Page 8 of A Taste For Lies (The Apex Kingdom #1)

Chapter 8

ALORA

W e make fast progress on the striders—far faster than I had anticipated. I’d expected us to be on foot, or at least Eleni and me on foot, trudging along while the Elite rode in a rumbling royal carriage.

The striders, fleet-footed as deer with the steady endurance of cattle, barely need to stop. At this rate, we’ll pass the Veridian border the next morning. Carter thinks we’ll make the capital by nightfall tomorrow, which makes my stomach squirm.

Our fast pace leaves little opportunity for conversation but ample time for my anxious inner monologue. I brood over the Veridian Guild and the Viper I’ll need to somehow convince to let me work in their territory. Over Eleni, who I’m exposing to more danger than she even realizes. And over an Apex prince and his companions, who I know little to nothing about.

By the time Taran finally announces we’ll make camp for the night, just shy of the Veridian border, I’m an internal maelstrom of worry. I barely wait until I have the food in my hands (rabbit stew, courtesy of Carter—I was right about the sharpshooting) before blurting out, “So what’s my cover?”

There’s a lot more I want to ask. Starting with why is a royal entourage dressed in plain clothes, riding striders, and sleeping on the cold, hard ground and ending with why do you want me to steal an amulet from the godsdamn king of Veridia. But they’ve been so tight-lipped. I decide to start with a question they won’t hesitate to answer.

There’s a long moment of silence. So much for an easy opener.

“You’re going to have to tell me eventually,” I point out reasonably. “The sooner you do, the sooner I can commit important details to memory, and the sooner we can work together to shore it up.”

It’s infinitely fair, but they still all turn to Taran, their ringleader, for approval. He chews his stew thoughtfully, considering.

“You’ll pose as an Elite lady,” he finally answers after swallowing, “a friend of Maeve’s from the outskirts of Veridia, come to visit the capital. With that accent you used the other night, it shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off.”

I can poke a hundred holes in this backstory without even trying. I start with the most obvious one. “And why, pray tell, would I just suddenly make the arduous journey to court? Just to visit my dear friend?”

The same muscle in Taran’s jaw feathers again. But Maeve and Carter break out into matching grins. Astrid has her usual cryptic expression—I haven’t heard her speak once. My head swings back and forth between them all, completely lost.

“You’ll be in good company.” Carter takes pity on me. I’m starting to think he’s the only one with manners. “Ravenscrest has been filling up with beautiful Elite women from all over Veridia.”

“Because…?”

“Why, to ensnare the eligible beast prince, of course!” Carter looks very pleased with himself. Taran covers his face with one huge hand and lets out a long-suffering sigh.

“I would think I’d be more inclined to snare the eligible crown prince ?” I venture.

The smile drops off Carter’s face. “No.”

“He’s betrothed,” Maeve murmurs. “Since birth.”

“And currently the tender age of five,” Carter adds around a bite of stew .

Eleni’s brow creases. “If your brother’s only five, how is he the crown prince?” Her attention bounces to the elder Nyxley in our midst, obviously the firstborn.

There’s an awkward silence before the prince breaks it. “Don’t you know?” Taran’s voice is deep and eerie, his silver gaze predatory. Everyone stills, the apprehension practically palpable. “They would never let an animal like me ascend the throne.” He bares his teeth, and Eleni’s throat bobs.

“Stop scaring her,” I snap, though my own breath feels trapped in my lungs.

The prince’s face tilts to the ground for a long moment, his dark hair sweeping in front and hiding his face. When he finally raises his eyes back up to meet Eleni’s, the supernatural glow is gone, and his expression is contrite. “My apologies. That was…unfair.”

She nods, wide-eyed, sneaking me a sideways glance that says everything. Like me, she’s more shocked by Taran’s apology than the intimidation.

“He’s my half-brother,” he continues in a quieter voice. “The queen is my stepmother.”

He leaves what happened to his own mother unspoken. It must have been years ago—perhaps soon after I arrived in Shanterra, seemingly from nowhere. I can’t remember hearing about the Veridian royal family then, and I’m certainly not going to ask now.

Maybe that’s why the prince wants me to steal the king’s amulet for him—revenge for the loss of his inheritance? Or perhaps it was important to his mother.

“If you’re not the crown prince, why are all these women showing up to try and court you?” I wrinkle my nose.

Recovered, Eleni pipes up eagerly, “And can you even marry them? Apex and human relationships are forbidden.” I inwardly roll my eyes. Of course that’s what she wants to know.

Carter’s teasing grin is back. “Isn’t the forbidden reason enough? Every lady wants a little beast in her prince.”

The prince groans .

“The women are holding out hope that Their Majesties will choose to make an exception for Taran,” Maeve answers archly. “There’s been a rumor going around that they’ll announce it in a fortnight at the annual Samhain masquerade. And he’s still a prince. Since the gossip started, Ravenscrest has been inundated with young ladies hoping to make a royal match.” She tilts her head. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-five,” I answer.

She studies me critically. “You could pass for younger with the right makeup.”

“Thanks ever so,” I mutter. From his appearance, the beast has a couple of years on me, so I’m not sure why I need to appear younger. Must be an Elite thing.

She ignores my griping. “The women flocking to Ravenscrest have been a broad range of ages anyway. Even the widows are coming out of the woodwork.” She shudders delicately.

“Hence why you were all thrilled when I suggested this little getaway,” Taran cuts in.

“Speak for yourself,” Carter snipes. “All the Elite potentials brought female guardians with them. I barely got a chance to survey the land before you hauled us out of there.”

