Page 42 of Of Sword & Silver

“Of course I have. Why do you think I told him I’d marry him?”

The Sword’s jaw twitches.

“Fine, I get it, you don’t like that I broke off my vow to marry him and robbed him blind. I’m so bad, evil thief and all that.” My cheeks puff out as I blow out a breath.

“You know how to get inside the treasury?”

Oh. He’s not asking about my broken engagement. “Yes, though I doubt it’s the same as when I lived there.”

A vein ticks in his forehead. “You lived with this… King of Diamonds?”

“Engaged, remember?” Gods, he must be ancient if he thinks unmarried people don’t live together. Ancient and out of touch.

He’s ancient and waiting for an answer, his bare foot tapping impatiently on the floor.

“Ugh. Yes. It was horrible.” I shake my head, my hair falling all around me. “He throws so many lavish parties, but he’s incredibly dull. He gave himself that name, you know? Who does that?” I dust off a spot of gods-knows-what from my green cloak. “He puts on an elaborate masquerade every winter; it’s this ridiculous overblown ball with all the nobility of Heska coming from miles away, and a two-day feast…”

He's staring at me with increasing intensity. I nudge a rock on the floor with my boot. Ew. Still sticky.

“A midwinter masque?” he asks.

“You have heard of it!” I throw my hands up. “Why would you let me go on and on about it if you already knew it was called the midwinter masque?”

“I didn’t.”

I pause. “I told him to change the name, that it was too on the nose?—”

“Kyrie,” the Sword grates out my name, and I go still. Maybe it’s the magic he worked through us, maybe it’s the vows we’ve sworn… maybe it’s something else, but I don’t finish what I’m saying.

I wait, and I listen.

“When is midwinter?”

My nose scrunches, and I mentally tabulate the days since I left Lara’s cottage.

“Two weeks,” I say on an exhalation, slapping my forehead.

“That’s when we’ll steal Sola’s Crown.”

“Why do we need it?” I ask. “You haven’t told me what it’s for. How do you even know we need it?”

“We need something of Sola’s to break the curse. Pure chaos.”

My mouth twitches to the side as I consider it. “Huh. They didn’t teach us magic like that.”

“Then I suppose it’s good you found me.” His dark eyes find my gaze.

“Two weeks. Midwinter masque, steal the crown from his treasury. It could work, Sword. It could be a great plan.” I tap my finger against my chin, thinking hard. “We need four more. Ugh. Six is so many people.”

He smiles at me, his teeth even, and a dimple creases on his cheek.

My knees go a little weak. It’s the first time he’s smiled at me.

I didn’t expect it to completely melt my brain.

I definitely didn’t expect the dimple.

“Four more,” he says, walking down the steps. “Four more to join us for a masquerade ball, where we will steal Sola’s Crown from the King of Diamonds.”

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