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“Which is exactly what you want,” Nikolas said smoothly. “You’re looking for something, and you don’t know where it is. You won’t tell us much about it.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “Forgive the assumption, my lady, but that tells me you’re not supposed to have it.”

She bristled. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know about this.” He sobered, all his considerable charm tucked away as he held her stare. “Look, Bel, I’ll be honest?—”

“Ha!” Helios exclaimed, still examining his nails.

A muscled jumped in Nikolas’s cheek, but he continued, his gaze steady.

“Dain and I are thieves. Really good thieves. It’s all we’ve ever known.

But we operate on a code, and we don’t veer from it.

We don’t steal from the innocent, and we don’t take more than we need.

And when we say we’ll do something, we do it. ”

Bel flicked her gaze to me.

“He’s telling the truth,” I said quietly.

Nikolas nodded. “We promised to help you find your jewelry. And that’s what we’ll do.” He put his hand over his heart. “I swear it.”

Bel chewed her bottom lip, indecision stamped on her face. Finally, she sighed. “If you’re such excellent thieves, why is the forest littered with your wanted posters?”

Nikolas glanced at the parchment, mild offense covering his features. “I wouldn’t say the forest is littered with them…”

I went to the tree and tore the parchment from the bark.

Rolling the poster, I tucked it inside my jacket.

“We stole from a wealthy landowner,” I told Bel.

“Someone with connections. It was a stupid mistake. We sold the item we lifted, but the owner traced the theft to us. This isn’t the first time Nikolas and I have angered the wrong person.

We’ll keep quiet and lie low until everything blows over. ”

Helios pushed his spectacles higher on his nose, his expression equal parts pleading and exasperated. “Bel, you can’t be serious about continuing this insanity.”

She stared at me, her brows drawn tight. On impulse, I went to her and extended my hand. She lowered golden eyes to my palm. Her breasts lifted as she drew a deep breath and reached for me.

Magic struck, a flash of gold sparking in the air. It was bigger this time, and it shoved me into her. We collided, both gasping and off balance. I caught her against me, steadying us both.

She looked up at me with stark golden eyes. “I can’t ignore it,” she whispered.

Taking a risk, I took her hand and pressed it between us, our fingers entangled over my heart. “Then don’t.”

Maybe I should have said more. Nikolas would have. He always knew the right thing to say. But silence had always seemed safer to me. Once words were out in the world, there was no putting them back. If you kept quiet, you never had to worry about saying the wrong thing.

After a long moment, Bel pulled away. I let her go, and I held my breath as she drew her hood over her hair.

“All right,” she said. “Let’s keep going.”

Nikolas released a slow breath. Helios looked ready to commit murder. But no one said anything as we returned to the trail.

We continued down the road, the silence broken only by the occasional bird call and the soft scuff of our boots. After an hour, Bel’s stomach released a growl that made the birds stop chirping. She slapped a hand over her midsection, her face going pink inside her hood.

“We’ll find something to eat soon,” I promised. Nikolas was a skilled hunter, but I couldn’t help hoping we stumbled upon a farmer in need of extra help in exchange for a hot meal.

Another hour passed, and we encountered a crossroads marked with a weathered signpost. It boasted two arrows: one pointing toward Solbarren and the other toward Saldu.

Carvings under the letters helped the illiterate decipher which city was which.

Saldu boasted a fiery sun, while Solbarren was marked with an obsidian tower.

My heart sped up at the sight of the latter, and panic stirred as I avoided Nikolas’s gaze.

Somehow, we had to keep Bel out of Solbarren.

But how? There was a fifty-fifty chance she’d choose that path.

Just as the panic climbed into my throat, Nikolas darted in front of Bel.

Facing her, he walked backward, one of his most charming smiles in place.

“Saldu is nice this time of year,” he said.

She slowed, her gaze going to the signpost. “I don’t know…”

The magic in my chest tugged, urging me toward the road that led to Saldu. Thank the gods.

Bel looked at me. “The magic is pushing me toward Saldu. Is that what you’re getting?”

I managed to keep the relief from my voice as I said, “Absolutely. Saldu. No question.”

With a curt nod, she started down the road. Helios bobbed at her side. Nikolas and I followed, and he winked at me as we moved toward the city.

The sun continued its slow ascent, and a companionable silence fell over our small party.

The forest thinned. The trail broadened to a road made of packed dirt and lined with rolling meadows.

Wildflowers bloomed on either side, their centers heavy with pollen.

Helios sneezed, then muttered a curse as he slapped a fat blossom out of his path.

Bel’s stomach rumbled again. My own stomach cramped with hunger. Magic leash or no, we had to stop. Before I could voice the suggestion, the thunder of hooves sounded behind us.