“Won’t that be strange then? That I don’t have an Apex with me?” It’s the same hurdle I faced getting into Count Zhao’s home. I need an Apex who is required to be by my side at all times.

The group exchanges glances, and flickers of unease cross their faces.

“I could pretend to be her Apex?” Eleni suggests tentatively.

“No,” says Maeve. Blunt. “I’m sorry, but no. Pretending to be an Apex guardian is much harder than pretending to be an Elite. And you’re a tailor, not a thief used to masquerading as someone else. You’re too petite, your eyes won’t glow, you have no heightened sense or strength, no goddess-blessed gift—”

“I think she gets it, Maeve,” Carter drawls .

I bite my bottom lip. “Why don’t I pretend to be the Apex, and Len can be the Elite?”

Taran squashes that idea with a shake of his head. A tousled dark lock falls in his face, and he brushes it back impatiently. “You won’t have the same level of access. And Maeve’s right. Pretending to be an Apex when you’re human is just asking for trouble. Take it from an actual Apex.”

I pale, imagining being surrounded by real Apex in close quarters while I’m just pretending. This is the most time I’ve spent with any of them in my life, and it’s nerve-wracking enough. Well, in the part of my life I remember anyway.

“Not to mention,” Maeve adds, tossing her bright hair over a shoulder, “Eleni is clearly Thalassarian, which would raise its own questions. Such as how and why a lady traveled through pirate-infested waters for a chance to court the Veridian prince who’s not first in line for the throne.” She flashes me a triumphant look as though her point is irrefutable. “The Lynx, on the other hand, will be surrounded by other Veridian women new to court and will easily blend in until Samhain. We just need an Apex to pose as her guardian. How hard can that be to find?”

“Hard,” Astrid answers flatly.

I jerk my head around and stare at the female guardian.

“What?” she asks, but in a bored tone that suggests she doesn’t really care.

“I didn’t know you could talk.” The honest answer blurts out of my mouth before I have a chance to think about how it might sound.

Carter bursts out laughing, tipping his head up to the starry night sky. Eleni and Maeve join him with quiet chuckles, and even the prince’s lips twitch.

Taran sets aside his empty stew bowl. “Astrid, may I share your Apex creature with the Lynx?”

I cover my surprise at the royal prince asking an Apex guard for her permission. Like the apology, it feels wildly out of character with what I’ve heard of the notorious beast. Astrid gives a sharp nod, her long braid swishing .

“How much do you know about an Apex’s inner creature?” Taran asks us, leaning forward as though he’s about to start a lecture.

I swallow hard. I know yours is a stoneclaw, and it terrifies the ever-living shit out of me . “Not much. The few Apex there are work for the Elite. The guild is made up of humans.”

The prince shoots a triumphant look at his guardian, who waves his hand good-naturedly in response. Not sure what that was about.

“The day an Apex emerges,” Taran starts, “is actually the day our inner creatures emerge into our consciousness. One minute, we’re alone. The next, we’re not.”

“My father says the relationship between an Apex and their inner creature is deeply meaningful,” Eleni offers. “Some would say divine.”

“Your father must be an educated man.”

Eleni’s chin lifts a bit at the respect in Taran’s tone. “Is it true that you can shapeshift into your creatures?”

Carter flashes a crooked smile that brings a light pink to Eleni’s cheeks. “Myth.”

“Our creatures bless us with our Apex sense and gift,” Taran continues. “They closely mirror our own personalities. Astrid’s creature is a snow leopard. She is a fierce guardian but prefers her solitude. She only speaks when she has something to say.”

“Noble,” I respond. It sounds flippant, but I meant it sincerely. Even with the guild and Xinlei hammering the rules into me, thinking before I speak doesn’t come naturally. It’s the shadow side of being a good improviser.

“Mine is a gryphon,” Carter confides. Combined with the prince’s stoneclaw, they make up a trio of dominant predators. I’m struck again by how surreal it is to be surrounded by powerful Apex like this, interacting with them as if we’re the same when we’re anything but.

“What’s your gift?” Eleni asks Carter, then immediately sucks in a sharp breath. “Or wait, was that rude to ask?”

Carter’s smile softens. “It was a bit.” He doesn’t answer her question. And Taran doesn’t volunteer his own creature .

I rub my eyes, which feel as though they’re stuffed with sand. On top of the extended pearls stakeout, I slept not a wink last night.

Taran’s attention sharpens on my wide yawn. “Why don’t you head to bed? You’re on last watch with me.”

I open my mouth to protest, then have to smother another yawn and promptly decide not to. “Alright,” I say instead, dropping my empty stew bowl by the pot and shuffling off to my bedroll. We’re all arranged in pairs near the fire—the Elite with their Apex, me with Eleni.

Bending down, I stifle a groan. I’m in great shape for normal activities like escaping down a mansion portico, but riding uses an entirely different set of muscles. My whole body aches from a full day on the strider with barely any breaks.

“Which watch is mine?” I hear Eleni ask the prince as I try to get comfortable.

“Only Apex on watch duty,” he replies.

“You just said Lor is on last watch!”

“He misspoke,” Carter cuts in. “Only those who’ve been trained to keep watch.”

“I’m a guild member too—”

I hate trusting my new reluctant allies to keep watch for any amount of time, but I can’t stay up indefinitely, and the exhaustion is starting to burn at my eyelids. Their arguing fades quicker than I would have thought possible as oblivion begins to claim me.

Just before I fall asleep, a stray thought flits through my mind: the prince never asked me for the pearls.