Page 26 of A Taste For Lies (The Apex Kingdom #1)

Chapter 26

ALORA

I ’m enjoying having my chambers all to myself while the guild’s spy is off on her errand when my wall opens on its own.

I look up from sharpening Xinlei’s stiletto hairpin with my dagger to find Taran, Carter, and Astrid filing into my sitting room, the prince holding some kind of scroll. Astrid strides immediately to my chamber door, opening it to admit Maeve. The Elite quickly claims the armchair by my side with a rustle of her skirts.

Carter rubs his hands together. “At last. The team has assembled.” My face falls as I remember not every member of the original team to steal the amulet is here.

The prince’s expression is equally troubled. I’m not sure what happened between training and now, but he appears…burdened by something. Likely our fleeting timeline for this heist. “I informed the others of how the linking went. Everyone is in agreement that we need to secure the guardian records as soon as possible.”

Finally. “I can steal them tomorrow during the ball.”

But Taran shakes his head. “Not you.”

“I’m the thief!” I protest .

The prince rakes a hand through his damp hair. His pine scent wafts towards me, and I have to fight not to inhale it greedily. “If you’re caught, that’s it. The amulet heist is blown. There’s no excuse for you to be in Lord Winters’ office.”

“Lair,” Carter corrects helpfully.

“Not to mention, the queen is expecting you at that ball tomorrow,” Maeve chimes in. Damn me. Caught in my own web of lies.

“Then who’s going to steal them?” I study the towering Apex prince skeptically. “You?”

He sighs. “I am also expected at the ball tomorrow. And I can’t be seen to be anything but my father’s dutiful son ahead of Samhain.” His eyes darken with some inscrutable emotion.

“Then it’s either me or Astrid,” Carter says. “Maeve has no excuse to be in his lair, and she’s never been down there.”

Maeve worries her lower lip. “Astrid, what do you think?”

My eyes widen. She’s asking her Apex’s opinion?

“Although I am infinitely more subtle than the overlarge bird, his gift lends itself better to criminal activities,” she drawls.

Carter huffs a laugh. “What a winning endorsement. Thank you, Astrid.”

My curiosity practically explodes. “Alright, now I have to know. What’s your gift?”

Carter passes his prince a questioning look and, still frowning, he nods in answer.

Then, right before my eyes, the Apex guardian disappears.

My mouth drops open.

“Can’t say that I mind that look on your face, Wildcat,” comes Carter’s voice— behind me . I whip around to find him standing by the front door to my chambers.

“You just…you were here and then…” I sputter. I rear back as he reappears at my side. He uses one long finger to carefully close my hanging jaw .

“I can jump distances,” he explains, far too nonchalant for someone who just broke reality. “Though only to a spot I can see—it’s tied to my Apex vision. So I can’t jump through locked doors.”

“Oh, only that?” I ask in a sarcastic tone, still shaken. “Who else knows you can do this?”

He rubs the back of his neck. “The king. Lord Winters. The lord who runs my home territory. That’s why I was commandeered as the prince’s guardian.”

With a gift like that… “Couldn’t you escape, then? If you wanted to?”

Taran tenses, but Carter only lets out a chuckle. “Not with my bloodhound brother over here.” He shoves his charge good-naturedly. “Besides, where would I hide? I would never want to put my family in danger. No, if I can’t be home in Belmara, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

I’m starting to realize there’s not much daylight between the prince and his Apex guardian. They seem to read each other’s thoughts, anticipate each other’s actions, the way only people who have been close for years can do.

Watching them is…fascinating. I’ve never had the chance to witness Elite–guardian relationships up close before. I suppose I get to see Maeve and Astrid too, but Astrid is such an enigma, it’s far less satisfying. With Carter and Taran, I’m up on that rooftop again, lost in the drama of other people’s lives.

I cock my head. “So you can move quickly, but not through walls. How are you going to pick the lock?”

A crooked grin that must have been responsible for many a female swoon lifts Carter’s mouth. “I was hoping you’d teach me, Wildcat.”

My eyes narrow. “And you think you’ll be using my lockpicks?” It’s possible Carter doesn’t understand the personal nature of the favor he’s requesting.

His smile widens. “We’re a team.”

I groan. “Don’t remind me.”

“I’ll let you know what to look for,” Taran informs Carter.

I frown. “Wait, I don’t get to look through the records myself? ”

“We can’t risk Lord Winters finding them missing,” Taran explains. “Carter will have to review them and put them back in place.”

“But—”

“Lynx.” He closes his eyes briefly as if trying to get his emotions under control. “The amulet is the priority. It has to be.”

Rule Number Nine: Leave no trace. My least favorite rule. In this case, it means not stealing something.

