AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And that is?” Ishir asked.
“Don’t worry about it.” Sai buttoned the top of his jacket. “We have a few more details to work out but it’s under control.”
“Rumor has it,” Luz said, “that King Carrington keeps stolen items from other fae courts—such as the Memoria Globe—warded so that only humans can move them. He has human serfs who work in the palace.”
Sai licked his lips. “I have a plan for that as well.”
“All right.”
“Forgive me.” Ishir thrusted his gloved hands out. “Do you not give more of the plan than that? Are we supposed to walk in blindly?”
Sai shook his head. “Not blind. We are not individual units when we work a job. We’re each a piece of the whole. You’ll know what you need to achieve your role, Luz will know theirs, Orman his, and so on. Trust me. This isn’t our first grab.”
Ishir looked uncertain and skimmed his eyes over the rest of us. No one shared his shock or concern. We’d all—save Lira—completed many jobs with Sai. It was how he worked. We’d never failed before. We’d gotten into scrapes, but nothing we couldn’t get out of.
“Any more questions?” Sai asked.
“What’s a zevar?” Lira asked, the word stumbling off her tongue like it was foreign to her.
Orman cocked his head all the way to the side so that his ear rested on his shoulder. “You’re joking, aren’t you?”
In the cool blue her skin had turned in the moonlight, her cheeks darkened to navy with color.
“Where’d you get this one from, Sai?” Orman squinted at Lira. “Does she even have magic?”
Luz jumped down from the branch. “You better watch yourself, Orman. You’re speaking to a siren.”
Orman’s eyes widened as he appraised Lira with renewed interest. “Is that right, mate? Apologies. Apologies. No offense meant. I speak my mind, is all.” Then to Sai, “How did you get a siren tangled up in the dirty work we do?”
Lira looked confused, but Sai waved Orman off. “A zevar,” he said to Lira, “is a jewel that channels your magic when you receive your true name and bond with it. Isn’t that what your necklace is?” He pointed.
She lifted the chain, slipping the pendant between her fingers. “No. This is just regular jewelry.”
I bit my lip. “You mean your magic is raw and unchanneled?”
“I… I guess?”
Elisa patted her arm, and I looked at Sai. His eyes had widened incrementally, his only tell. If she could compel Sai with her magic untethered, what powers must lie within her depths? The thought was terrifying. I squinted at her. Perhaps this was all an act: the sweet, helpless siren with no magic who ‘just wanted help to the next town’, revealed enough of her magic to make her valuable, and now joined the group.
What if King Carrington or Prince Lennox had positioned her for this?
From Sai’s furrowed brow and the way he curled his finger over his mouth, his chin propped on his hand, he thought the same. Luz would know, wouldn’t they? But what if Lira’s magic was stronger than Luz’s? Sai cleared his throat. “Everyone in this group was raw when they joined.”
Orman guffawed. “Speak for yourself, mate.”
I rolled my eyes. Orman and his jokes.
“On to the plan. Neia, you’ll join Elisa on her trip to the mine.” I met Elisa’s gaze as she smirked at me. I wouldn’t complain about us having a few days alone together. “Luz, take Orman and Ishir to scope out the palace.”
“You got it,” Luz said and shot Ishir a grin. He looked behind him as if Luz had their attention focused on someone else before realizing it was him. He bowed then sank farther into the shadows of the forest. Attention wasn’t something he liked, apparently. That would serve well.
Sai continued, “Lira and I will garner some magic we’ll need.”
My stomach soured. Him and Lira alone together would provide them more time to work out whatever lingered between them, I guess, and it wasn’t during the job. I wasn’t sure I trusted Lira anymore. Sheseemedinnocent. Perhaps it was all an act, though. I cocked an eyebrow at Sai who shot me a look. He could handle it, of course. His magic wasn’t raw, and she’d only compelled him before because his wards were down. He wouldn’t do that on this leg of the trip. He’d be wary.
Plus, she’d slept beside him already. If she wanted to harm him, that would have been the perfect opportunity. Then again, she didn’t know the plan yesterday. A bad feeling sank in me. Sai stepped over to Lira, nearly touching her again, like metal dragged forward by a magnet.
A sigh rippled past my lips as he spoke. “Questions?”
