Page 7 of A Taste For Lies (The Apex Kingdom #1)

Chapter 7

ALORA

B reaking into the small cottage Eleni shares with her parents is easier than I expected. Less than a minute with my trusty lockpicks, and I’m through the back door, slinking on silent feet to her small bedroom. Thank goodness her sister Giselle is long gone with a husband and family of her own. Still, I don’t want to wake her parents, snoring softly in the adjacent room.

I lay one hand over my friend’s mouth and shake her gently with the other. There’s a muffled yelp as her eyes fly open, rolling wildly. They finally catch on me in the dim light, and her breathing slows. Cautiously, I remove my hand.

“What. The. Hells,” Eleni hisses, clutching her chest. “You scared me half to death, Alora.”

“Do you still want to come to Veridia?” I murmur.

“Now?” she whisper-shouts.

“Now or never, Len. Get packed. I’ll tell you the rest on the way.”

“For Jinai’s sake!”

“Do you want to come or don’t you?”

She holds my gaze for a beat, searching my face before realizing I actually mean it. “Yes, yes, alright. Hold on, I have to tell my parents— ”

“Write them a note.” Outside, the sky is beginning to lighten. I locate her pack under the bed and start tossing things into it. Her tailor kit. A couple of gowns I know she favors.

I already completed my own frantic packing at the inn. I’m dressed in a fresh tunic and leggings, a dagger strapped to my hip, another to my thigh, one hidden in my boot, and Xinlei’s shining stiletto still nestled in my hair. I probably should have included more than the one black-and-gold gown, given we’re on our way to a palace in the company of a prince. But I reasoned that I’m bringing my tailor along with me instead.

Honestly, I might not have packed even the one, but I needed a hidden pocket to stash the pearls. They seemed to glow in the near darkness of my room, as though lit by an inner fire all their own. My calling card went into another pocket. I almost left it behind after Xinlei’s lecture, but the prince did specifically offer…

Eleni has finished dressing and writing her note. Now she’s pawing through my hasty packing job. She rolls her eyes, pulls it all out, and starts over.

“Hurry,” I urge. “We need to meet him at dawn.”

She freezes mid-fold. “ Him? ”

I widen my eyes and gesture for her to continue. A quiet sigh, and she does.

But by the time we sneak out of the house and make it to the mountain pass, dawn is dusting the icy mountain peaks in a soft rose. The few guards at the entrance to the city ignore us. Even this early, wagons laden with pastries and fruit trundle in, bound for the Elite’s breakfast tables. We’re just two humble travelers on foot in dark, heavy cloaks.

“We’re going to the Veridian palace? With the prince?” Eleni’s eyes are starry, her cheeks pink in the morning chill. She’s been hanging on to my every word like I’m reciting one of those romantic novels she loves.

“The beast prince,” I remind her sharply. For some reason, I haven’t told her yet about sensing the prince’s inner creature. That the mysterious beast is actually a stoneclaw. The whole experience was so surreal, I’m half convinced I imagined it.

Much of what I know about stoneclaws comes from religious texts and dark campfire tales. Massive creatures, bigger than a grizzly bear, with dark-gray fur like a wolf. Their huge canines are as sharp as their formidable hardened claws that give them their name, and two massive horns curl over their ears, equally deadly. The nature goddess Faunera is said to have gifted her human consort, Calyx, two of them as protection. She took their horns for part of her sigil.

So they’re basically legends. A fitting creature for the most infamous Apex in the realm.

“I can’t believe he’s the only Elite to emerge as Apex,” Eleni muses as we pick our way through the pass.

“Apex are fairly rare,” I counter. “Doesn’t seem that strange to me.”

“Must be awkward for him. If he was any other Apex, he’d be serving the Elite. Instead, he has his own Apex to serve him.” She frowns thoughtfully. “I wonder how he’s supposed to find a match when all the other Elite are human.”

I groan. “Can we not feel bad for the spoiled prince who’s also gifted with superhuman strength and the ability to scent anything from miles out?”

She giggles. “You’re just mad he can scent you out.”

“Hmmph.”

As though our conversation has summoned him, I spy the prince and his party up ahead, slightly off the main road. I quickly hush Eleni. I know the prince isn’t an auditory, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have one traveling with him. “There they are.”

We slink through the woods to greet the Veridians. The prince, his guardian, and the Elite woman from last night are all there, dressed in plain traveling clothes, but there’s another female as well. This must be the Apex Xinlei met. And now I understand why he was so sure of her species.

Like most Apex females, she’s taller than me and broader in the shoulders. She absolutely dwarfs the redheaded Elite beside her. Her brown eyes examine me like I’m a distinct threat, which would be flattering if she wasn’t so intimidating. She looks like she could snap my neck in two if the urge struck her. She’s also the kind of beautiful that makes you look twice, with olive skin and silken, light brown hair pulled back into a tight ponytail braid.

I count five striders hobbled by a stream nearby, hear their gentle huffs as they nose at the grass around their bits. Five striders, but only four riders. I subtly look around but don’t spy anyone else in the royal party.

The redhead has her arms crossed, shooting me an accusatory look that raises my hackles. What in Jinai’s name could I have possibly done to her already?

