Page 21 of Heart of Thieves

Damn Enzo and his blasted magic.

I would have stolen more strength by now if I’d come across anybody, but the streets are empty and quiet, and I don’t have time to stop at one of the taverns. But if I show up to Jade this weak, she’s going to know something’s up, and I can’t seem to think of an explanation that won’t draw her suspicion. The last thing I need is for any of the Tentacles to start looking my way. As soon as Enzo catches even a whiff that I’m doing something he doesn’t know about, the Unbreakable Lie will make it even more impossible to get answers, up to possibly preventing me from ever being Nocturne again.

A raucous shout draws my attention as a woman drags a disheveled, pink-faced man out of a cabaret across the street.

“And don’t even think about coming home until you’ve sobered up!” the woman snaps in his face.

“But, Gisela—” he splutters.

She slaps him hard, and he loses his balance, toppling back on his rump.

“I mean it.” She turns on her heel and stalks off down the road.

Relief courses through me. If I can siphon this man’s strength, I can mitigate my risk of being discovered. Besides, no one is going to worry if a drunk man can’t stand up for a few hours.

Glancing both ways to make sure no one is watching, I stagger across the road. I don’t even bother to get the man’s attention—the less he remembers, the better. I press my voratium bracelet to the back of his neck.

“What the—” He swings an arm, but I hold my hand in place, drawing his strength through the metal and into my body.

Instantly, my limbs stop quaking and the swimming in my head recedes.

The man slumps sideways, arms going limp. I roll him onto his front and hit him over the back of the head with my briefcase.

“Sleep it off,” I say, checking his pulse to make sure I didn’t hit him too hard. Then I render the palm of my hand noncorporeal in order to make the briefcase vanish before darting around the corner to where Jade is fidgeting in the shadows.

“Lola!” Jade hisses when I reach her. “I was just about to come after you!”

“Sorry. Lost track of time.” I offer her a smile. “How was your gran?”

“Crotchety. Told me to come back with cake or don’t come back at all.” She grins. “So I went and stole one from Annie’s Bakery.”

“Annie’s are the best!” I gasp. “Why didn’t you bring me some?”

“I would have, except Gran threw it at my face.” Jade laughs. “Apparently she doesn’t like poppyseed.”

“Who in their right mind doesn’t like poppyseed?”

“Gran clearly isn’t in her right mind.” She snorts. “Come on.”

We skirt the edge of the beach to the pier, where we approach the water in shadow, whispering and laughing as we go. With every step, flashes of the last hour spear through my thoughts. My father offering a deal to track down the Thief. Enzo tackling me to the sidewalk. Nic pointing a pistol at my face.

That buzzing builds underneath my skin like an itch. The Unbreakable Lie warning me that I’m feeling too much, that Enzo is going to pick up on these emotions soon. But no matter how many calming breaths I take, no matter how many times Jade makes me laugh, no matter how soothing the rush of ocean waves is against my ankles, I can’t seem to get Nic’s stone-cold glare out of my head.

Or hers.

I recognized Laurel from the memory Nic shared with me of their first kiss the instant I glimpsed her next to him. The heart-shaped face and long, flowing brown hair. The sparkling eyes and rosy cheekbones. But she’s a young woman now, her curves fuller, her mannerisms more refined.

Has he loved her all this time? Is that why he turned me away after his tournament?

Did he still care for her when he was whispering my name in a bioluminescent cave, when he was commanding me to worship him with his lips at my throat, when he was kissing me against an elevator wall?

“I’m still out of space,” Jade says, holding up her wrist, where her Tentacle tattoo glows faintly, each sucker flickering turquoise.

“I should have enough left for both of us.” I don’t show her my arm because she’d see my tattoo is already full, too, but there are a few empty chips on my bracelet that should work for now.

Grasping her hand, bracelet draped between our palms, I pull on more of Enzo’s magic. We vanish instantly and advance into the sea.

Without bodies or clothing hindering our progress, we jog through the water easily. It sloshes over our heads, plunging us into utter quiet. Schools of tiny fish dart through me, and coral claws in my peripheral vision. An eel ripples past, electricity sparking under its skin, and my thoughts stray to the myths my father used to tell about the zenithic demons of the Deep. We never believed in the Gods Above or their demon counterparts in the waters, but it was fun to tell their stories. The god of pain, Yaurot, was said to have arms and legs like electric eels, and I imagine him now, slithering alongside me in this shadowy underwater stillness.