Nikolas and I moved fast, hurrying Bel off the road. A look back revealed a patrol of approaching knights, their armor glinting in the sun.

“Get lost,” Nikolas hissed at Helios, who streaked away so quickly he was impossible to track.

The knights thundered closer, their horses kicking up dust as they approached.

I kept my head down and my shoulders relaxed.

Bel did the same, her cloak brushing my leg.

Nikolas was a stoic presence on her other side, his gaze on the ground as we maintained an unhurried pace.

Running was the fastest way to attract attention.

The knights were clearly on their way to Saldu.

They wouldn’t bother with a trio of travelers on foot.

The pounding of the hooves grew louder. The ground vibrated as the knights passed, sending a cloud of dirt rolling around us. As the jangle of bridles filled my ears, I focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

The knights kept moving, and some of the tension drained from my shoulders.

“You there!” a man bellowed. “Halt!”

I didn’t think, just grabbed Bel’s hand and ran. Nikolas did the same, and the three of us plunged through the grass and raced across the meadow next to the road.

Hooves pounded at our backs as at least one of the knights pursued us. I tightened my grip on Bel’s hand and put on a burst of speed. She kept pace with me, her hood slipping as we ran for the treeline.

I risked a glance back. Two knights thundered behind us, their horses gaining ground with every stride.

“Faster!” Nikolas urged, charging toward the trees. The forest wasn’t as dense as the one we’d left, but it was better than the meadow. The knights would have a more difficult time chasing us down among the trees.

As before, the magic in my chest kept me tied to Bel. She matched my pace, faster than any human woman. The knight shouted again as we plunged into the forest.

“This way!” Nikolas rasped, racing toward a thick cluster of pines. Tangled hedges flanked it, and we dove between the trunks and raced down a leaf-strewn incline. The knights’ muffled curses rose behind us.

Nikolas and I spotted the hollow at the same time.

Fallen logs and overgrown bushes partially concealed the depression in the ground.

The three of us slid down another small incline and scrambled toward the hollow.

When we reached it, I pushed Bel down and then dragged dried foliage over us.

Nikolas went flat on his stomach on Bel’s other side.

Acting on instinct, I tugged her against me and cupped a hand over her mouth.

Twigs snapped somewhere above us, followed by the sound of hooves thumping against the ground.

“Damn,” one of the knights growled. “It’s like they disappeared.”

The other knight grunted. “They were fast.” A horse snorted, and the first knight spoke again.

“Come on. It’s past lunch time, and I’m fucking starving.”

“You sure? I thought you recognized the men from the poster.”

“Eh. Maybe. Maybe not.” The first knight paused. Then came the sound of someone gathering phlegm in their throat.

Bel tensed. Her hair tickled my nose. A subtle scent drifted from the crown of her head. Dark and flowery. A little spicy.

Jasmine , I realized. She smelled of jasmine.

The unmistakable sound of spitting sounded overhead.

Nikolas turned his gaze to mine, his expression mildly appalled.

“I don’t think it was them,” the first knight said. “Let’s go.”

The knights’ horses trampled the forest floor above us, the retreating hoofbeats gradually fading to silence. After a moment, Bel pulled my hand from her mouth.

“Sorry,” I murmured.

She flung the dried and dead foliage off us, then scrambled from the hollow. Her golden eyes glittered as she glared down at me and Nikolas. “You’re going to get me thrown into prison!”

Nikolas pulled a leaf from his coat. “Oh, we’re much more likely to swing.”

Her nostrils flared. “That’s worse, not better!”

I stood, then turned in a slow circle, listening for any sign of the knights. When the forest remained silent, I faced Bel. “We need to get to Saldu.”

Her eyes widened. “And encounter even more knights? We’ll be caught.”

“Not so,” Nikolas said, standing. “It’ll be easier to blend in. The city is the best place for us.” He gestured to Bel. “Besides, that’s where your magic wants to go.”

As if he’d summoned it, the magic pulsed in my chest, urging me to move up the incline and back toward the road.

Bel pressed her lips together, anger and indecision in her big eyes. But recognition gleamed there, too. She felt the pull as keenly as I did.

Light streaked down the incline, and Helios halted steps away. “Are you all right?” he asked Bel. “I was worried sick. The humans left. I thought they were going to squat in the road forever.”

“I’m fine,” she said, going to him. She brushed his fiery arm, then turned back to me and Nikolas. “We’ll continue to Saldu.”

Helios shoved his spectacles higher, his body dimming as he scowled. “I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to,” I said, “but I don’t think we have much choice.” At least, Bel and I didn’t. The connection was stronger than ever.

For better or worse, we were going to Saldu.