“Fine,” I huff. If Carter can’t find what I need, I’ll break into that lair myself.

Taran unrolls a long scroll and spreads it out over the low table in front of me. It looks like some kind of—

“You have the castle blueprints?” I blurt out.

“We do. For all the good it’s done us,” Taran replies, his tone bitter. “Every time I think I’ve found it, its scent disappears.”

I drop to my knees and examine the blueprints, my fingers tracing the intricate drawings. “Could they do that? Hide the scent somehow?”

Taran sits on the floor and studies the blueprints with me. “In theory. If there’s some kind of ward around it. But they’d need an Apex gifted in setting them and I haven’t detected any.”

I blink. “But you have wards at every entrance to the castle.”

“You mean the key signatures?” Carter asks.

“Yes, key signatures, blood magic, wards—it’s all the same. Who set those?”

Taran growls, frustration radiating off him. “I don’t know. My father contracted a man to come in and set them.”

“Not a man,” I point out. “A male.”

“No, I meant what I said. I had already emerged when they were set. I would have detected him if he was Apex.”

“Unless he can ward himself,” I muse. Taran falls silent at that, a slightly stunned look on his face. “Do you remember what he looked like?” I ask, a theory forming.

“It was ten years ago,” he protests. “But… ”

“But?” I coax.

“I remember his eyes. They were unusual, especially in a human. They were yellow brown. I haven’t seen eyes like that except in an—”

“Apex,” I finish for him. “I’m almost certain you’re describing the guild’s key master. You said the Elite here contract with the guild for security, right?”

“Yes.” Carter answers for the prince, who is lost in thought. “The king and the other Elite have brought them in countless times to secure valuables. The guild is an open secret in Veridia.”

“Eleni,” I interject suddenly.

Maeve’s mouth purses. “The tailor? What does she have to do with this?”

My eyes catch Taran’s. “She’s coming here tomorrow. To bring my gown for the queen’s ball. She’s been working with the key master.”

Taran blows out a breath. “It’s worth a try. See what she can find out. Or what she might already know.”

“I’ll, uh, need another purse of gold for the guild, by the way.” He waves his hand in acknowledgement, and I go back to examining the flawless blueprints. “In the meantime, show me where you’ve already looked.”

We narrow down three potential places in the palace where I think the amulet is most likely to be based on their information and where they’ve already searched. Maeve and Astrid excuse themselves, and I spend the next hour teaching Carter how to pick a lock.

He’s a fast study, but I still keep throwing glances at my closed door, worried Mei will be back any second.

“Wildcat.” Carter snaps his fingers in front of my face, winning back my fickle attention. “Taran will tell us if she gets close, don’t worry.”

“Easy for you to say,” I grumble. “You’ll just jump away.” I tilt my head, considering. “Have you ever tried—”

“Bringing someone with me?” He flashes that crooked grin. “Of course. Hasn’t worked yet, but if you want to hold on tight, I’m willing to give it another go.”

A low growl rumbles from the wall where the prince is leaning, arms crossed, as he monitors our little lesson .

I snort. “You are an incorrigible flirt.”

Carter winks. “Only with the pretty ones.”

“Alright, I think the Lynx has given you enough of her expertise,” Taran cuts in. “You can practice the rest on your own time.”

Reluctantly, I relinquish my lockpick kit to Carter. “I’ll give it back,” he promises me, tapping his pocket reassuringly.

“With zero damage,” I hiss.

He raises both hands in surrender. “With zero damage.”

Right before he disappears through the wall, I call out, “And Carter?”

He turns his head, waiting.

“Plan thoroughly, but when you’re in the moment…act swiftly.”

His mouth kicks up into that crooked smile. “Will do, Wildcat.” And then he’s gone.

“I don’t like this,” I inform Taran.

“What?” A distracting smirk pulls at his lips. “Not being the one in control?”

“No.” Yes.

His gaze catches mine. “You’re still in charge. Your role is just a little different for this heist. You’re the distraction.”

I think that over a moment. “The distraction, hmm?”

“Yes, the sleight of hand while Carter reviews the records.” His smile fades. “I have something to ask you.”

“What?”

“You’re not going to like it,” he warns. “But please take a moment to consider its implications for the heist— your heist for your prize.”

I cross my arms over my chest and stare at him, unblinking.

His voice is a low rasp that curls my toes when he asks me, “What’s your real name?”

“You’re right, I don’t like it. And I’m not answering that.”

His brow furrows. “Any detail from your past could help. You say you don’t remember your parents’ names or your surname or where you hail from. But perhaps, your given name— ”

“The answer is no.” My voice drops to a murmur. “You already know too much about me.”

