Page 5 of A Taste For Lies (The Apex Kingdom #1)

Chapter 5

ALORA

E very part of my being comes alive at the rumble of that rough voice.

The man squats down to my level and deep-set, silver-gray hunter eyes framed by dark brows peer at me through the opening of the desk frame.

“Your reputation precedes you.”

Instead of answering, I study the huge man from downstairs who, regrettably, knows my name—or at least my alias.

As I’d noted earlier, he’s dressed like an Elite, in fine clothes, all black. But the rest of him… His tousled hair, a mixture of ebony and dark browns threaded with a few tiny braids, sweeps past his chin. Stubble dusts his strong, square jawline, and the unkempt hair paired with the shape of his nose—long and slightly curved at the bridge—lend a ruggedness that seems to suit his muscled frame far better than his polished attire.

And then there’s his eyes.

We stare at each other…

I jerk back so quickly, I knock my head on the bottom of the heavy desk frame, hard. But I barely notice the throbbing pain.

He’s an Apex.

But that’s not the scary part .

The truly scary part—the part that has me pulling my knees up to my chest and pushing back as far away as I can get from him in my semi-crouch under the desk—is that I can sense his inner creature looking out at me.

A savage stoneclaw stares out from behind that mesmerizing blend of silver and stormy grays that seem to shift and darken in the short time we hold each other’s gaze.

I’m well and truly shaken now, trying desperately to keep it from showing. My hands curl into fists to hide their trembling. I’ve never instinctively known someone was Apex before, much less sensed their inner creature—I didn’t even know that could happen.

The eyes of any Apex can glow with a luminant, animal-like sheen—when they’re excited, when they’re expending an inordinate amount of power. This stranger’s seem to be brightening by the second.

But even if I could guess his species from his eyes, I should have no clue what his creature is. No less feel it looking at me, for Jinai’s sake. My chest squeezes, and I can’t get my breath down.

He cocks his head to the side, a gesture that feels less human and more…predatory. It’s like his ruthless creature is studying me, too.

“Lady Lynx?” He extends a big hand towards me.

Rule Number Seven: Information is power. When you’re the one at the disadvantage, take your cues from your adversary.

I force my breathing to even out and make a solid attempt at a nonchalant shrug—decidedly less believable following my hasty retreat under the desk. His hand remains steady, so I take it, and he helps me up from my crouch as though I’m some delicate maiden who needs assistance. If he knows I’m the Lynx, we both know that’s the farthest thing from the truth. Our twin calluses scrape against each other as if to prove this absurd charade.

“There,” he says, all false courtly politeness and exacting Elite pronunciation in a low, gravelly voice. The combination is jarring but not in an unpleasant way. Not by a long shot. It wakes something sleeping deep inside of me.

I find myself holding his gaze—and his hand—a few seconds too long, pulling in a sharp inhale of his rain and pine scent. Once I get a lungful, it’s all I can do to drop his hand and take a deliberate step back, revealing far more than I wanted to.

A slow curve starts up the right side of his full mouth. This close, I have to crane my neck to meet his unnerving gaze, even though I’m considered tall for a woman. Every inch of the male screams raw strength, from the powerful curve of his tree-trunk-sized arms to the solid stance of his muscled legs.

And now that I’m paying better attention, there’s this…energy rolling off him. A faint hum in my ears, like a vibration. Like power.

For the first time in a very, very long time, I have no idea how to play this.

Luckily for me—or unluckily, depending on how the next few minutes turn out—the owners of the other two sets of footsteps burst into the room. They come to an abrupt stop on the other side of the desk, breathing hard from their race up the stairs.

I assumed they’d be more Apex, but while the male looks the part in his guardian uniform, the woman is petite and dressed in an evening gown herself. Her eyes are a startling shade of emerald green set in a heart-shaped face. A brief glance is enough to guess that she’s actually Elite—not…whatever this costumed male in front of me is.

I eye the guardian warily, the more likely threat, after the enormous stoneclaw beside me, of course. He’s lankier than the giant, but his bare forearms are still corded with muscle covered by rich umber skin. The close military crop of his tight black curls and his uniform tells me he’s probably Apex, too, or at least trying to appear like one. But I don’t have any sense of his inner creature. Thank Jinai for small favors.

“Tare, you should have waited for us.” The guardian addresses the giant by my side in Veridian rather than the common tongue.

“You should have kept up,” Tare replies in the same language, then turns to me, but I’m already backing away, closing the distance to the window.

He raises his hands non-threateningly and switches back to the common tongue. “That was an impressive performance downstairs. ”

I take another quick step towards the window. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I reply in my Elite accent.

“You misunderstand. I’m here to speak to you about a different precious artifact. One I’m hoping you’ll steal for me .”

I pause my retreat but stay on high alert. This is some kind of job offer?

Rule Number Four: Everybody wants something.

“Forgive me for cutting right to it, Lady Lynx, but I believe we are all short on time tonight. There’s an amulet I require, and I need you to secure it for me.”

Despite myself, I’m intrigued. This Apex knows my alias and my reputation. And they’re foreign Elite who I don’t recognize, which means they likely traveled from Veridia for this meeting.

“Come now, can we stop pretending?” The stoneclaw speaks in Veridian this time, directed at me. Does he know I speak the language, or is he testing me? “Sooner or later, they’re going to realize that guardian doesn’t have the pearls on him.”

I’m not willing to drop my cover, but against my better judgment, I do ask in the common tongue, “Where?”

He hesitates. “Ravenscrest.”

“No.” I’m not stupid enough to turn my back on the trio, but I do start shuffling backwards again.

Tare lunges forward, his massive size overwhelming me, and snatches my forearm in a firm hold. “Wait.”

My skin erupts into goosebumps at the touch. “I’m not interested.”

