Page 46 of A Heist for Filthy Rivals (Mythic Holidays #3)

SIX MONTHS LATER

“Ravager.”

At the sound of the deep voice, I startle off the couch I was napping on, and papers go flying. They flutter like seagulls in the afternoon sunbeams slanting through the window of the oceanside house I share with Devilry.

I rub my eyes, unable to fully grasp what I’m seeing. It still takes me time to wake up, especially when I’ve been jolted out of a sound sleep.

White curtains billow through the open doors leading from the balcony—a much larger one than I had back in Belgate. There’s a tall man standing among the flowing curtains. He looks familiar, but I can’t quite place him. He’s tanned, with silver eyes and black hair.

“Sorry, I’m having trouble recalling your name.” I draw a knife from between the couch cushions. “Have I stolen something from you lately? Also, how did you get in here?”

“For the god-stars’ sake—” He sighs, and his appearance shifts. His ears sharpen to points, his skin turns pale green, and his hair turns a vivid emerald. “Does that help your memory?”

“Nocturis. As I live and breathe.” I toss the knife aside; it’s useless against someone of his power. “How have you been, you green motherfucker?”

He tilts his head. “You seem even less intelligent than when we last spoke.”

“That’s because you woke me up.” I start gathering the errant papers into a stack.

They’re diagrams of a vault that Devilry and I are planning to crack in the near future.

“What do you want? I hope you haven’t come here after Devilry, because she’s mine.

We’re living our best life, and we don’t want any interference from you.

No more magic, no more artifacts, no more fortresses, and no more portals or bargains, thank you. ”

“This is a personal matter,” he replies. “And it involves Devilry, but indirectly. I wanted to inquire how you… how you proceeded with winning her. What methods did you find most effective?”

My jaw drops. “You want advice for seducing a woman?”

“Is that what you call it?”

“You call it seduction if you want sex. If you want more, I suppose you might call it courting.”

“Courting,” he repeats. “Yes, that sounds right. I believe those terms are used by the Fae as well. It has been so long since I was one of them… since I was alive in that way…” His voice trails off.

“So the woman you’re planning to court… she’s human?”

“More or less.”

“More or less?” I run a hand over my face, exasperated. “Look, you have to give me something. I can’t help you without information.”

“I simply need to know how you won Devilry’s heart.”

With a raw chuckle, I lean back on the couch. “Well… I tried to kill her.”

“There must have been more to it than that.”

“I beat her up a lot. Bruises, pain—I wouldn’t recommend it. Ours was a special case.”

“I suppose so.” Nocturis frowns. “I’ve watched these entanglements occur—I’ve encouraged them, facilitated them, taken delight in their consummation—”

“Disturbing,” I comment blandly.

“—but while I enjoy watching it unfold for others, I have no idea where to begin for myself. I don’t understand how to make her want me.”

“You can’t make her want you. The spark is either there, or it isn’t.”

“The spark?”

“The reaction, the heat that ignites something inside both of you. It’s a kind of magic that can’t be created—it just happens. Circumstances and proximity play a part, but the rest… it’s magic.”

“That makes no sense,” Nocturis replies. “Magic is tangible. You can study it, produce it, encapsulate it—”

“Humans can’t, though. To us, it’s as mysterious as love, so we tend to compare the two.”

“You’re simply too primitive to comprehend how it works.”

“Gods, you’re bad at asking for advice,” I say.

“Look, you can’t fabricate the attraction, but you might be able to create scenarios in which this woman is more likely to notice you, want you, or appreciate something about you.

What are your best qualities? Obviously your appearance, but beyond that? ”

“I have a limited capacity to view the futures of others, specifically the final tasks that riders of the Wild Hunt must complete.”

I give him a confused frown, and he waves his hand impatiently.

“That part isn’t important,” he says. “Lately I’ve been able to glimpse other futures, but the visions are unreliable.”

“What a fantastic way to begin a courtship. ‘Here’s what I have to offer—unreliable visions of the future.’” Nocturis gives me a cold stare, and I can’t help chuckling at his expense. “What other strengths do you have?”

“I’m a leader. I give orders.”

“That’s great. Women love taking orders.”

“They do?”

“Try it and see.”

Nocturis’s frown deepens. “Why do I feel like you’re toying with me?”

“Because I am.”

“I come to you for wisdom, and you mock me?”

“Considering what you put us through, I’m not sure why you felt entitled to my help.”

“That’s what the others said,” he mutters, turning away.

“I’m not the first one you’ve asked?”

“You’re the fifth.”

“Don’t I feel special.”

“You are my last hope. None of those other men seemed willing to help me or capable of telling me what I need to know!” Nocturis’s voice rises, a note of desperation straining his tone.

A cool voice comes from the doorway at the far end of the room. “Have you thought about asking a woman?”

Nocturis and I both turn, and there’s Devilry, clad in scarlet silk and onyx beads. She was in the pleasure district this afternoon, gathering information about our next target, and she looks deliciously slutty in the outfit she chose.

