AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Damn, this woman has her really wound up.“Yes, ma’am.”
She sighs, then shakes her head. “This is the guest from that room. Her fire opal necklace is missing, and… you were the last person in her room.”
My stomach drops. “What are you saying?” I want her to say it, to verbally accuse me of stealing. Otherwise, I’m not going to suggest it. If this is some kind of trap, I won’t be lured into it.
“I need to search you,” Alexi says in an almost whisper. She looks everywhere but at my face.
“Because you think I stole it?” I ask, coldly.
“Because it’s valuable, and we need to be sure,” she answers, her voice almost kind.
I want to argue, but that would only make me look guilty. Glancing over at the fae woman, she glares at me, and it takes everything in me not to stick my tongue out at her. I don’t know what her deal is, but if she thinks just because I’m human, I’m a thief, she’s about to learn a lesson.
“Of course,” I say, my voice sickly sweet.
I drop my bag on the floor and lift both of my arms out to make a T with my body. The first pocket she reaches into is the one with the food I’ve stolen, which I’d forgotten about until that very moment. Fuck, okay, so I’m a little bit of a thief, but not one who steals jewelry.
It’s hard to keep my face steady, not admitting any guilt or regret as she finds it. Taking food shouldn’t be a huge offense if none of the fae knows about it. She holds the food in front of my face and frowns. I look past her at the sconce on the wall. The fire in it flickers even though it’s midday.
Of course, the one day I’ve ever taken so much as an olive, I’m caught.
That’s just my luck. But at least I didn’t steal the jewelry. I’ll be punished for the meat, but I won’t lose my job. Not if the fae woman doesn’t know what the meat pile means. Alexi will keep this between us, I think.
She returns the food to my pocket with a little sound of disgust, probably not wanting to handle the old food any longer than she has to, and reaches into my second apron pocket. I hear the unexpected jingle of metal. Shifting my vision down, I watch as she pulls out a gold necklace with orange gemstones.
Tears sting my eyes, and I shake my head.No, no, no. I didn’t do this. Alexi knows this. She has to know that the fae used their powers to plant this on me.I force air into my lungs through my nose, not wanting to let anyone know how much this hurts me. I need this job desperately. My family needs me to have this job.
“I didn’t take that,” I tell her. “I wouldn’t. It’d be pointless. Who would even buy a necklace like that from a human? I’d be reported immediately. You have to know I’m not that stupid.”
Oh, the irony. I hate this job, but I need this job. And now, after all my screwups, I’m about to lose it over something I didn’t do.
If Karma is real, she’s a twisted bitch.
“I knew it,” the fae says angrily, ignoring my words. “Filthy human scum.”
I bite back the urge to call her a bitch. “It wasn’t me. I know how this looks, but it wasn’t.”
Please. I need this job. I need something to go my way in this stupid life.
“Then, how did this get here?” Alexi asks, staring.
I draw my shoulders back. “I saw two fae fucking. One of whom is married to averydangerous person. Then, I saw them lurking around the corner just before you found that necklace on me, so they must have used fae magic to put it in my pocket, to frame me and get me removed from this job, so I can’t tell anyone. Not that Iplannedto tell anyone.”
“Lies!” the woman shouts. “Howdareyou accuse a fae of such treachery?”
Alexi drops the necklace, her expression genuinely upset. “We don’t tolerate larceny in the palace. You need to leave right now. You’ve forfeited your pay for the week, and you aren’t welcome back.” Her anxious whispers are replaced with fire on her tongue.
She looks back at the woman, handing her the necklace and apologizing profusely. They both stare at me like I’m the lowest kind of scum. Which shouldn’t bother me, but it does.
I meet Alexi’s eyes, glaring now, and bend over to snatch up my bag. Angry tears threaten to escape my eyes, but I hold my head up high as I leave.
Only at the end of the hall, I see Prince Sulien standing with his arms folded across his chest. I glare at him, lift my hand to flip him off, debate for a minute, and drop it. I’ve already lost my job, no need to lose my head too. Instead, I march past him, hating him and all the fae with every ounce of my being.
FOUR
Cassia
Tears gather in my eyes as I storm down the street, sadness and anger competing against one another in my heart. This job was already my last resort. There’s nothing I’m skilled enough at to actually make a living doing. Not when fae are always better at everything than humans. We take the lowest of the low jobs, jobs that they don’t want, and I’d just lost one of those jobs. Who else would have me after being fired by the fae?
