need to figure out yourself,” he says. “No one knows your Gift better than you. All I can do is give you ideas.”

“Then give them to me.”

“That would be going easy on you.” He smirks. “We’ll practice with blades tomorrow. Right now, we need to work on your strength.” Yet he pauses, then beckons me to follow him into the hall.

I’ll take whatever break I can get.

Except when I step into the hall, a too-familiar smile makes me debate turning around.

Rune Erickson looks the same as Norwynhald, with half of his black hair swept into a bun and his short beard perfectly trimmed. His teal eyes are bright, sparkling like sapphires.

He winks at me. “Did you miss me, darling?”

“Not a chance.” A lump rises in my throat. Desmond warned me not to tell anyone about my family, but the master of the thieves’ guild has already seen Evie. Despite his smile, something about the way he holds himself warns that he is not a man to be trifled with.

Love, power, wealth, I remind myself as I force a matching smile. However dangerous he is, you always have the upper hand if you know what your foe desires.

Chapter 15

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance again,” Rune Erickson says to me. “Regrettably, I have not yet learned your name.”

“Cyn. Maybe if you weren’t so busy gloating to me at Norwynhald, you would’ve remembered to ask for it.”

He laughs. “It’s always a pleasure to be in the company of women who don’t pull punches. Anyway, Cyn, Nog has informed me that you’re here to assist with the tomb raid. I trust you have no foul intentions toward the guild?”

“I—”

“She swore a vow with me,” Desmond interrupts. He stands beside me and angles his body toward mine. It’s a stance I’m familiar with, from guarding Evie during childhood when the village bullies confronted us.

I take a half-step forward. I don’t need his protection.

Rune’s posture remains relaxed. He doesn’t reach for a weapon. In fact, he doesn’t have any on him. Yet the way the two men glower at each other reminds me of rams squaring up to fight.

“I much prefer old-fashioned trust,” Rune says. “A partnership built on lethal vows. . . Well, that’s hardly a partnership, is it?”

“Like ‘they who betray shall be hanged’?” I say. Sounds like hypocrisy to me.

Surprise flashes in Rune’s eyes, but then he insouciantly waves. “We can’t let those who betray our trust get away unpunished, can we? This is the finest thieves’ guild in all of Avedor, and you are more than welcome here.” He has the gall to wink.

Another door in the hall thuds open, and Maeve runs over, soil under her nails. “Guildmaster!” she exclaims. “I didn’t know you were back. How did the auction go?”

“It was a bust,” Rune replies. “Lord Snow-Shod outbid me threefold.”