Page 45 of Heart of Thieves

I wait for the Unbreakable Lie to buzz under my skin as I reach down so Septavia’s tentacles curl around my fingers, but it doesn’t. The magic is quiet.

Enzo still believes I’m on his side.

“I’m sorry.” I turn my hand as Septavia fits her suckers to my tat-too. “I know it’s against the rules. I just . . . after our argument . . .” I trail away as the memory of him refusing my offer last night—the Unbreakable Lie in exchange for my heart—resurfaces hot and sharp. My gaze drops to the pendant on his chest. It glows faintly purple, beating in time with my pulse.

I’m seized with a sudden, intense desire to snatch it.

“I’m not worried about you betraying us.” He blows out a breath. “But the rest of the Tentacles . . . Well, they aren’t taking kindly to you being the only one allowed to skirt the rules.”

“Understandable,” I say as the resentment twisting through me twinges with guilt. It’s not just Enzo I’m lying to. It’s Soren, Isla, Arden, and Jade, too.

He gets to his feet, holding out his hand for Septavia to crawl back into her spot. “We can’t have animosity among us, or we’ll start making mistakes.”

“Got it.” I force a smile. “Won’t happen again.”

“And . . . to be fair to the others . . .” He grimaces. “You’re on washroom duty next week.”

I sigh. “Fair.”

“Good.” He tugs his sleeve into place over Septavia. “You can’t see out of both your eyes when they’re pointing different ways like a seahorse, can you?”

“Uh . . . no. Sorry.”

“Rats. Let me know if that ever changes. It would be a useful skill to add to our arsenal.”

I laugh, and he presses a thumb to the tattoo on my arm, drawing the soullight I’ve stored there into his ring. As the light fades from my skin and fills the metal, I search his face for signs the moonshard’s magic might be taking over, tainting him the way Estelle described. I study his pores for signs of a starlit scar. I check his eyes for hints of the coldness I glimpsed in Nic’s.

But it’s just Enzo, same as always.

He’s still safe, it seems. For now.

“I’ll break the curse.” He wraps his hand around our pendant. “You’ll have that freedom you asked me for soon. I promise.”

So many words ensnare themselves in my throat. I want to tell him about Estelle, about Laurel, about the eclipse and our plan to save him.

But I don’t. I’m done begging the brothers to save me. Done waiting for others to determine my fate. So all I do is nod. “Okay, Enzo.”

He checks his watch. “I need to be going.”

“You have a job tonight?”

“Just a supply run to stock up for the Opalton job. We need some rope and other things.”

I pretend I’m just remembering he had that supply run tonight, pretend I’m not planning to use that distraction to set the next part of my plan with Estelle into motion.

I bid him farewell as he exits, then shut the door with shaking hands.

Tonight might be the most difficult part of our plan for Nocturne’s game, and Enzo needs to be completely occupied if I’m going to get away with it. Because what I need to do now will have terror roaring through our heart like icefire.

I’m going to speak to Nic.

This time, when I sneak out of the Brig, I make sure to cover my tracks. I set three pieces of voratium on my bed infused with an illusion of me sleeping. I haven’t quite finessed the art of creating lasting illusions as well as Nic did in his casino, but I’ve practiced enough that as long as anyone who checks on me doesn’t get too close, they should be fooled.

Then I take a deep breath and trek back to Waterside. Once I’ve reached the street, I grasp at Nic’s magic—not to wield it, but to find him.

The tension in my stomach mounts as I follow its tether through Aethera. I didn’t want to have to interact with Nic—in fact, I still don’t. But I need to make sure both he and Laurel come to my game.

My body buzzes. How will he react? Will he try to shoot me again? Will he apologize?