Page 69 of Songs of Vice
I sighed and pushed the earrings in. If he worried over the jewelry, he would stall the serf from offering them. He was the prince here, even if his father didn’t respect him.
That jolted my already wary nerves. I screwed Lennox over, worse than Sai had done to me. Misery churned in me. I wanted to tell Lennox the truth. That would hinder the group’s ability to retrieve the zevar, though. No. I’d just have to leave here and take my guilt with me. I’d pay it forward, wherever I settled, find some humans under their luck and offer grace to them as Lennox had done for me.
I bit my lip because it didn’t make me feel any better despite the logic. A knock came at my door, and the serf curtsied. “Anything else I can do for you, my lady?”
“Thank you. Would you check the door as you go?”
She bobbed her head and answered before looking to see if I wished for Luz to enter. I nodded, and the door clicked shut as Luz stepped in. They wore a charcoal suit with a golden silk handkerchief in the front pocket.
I stood and clicked a strand of pearls around my neck as I studied my reflection in the mirror. “Luz, I didn’t expect to see you again.”
“You got them out?”
“I did.”
They smirked. “I knew you could.” A pause. “Stay, Lira. Help us.”
I released a breath and turned away from them. “You know, I wanted to. I like the group. After we completed this, if I proved to be useful, I was going to ask Sai if I could join. It’s hard to disappear among humans when you’re magical. I thought maybe fate had led me to your group. Now I think the thing fate led me to was realizing how naïve I was.”
“You’re hurting. I understand.”
“Do you?” I whirled towards them, my skirts swirling around my feet.
“Yes. If you remember what I told you about my people,”—how the Seelie had slaughtered them—“you’ll know I understand hurt. My family is gone. Sai’s parents took me in, accepted me, loved me. I’ll likely die helping them, and I won’t regret it.”
I crossed my arms.
“The globe we plan to snatch?” Luz asked.
“What about it?”
“It’s Alegre. It belonged to my people and holds memories. I’m the one who wants it.”
“Memories of what?”
“Of our culture and magic. Things I don’t know about, Lira. That’s why Sai added it. He never would have diverted the focus from Shaan’s zevar if he didn’t know how important this was to me. I want to know what’s in that globe.” They choked over their words and cleared their throat. “I want some connection to my heritage.”
“How can I help anyhow? I’m useless, Luz.”
“You freed the group from a magic-infused prison with the Prince at your side and how many guards?”
“A few dozen, I guess.”
Luz stepped forward, their dark boots reflecting the gleam of the lamp, and gripped my arm. “You do not recognize the power within yourself. You see yourself as some mewling kitten, stumbling in a cruel city, but that’s not what you are at all.”
The browns of their eyes had darkened, and I couldn’t break my gaze. “What am I?”
“You’re a lioness who’s been raised to believe she’s a kitten. You could tear this world apart if you wanted it.”
“I don’t want that.”
“Please, Lira…”
Frustration rippled through me. I’d already gotten the group out of jail. But I didn’t know what other help I could offer. I knew nothing about the heist. Sai had made sure to cut me out of that. “What could I do?”
“Attend the ball. Be ready to use your magic if we need it.”
“And then what?” I slammed my hand against the dressing table, causing the lamp to teeter and the light to wobble over the wood. The action hadn’t eased the ache in my heart. “Join your group and spend every day with Sai who treated me like…” A whimper of a note spilled past my lips and ice crawled along the edge of the table in stenciled patterns. Luz watched it but didn’t comment. “I know you’re going to think this is foolish, but I thought I was in love with him. I’m now certain I hate him.”