Page 54 of Heart of Thieves

“I don’t know, Enzo,” I hedge. I should say no, but the Unbreakable Lie thrums to life once more, clamping the refusal behind my teeth. Clearly, a Lola who is not hiding anything would agree to help him. Pressure builds at the back of my neck as the magic tries to force me to nod.

I grit my teeth. “It’s just that . . . the last magical game I competed in kind of wrecked me.”

“It won’t be like the last one. I’ll be there.” He searches my face. “Please?”

Pain blooms at the base of my skull as the Unbreakable Lie’s influence mounts. Every nerve pulls taut.

“You know I’m not above groveling.” Enzo kneels, pressing his face to the floor at my feet like I’m royalty. “Please, please, please, Lola. I’ll steal you ten bags of snazzatazzles.”

“Enzo—”

“Fine. Twenty!” He looks up at me, interlocking his fingers in supplication.

“Offer her that silk robe you stole from the prince of Destar,” Jade pipes up, grinning.

“The prince of Destar?” I think back to when we took a train to Destar to steal several items from the palace there. “Wait, which one was the prince? The blond man with all the muscles?”

She nods, eyebrows wriggling. “I saw the way you looked at him.”

“How did I look at him?”

“Like you wanted to get your hands on his—”

“Jade!” My cheeks burn as I shake my head. “I do not need his robe.”

“Oh, but I think you do,” Enzo says, eyes glinting. “It smells just like him.”

“Fine!” I cry, throwing my hands up in defeat. “I will help you win Nocturne’s dumb game. Just please stop talking about the prince. And keep his robe.”

“But you want it.”

“No, I really, really don’t.” I laugh, the sudden release of pressure from the Unbreakable Lie making me lightheaded.

“Gods. Thank you, Luncheon.” He rises and pulls me into one of his signature bear hugs. “I think this is finally our way out. We win this game, we’ll be free. You’ll be free.”

Sadness twinges in our heart, and when he pulls back, he avoids my eyes.

“It’ll be fun,” Jade says, linking arms with me. “We can steal gowns from Kestal’s Dress Shop downtown.”

“We’ll have to rearrange the schedule to free up the game days,” Arden points out, nodding at the calendar on the wall. “Move up the Opalton job.”

“Lola, why don’t you come with me, and we’ll tackle that tonight? We’ll be back in time for this”—Enzo waves the invitation—“but probably not too much before.”

I certainly can’t leave, not when Estelle and I need to pull this game together in such a short amount of time. I need him far away—and preferably with as many of the Tentacles as possible so no one notices how often I’ll be sneaking out.

“Why don’t you take Arden and Soren instead?” I ask, mind whirring.

“What?” He furrows his brow. “Why?”

“I should probably investigate my father some . . .” The excuse solidifies as I speak. “He’s probably going to have plants in the game. I, out of all of us, am best suited to get the most information about who he might enter . . . Salazar, too.”

As the words tumble out of my mouth, my stomach churns. I hadn’t thought about the fact that my father would want to compete— but of course he will. He wouldn’t let a magical favor from Nocturne go to any of his enemies, and neither would Salazar.

Perhaps this game wasn’t as great of an idea as it seemed when it was just Estelle and me, alone and excited in the Liar’s Den. But I can’t back out now. I force a smile. “We want to be prepared, right?”

Enzo ponders. “It’s not a terrible idea.”

“What if St. James recognizes you?” Jade asks.