Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
“Oh,” Gen said softly. “Well, that would be valuable, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes,” Graves said. “And it’s what I offer all of you. When we steal the cauldron, you’ll each get a chance to use it.”
A stillness filled the space at that proclamation. Kierse had already made her bargain with Graves, but she could see each member of his team shift in place as they weighed what exactly they could get from something so powerful.
“Whoa,” Gen whispered, nudging Kierse. “That’s a lot.”
She nodded.
“Think carefully what you’d like to get out of this, but keep your eye on the prize.” Graves turned his attention to each of them in turn, ending on Schwartz. “Tell me you have better news about the owner.”
“Never met the guy. Was hired by an underling who I don’t think has met him, either. None of the other guys have. They call him the Curator.”
“Like he lives in a museum,” Graves mused.
“That doesn’t inspire confidence that he’d sell the cauldron to you,” Laz noted.
She could see on Graves’s face that he’d already had the thought.
“You don’t think they’re here to sell it,” Kierse guessed.
“No, I don’t.”
“If we’re not going to buy it and we’re not going to steal it, how are we going to get it?” Kierse asked.
Graves said nothing. She could see the wheels turning in his head. He didn’t like being without all the information.
“We’re going to steal it,” Graves finally said.
“What? But I just said…”
He smirked. “Oh, I know. But the gameboard has been set. He’s expecting us to steal it. So we’ll do exactly what he expects.”
“And play a game of our own?” Kierse surmised.
“If all goes well and people are as…magnanimous as we hope, I’ll buy it,” Graves conceded.
“When they’re not?” Gen asked softly.
“Then we’re going to use the opportunity against them. We need more information on the owner, the business, where the cauldron is being taken, when it is being transported,” Graves said. “That way we can do a proper heist for it without everyone we know standing in our way.”
“Is this where I come in?” Laz asked with a grin.
“Yes. While Kierse is the distraction,” Graves agreed.
“Wait, distraction?” Kierse asked.
Graves’s eyes traveled down the length of her. “Do you remember that lovely dress you wore to Imani’s party?”
Kierse flushed at a memory of being nearly nude in sheer black with nothing but diamond pasties for modesty. “Yes,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as breathless as she felt.
“We’ll need something similar,” he said with dark bedroom eyes. “We need to make an entrance.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
One glance in the mirror and Kierse saw a Fae in truth and not the girl who hid behind the glamour. Since the costume theme was A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Graves had insisted that she lean into her faerie heritage. Her pointed ears were on display in an elaborate updo. Her skin was highlighted in a shimmery gold that made her almost glow. And her eyes accented until the deep depths of brown looked like liquid pools surrounded by smoke. Her lips were dyed a deep, dark maroon, the color of spilled wine and heartbreak. A gold circlet of vines crowned her head.
Isolde had hung her dress up in the walk-in closet for display. A pair of sky-high heels with red soles were set out next to it.
“Subtle.”
“Subtlety isn’t his style,” Gen observed.
“It’s going to look stunning,” Isolde promised.
“I can’t wait for him to see it.” Gen bit her lip. “Especially considering what I walked in on the other day…”
Kierse elbowed her. “Are you suggesting he’d prefer it on the floor?”
Isolde laughed. “Every man is going to prefer that on the floor.”
“And woman,” Kierse added. She winked at them. “If I’m lucky.”
She slid the fabric over her body and shivered as it graced her skin. She stepped into the fabulous gold strappy heels to complete the look. “Let’s see what he thinks.”
Butterflies fluttered through her stomach as she descended the stairs toward the first floor. At the bottom of the staircase stood Graves. She had been so concerned with what he would think of her dress, she hadn’t considered that he would also be out of his customary suit and tie.
Instead, he was dressed in fitted black pants in a hue that seemed to suck up the shadows and dark riding boots. His chest was covered in a supple black leather with matte black dragon scales etched into the fabric. Thick, crisscrossed gold metalwork had been added to the chest plate and extended out across his shoulders as if golden metal branches were reaching out from his chest. His sleeves were made of the same black leather with hints of the gold underpinning the scale effect. A gold crown that mirrored the branches on his chest adorned his brow, threading through his midnight-blue hair. He looked every inch the dark faerie king, and she his queen.