Meanwhile, the prince’s guardian scans the surrounding area for anyone following us. A visionary Apex, then. Makes sense—they’re usually sharpshooters of some kind, and it would be a natural complement to the prince’s own gift.

By the time a threat gets close to the prince, I’ve no doubt he would just take care of them himself. I suppress a shudder at the thought.

“We’re here alone,” I tell the male guardian as we walk closer.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he replies, but with a smirk on his lips that tells me he’s kidding. Sort of.

“She’s telling the truth,” the prince announces. Of course he’d know—he’d be able to scent anyone on our tail. He looks more at home in nature, with the pine trees framing him. His strange silver-gray eyes study me beneath heavy dark brows. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

“Neither was I.”

“What made up your mind? It didn’t seem like you were planning to last night.”

I’m not ready to reveal my true purpose for this trip to them—not yet. So I say something different, something that also has the benefit of being true. “I didn’t think I could escape you.”

That clearly pleases him. Arrogant Apex. “You can’t.”

“Well aware.”

“Sooooo, looks like introductions are in order!” The prince’s guardian rubs his hands together, a smile forming. “I’m Carter Belmont, His Highness’s personal Apex guardian and his army captain.” He says Belmont in the melodic Veridian way, dropping the “t.”

“This is Maeve Ashbourne, His Highness’s cousin.” He indicates the redhead, who’s still staring daggers at me. Then, he nods towards the menacing female at her side. “And her personal Apex guardian, Astrid Moretti. Of course, you are acquainted with our beastly prince already.” Said prince slides an incredulous look over to his guardian, who ignores him completely, continuing in a chatty tone, “I, for one, am thrilled to have you join our team.”

“Team?” If he thinks I’ll be working with them on this heist, he’s sorely mistaken. I work alone.

“Yes!” Carter nods encouragingly, like he’s happy I’m picking it up so quickly. “The team to steal the amulet. I’m working on a catchier name. Perhaps you two have some suggestions, given your line of work?”

Maeve looks like she’s reached the end of what was probably a very short rope to begin with. “What, no one’s going to say it?” Her tone is definitely belligerent, and it’s accompanied by another scathing glare in my direction. “This is a secret mission . What made you think you could invite a friend?”

At my side, Eleni stiffens. Anger bubbles up hot in my chest. How dare this Elite think she has the right to make her feel unwelcome? “You said whatever I need, right? She’s my tailor. I need her.”

“We’re going to the royal palace.” Maeve over-enunciates every word, as if I’m slow-witted. “Obviously, we have seamstresses.”

“Seamstresses are not guild tailors.” I wink, sure it will piss her off.

Her eyes flare, and she makes to lunge at me, but the prince’s large hand descends on her shoulder. “Maeve,” he chides gently.

She huffs and recrosses her arms but doesn’t say anything else. Her Apex guardian is a scary, vigilant presence behind her. Typical.

A charming smile lights Captain Belmont’s tawny eyes as he lifts Eleni’s hand and kisses it like a character straight out of her romance novels. His long, elegant fingers curl over her small, pale ones. “Pleasure to meet you, Miss…” He trails off su ggestively.

A delicate flush suffuses her entire face. “Eleni Katsaros.”

I keep my eyes from widening in alarm as she gives him her real name , but just barely.

Rule Number Five: Secrecy is your most valuable asset. This is my fault. I should have prepared her better—she’s never been out on a job before and isn’t trained. Belmont is still holding my friend’s hand, eyeing her with an interest I don’t care for.

“You can call me Loriella,” I cut in dryly, choosing something that will make sense when Eleni inevitably calls me Lor. Eleni releases the captain’s grip on her hand as though it’s seared her, turning a guilty expression in my direction as she realizes her mistake.

“Wonderful,” the beast prince says, even as he frowns a bit. At the name? “You can call me Taran. We need to get back on the road. We can talk more tonight after we make camp.”

“Don’t we need to wait for your companion, Prince Nyxley?” I deliberately ignore his invitation and use the formal address instead. A muscle feathers in his jaw, and I smile inwardly. He didn’t like that.

“It’s just us, Wildcat,” Carter says cheerfully.

My brow furrows. “You have five striders.”

“The last one was meant for you, Lady Lynx,” the prince informs me. I tense as he uses that ridiculous title from last night instead of the name I’ve just given him. A taste of my own medicine, I suppose. “But I’m sure it can carry the both of you. I assume you can ride?”

I nod slowly. The guild trains us to do anything that might be required for a quick getaway, which includes riding striderback.

Ours is a sturdy female, nut-brown in color, with a seemingly gentle demeanor. I hitch our packs to the saddle and am about to mount when I feel a presence behind me. Whipping around, I pull my hip dagger.

“Whoa.” Taran raises his hands in the universal sign of peace, my dagger inches from his heart. “I was just going to help you mount.”

“I’ve got it,” I reply tersely.

“Clearly.”

He’s walking to his own strider, a large, dark gray male with antlers, when I call after him, “How did you know I’d come?”

He swings up onto the animal, then glances at me, confused. “The extra strider,” I clarify.

I think he’s ignored my question. We’re all mounted and on our way back to the road, Eleni’s hands clasped tight around my middle, when I catch his low, rough voice answer quietly in Veridian, “Maybe I just hoped.”