His lips kick up into a wicked smirk. “Not even to steal from the Veridian king?”

I can’t help it. Despite everything in me screaming not to, my eyes still widen at such a prestigious mark. Of course, the stoneclaw presses his advantage.

“That’s what you do, right? Steal from the Elite? Well, what greater heist than to steal the king’s own amulet right out from under his nose.” He gestures with his free hand at the glass case and my calling card atop it. “You can even leave your little token.” His voice lowers. “Matches your eyes.”

It’s tempting. Extremely tempting. A legacy-defining heist that would put me right where I want to be anyway—the capital city of Veridia. The Elite would surely keep their records of emerged Apex in the palace…

But at the thought of the palace, I reluctantly shake my head, a stray curl flying loose from Eleni’s arrangement. The Apex’s silver eyes track the movement. “Doesn’t matter what I want. It’s an impossible job.”

“I thought impossible jobs were your specialty.”

This dangerous stranger knows far too much about me. I tug at my trapped arm but he holds fast. “ Nearly impossible jobs. Only an idiot would take a job where the odds of failure are one hundred percent. Which is any job located in Veridia’s palace.”

“Why?” he challenges.

How stupid is this male? Despite my earlier dread, I find myself glaring up at his too-close face. “ Why? You know why. The beast prince. He’ll sniff out anyone who’s not supposed to be there faster than Faunera herself, and we’ll all end up on the execution block.”

Yet incongruently, the biggest smile stretches across the stoneclaw’s whole face, practically lighting up the room. His eyes crinkle into slanted slits; his strong cheekbones stand stark above straight white teeth. It leaves me a bit dazed, which is the only excuse I have for not making the connection myself before he says—

“I think he’ll be alright with it. You’re looking right at him.”

It all becomes clear in a rush. Speaking in Veridian, dressed as an Elite because he is one. Finding me so easily when I’ve never even come close to getting caught before. “Tare,” his guardian called him. And no one knows what inner creature lends the notorious beast prince his Apex power, but a deadly stoneclaw certainly fits the bill.

My stomach drops three stories to the ballroom below.

I’ve been caught stealing a priceless artifact by Prince Taran Nyxley. The one Elite I can never outrun .

He’s going to devour me whole.

The panic must be written across my face because the beast’s smile drops, and then, so does his hand from my arm. I don’t wait. Spinning on my heel, I make for the window. Fuck not turning my back on him—my priority right now is getting the hells out of here.

“Wait. Wait!” he calls out to my back. A muttered curse and then, “If you run, I’ll chase you.”

I freeze, one hand on the windowsill, my shoulders tense. Slowly, I turn my head to meet the intense, glowing eyes of one of the most powerful Apex in Valenrae.

And I truly don’t know what comes over me at that moment, but I say back, “You’d have to catch me first, Your Highness.”

The burning silver darkens to molten gray, and his next words come out in a low rasp that curls my toes. “I think we both know how little effort that would take.”

The silence drags out. I remain frozen at the ledge, afraid to make a move.

Finally, the glow of the prince’s eyes recedes, replaced with what I think is determination. “You can have the pearls.” My breath catches. Behind him, the Elite woman grumbles a protest under her breath. “Take them back to your guild master. Collect the commission. But only if you agree to help us in Veridia.”

My teeth sink into the inside of my cheek. He’s letting me escape with the pearls when he could just as easily throw me in chains? “Why me? You could have gone to the Veridian Guild with this.”

“I could not,” he counters.

And, fair enough, he is attempting to steal from his father, the king . It’s smart to go outside the local guild.

But that brings up its own issue. “I can’t operate in Ravenscrest without the Veridian Guild’s approval. I’ll be excommunicated for that.”

“You’re the Shanterran guild master’s protégé, practically his adopted daughter. You’ll figure it out. ”

I stiffen at yet another confirmation that this royal Apex knows many things he shouldn’t.

The woman saunters forward and stands at her prince’s side. Her delicate frame is dwarfed by his hulking presence, but she shows no alarm at being so close to the beast.

“You’ll walk out of here tonight, free, with the pearls.” She negotiates evenly in a melodic Veridian accent. “We’ll provide you with every assistance you could need to secure the amulet by Samhain. When you manage it, you’ll be free to go. We will inform no one that you are the Lynx, or of your service to us.”

“And, of course, you’ll be well compensated,” she adds, almost as an afterthought, then names a figure so high it leaves me spinning. It’s more than I’ve ever earned—likely more than even Xinlei has ever received.

I’m speaking before I can stop myself. “What if there’s something else I want?” Like the Apex records for their entire country.

“Name it, and it’s yours,” Prince Nyxley vows with zero hesitation. The redhead’s stunning eyes thin.

Before I can push further, a muffled shout rises from below, followed by the undeniable sound of more footsteps pounding up the staircase. The time for negotiation is at an end.

“I’ll consider it.”

I simultaneously jump to the window ledge and pull the ribbon on my burgundy skirt. It falls away in a puddle to the floor, revealing the dark suede leggings beneath. Behind me, the prince makes a choked sound—whether from surprise, amusement, or something else entirely, I can’t say.

I’m through the open window and halfway down the portico to the ground before the beast calls softly out the window, “Meet us at dawn on the road to Ravenscrest.”

I can’t stop the rapid patter of my heart, each beat hammering in my chest. My breath comes short and sharp, panic clawing at my throat. When I hit the ground, it takes everything I have not to bolt—running as fast and as far as I can feels like the only option .

But Xinlei’s soothing voice whispers in my head. Rule Number Ten, Lynxling. Maintain control.

Exposed, with contraband in my pocket and a house full of Elite and Apex searching for it, I force myself to pause. I shut my eyes and take a few deep breaths.

In and out.

In and out.

When I finally open my eyes, I know what to do.