“Funny, I don’t think I could ever know too much about you.” His voice is deep and rich, a quiet rumble. He’s watching me with those swirling silver-gray hunter eyes. He reaches out, fingers brushing my temple as he tucks an errant lock of hair behind my ear. Goosebumps explode down the back of my arms, a shiver I can’t suppress.

“What about you?” I manage to ask, my voice not as steady as I’d like.

A gentle smile. “You already know my true name.”

I raise my chin. “But not much else.”

“What else do you want to know?” Despite the openness of the words, his tone is guarded.

“Why don’t you have a tattoo of Faunera’s sigil like Carter?”

His eyes darken. “My mother wouldn’t allow it.”

I finger the chain he gave me. “What was it like? Emerging?”

He gives me a sharp look. “You really want to know?”

I nod.

“It was both the most wonderful thing and the most terrible thing to ever happen to me.” One corner of his mouth lifts half-heartedly. “Wonderful because Eleni was right. An Apex’s connection to their inner creature is like nothing else. It’s as if one part of your soul was always missing but you didn’t know until you found it. You’re…complete. Whole. In a way that previously felt out of reach.”

I’ve unconsciously leaned in towards the prince, caught up in the magic of his words. Whole. Complete. As someone out of place for all my life—at least the life that I can remember—with a gaping, broken place inside of me, feeling whole is all I’ve ever longed for.

One large hand slides up and cups my face, the pad of his thumb swiping my cheekbone. Once. Twice. Try as I might, I can’t force myself to pull away.

“And the terrible part?” I whisper.

“I think the very worst part of emerging as an Apex might be happening to me right now,” he murmurs back, eyes locked on mine. His other hand sweeps out and brackets my waist, pulling me closer. He leans down, close enough that I feel his breath ghost over my lips and—

His head snaps up, the hands cradling my body dropping away. Without a word, he snatches the blueprints from the nearby table and bounds through the open wall to the passageway. The door closes behind him as I blink, still frozen where he left me, staring at the stone wall.

What is happening to me? I should be cringing at his touch, not leaning into it. What is it about this prince that keeps pulling me in like a tether I can’t escape?

“My Lady?” At least Mei’s quiet presence explains Taran’s rushed exit. “I did what you asked,” she tells me proudly. “The tailor will be by with your gown tomorrow. In fact, she had already started work on it. She is to return with the coin the guild was promised.”

“Of course,” I mumble distractedly. “Nice work, Mei.”

Her cheeks pinken with pleasure, but her head is tilted like her inner songbird. “Are you quite alright, My Lady?”

“You don’t have to call me that when we’re alone,” I remind her. “You can call me Loriella.” Even though that’s not my name.

She purses her lips, and I know she’s not going to do it.

“Mei,” I blurt out suddenly. “Do you have a Faunera sigil tattoo?”

She blinks. “Yes, of course, My— Yes, I do. It was given to me the day I emerged.” A flicker of pain crosses her delicate face.

“How did you end up in Veridia?” I ask in a gentler tone.

“I was a part of my lady’s retinue when she wed a Veridian lord,” she answers. I flinch at the words, delivered in such a matter-of-fact tone. Maybe it’s because she’s so unusually small, maybe it’s her harmless gift, but when I look at Mei, I see a person. Not a dangerous Apex who deserves to be shipped off to a foreign land, far from friends and family, because she happened to be bestowed the gift of song.

The ache in my chest sharpens. “The guild promised to get you back home, is that right?”

She nods, her dark eyes wary, like she’s afraid to hope too much .

“How will you hide your power?”

She looks down at her feet, long lashes brushing her ivory cheeks. “It won’t be easy. I’ll never be able to use my gift, which will be physically painful. My family will need to move—everyone in the town knows I’m an Apex.”

“They do?”

“It’s considered a shame on the family to emerge as Apex.” Her words come out in a cracked whisper. “No one expected it.” She gestures to her petite frame. “I have a younger brother who would be thirteen now. It’s been four years since I’ve seen him. I’m sure they’re all watching him, waiting to see if he’s going to emerge as well. When someone is revealed to be Apex, their neighbors say—” She chokes off her words, overcome.

I stay silent. Just listening. I wonder how many people she’s been able to share this story with before. Not many, I’d wager.

She visibly gathers herself. “They would say that the mother must have been seduced by an Apex. Or the god Jinai.” The god of tricksters and liars.

I snort. “Always the woman’s fault. The prince is proof enough that emergence isn’t hereditary.” A tear slips down her cheek, and that’s enough to make me add, “Besides, I heard that an Apex’s inner creature emerges when the person is ready to live in harmony with them. And nobody can harmonize like you, Meiling.”

She lifts her tearstained face to meet mine. “Thank you, My Lady.”

“Please”—I reach out and clasp one of her tiny hands in both of mine—“call me Lor.”