When she reaches up to take a pin out of her hair, I spot four finger-shaped bruises on her arm.

I’m at her side in a second. “Who did this to you?”

She shrugs. “Some asshole.”

“I’ll kill him. Tell me what he looks like and where you saw him.”

“He has been dealt with.” She gives me a light kiss on the lips. “But I love that you’d murder people for me.”

“You should have let me come with you.”

“You had other work to do. Like conversing with Nocturis, apparently, after we promised we’d have no more dealings with the Fae.”

“It’s not my fault. He just showed up. He wants advice on courting human women. Asked me how I won your heart.”

“By accident, and in all the wrong ways.” Devilry gives me one of her saucy little smiles. “But honestly, Nocturis—why haven’t you asked a woman for advice?”

The Faerie glowers at Devilry so fiercely that for a second I’m afraid he might incinerate her on the spot. But after a moment, his ferocious expression fractures a little and he grits out, “I was afraid.”

“Afraid of women?”

“Afraid that I wouldn’t be capable of doing what they recommended.”

Devilry sighs and pulls more pins out of her hair. As she drops them, I automatically cup my hands to catch them for her. I dump them into an enameled dish on the table, which we keep there for just such a purpose.

“It’s simple, really,” she says. “No one is asking you to be perfect. In fact, I tend to be rather suspicious of perfect people. You can be thoughtless sometimes, or make mistakes. But you have to check yourself. Notice when you’re being an asshole and apologize for it.

Humor goes a long way. So do little acts of kindness.

Above all, notice her. Learn about her. Find out what she likes and remember it.

She’ll do the same for you. And that’s the beginning. ”

From the folds of her dress, she produces a packet of the spicy red candies I like, and I toss her a crisp green apple, her preferred snack on a hot afternoon. The swap is effortless, perfectly synchronized, and Nocturis is duly impressed. He glances at each of us, his silver eyes wide.

“A mutual enemy doesn’t hurt, either, if you’re looking to get close to someone,” I say.

“A mutual enemy,” he repeats thoughtfully. “That could work.”

Devilry shoots me a rebuking look and I shrug. Gods forbid I try to give the clueless Faerie a practical strategy.

“And proximity, like I mentioned. The closer the better,” I add.

“Rick,” she snaps. “Really?”

“What?” I grin at her. “Both of those things worked for us.”

“You’ve been helpful after all,” says Nocturis. “I shall take my leave.”

“Wait!” I step forward before he can disappear. “Come back sometime and tell us if it worked.”

“I shall.” He gives me a slight bow and makes a deeper one to Devilry. “Little thief.”

“Nocturis.” Her tone is cool yet respectful. When he vanishes, she lets out a huge breath. “Gods, he makes me nervous. And the way you talked to him! You do realize he could annihilate us with a thought, don’t you?”

“I do.” I pop one of the spicy candies into my mouth, enjoying the burst of hot cinnamon. “I don’t approve of the way he looks at you. Maybe that’s why I’m eager for him to find a partner of his own—or even more than one, though that doesn’t seem like a possibility he has considered.”

“I suppose we’ll have to wait for an update.” Devilry bites into the apple, walks over to the couch, and drops onto the cushions, casting a sidelong glance at the papers I left there. “How are the plans progressing?”

“Slowly. But I’ll figure it out. This vault is complex, and the charges will have to be small ones, targeted to different parts of the mechanism.”

She leans back, taking another bite of the apple, staring out between the drifting curtains at the sparkling blue water of the bay. “Can you believe this is our life?”

I approach from behind the couch, and when she looks up at me, I kiss her forehead. “It’s a dream come true.”

“My old team thought I didn’t want to keep thieving at all,” she says. “But that wasn’t true. I simply wanted to do it my way. Crime can be a tool to protect people from the real criminals.”

“You know my moral code is rudimentary at best.” My fingers play along her hairline, idly rearranging the black-and-scarlet locks. “I prefer to follow your guidance.”

“But it feels better, doesn’t it, knowing that you’re making a difference in a good way? Hurting the people who hurt others?”

I know what she needs me to say. For months I truly did not care, either way, but this time, when I search my heart, I find it to be true. Thieving with a purpose is much more satisfying.

“It does feel better,” I assure her. “But my love, I hope you know that if you ever wanted to do crime for petty purposes, or even from wicked motives, I would be right there beside you.”

She reaches up and laces her slim fingers through mine. “Partners forever, whether it be in the noblest or the naughtiest of crimes.”

I bend lower, and she tips her head against the back of the sofa so I can kiss her.

As my mouth melts against hers, I wish fervently that the Fae bastard who brought us together might experience this kind of bliss.

He might not have intended to ignite the love between us, and he may have toyed with us in a way that still grates on me…

but without his interference, I might never have had the chance to battle Devilry for her heart, or to give her mine in return.

And the pursuit of her love has been, and will continue to be, the greatest privilege of my life.