Page 61 of Elven Lies

“Not exactly. More like steal from the rich and deliver to the highest bidder.”

“Ooh, Ilikeit.”

“Nexus is a franchise, more or less,” Rebecca continued. “High-end safety deposit boxes. They’re all over the country. We hit a few a couple years ago. They’re not that hard to get into if you know what you’re doing. Even easier when you have a key.”

“Look atyou…” Rowan crooned as they moved swiftly down the sidewalk.

She didn’t respond, but when he still wouldn’t stop grinning at her and the side of her face kept itching beneath his gaze, she finally broke. “What? What smartass comment do you have this time?”

Rowan gasped with feigned shock. “Really? Is that all you think of me?”

With a snort, she shook her head and stared straight ahead. “Just say it already.”

“I just can’t believe you spent years as a cat burglar.”

“I wasnota cat burglar.”

“Well, not the last timeIsaw you,” he said. “That’s quite a change from the Bloodshadow Heir, groomed to lead all the armies of the Tha’rossa Clans to foretold victory.”

“Maybe don’t shout it from the rooftops in public, huh?”

“How long did you rob people?” he asked.

“We didn’t rob—” Rebecca stopped herself and couldn’t help a laugh. “I don’t know. Six or seven years altogether?”

“And youlikethis career change?” He sounded genuinely curious.

That was when the alarm bells went off in the back of her mind.

Rowan getting curious meant Rowan taking an interest in even more of her past, which she also didn’t want. Her life with Corpus was over, its momentary friendships scattered to the wind.

Since then, Rebecca had moved on, and there was no point in digging up old stories that were no longer relevant.

“I’m not doing that anymore, though, am I?” she asked, fingering the key she’d slipped back into her jacket pocket.

“Oh, I suppose that all depends on how you look at it.” Rowan shrugged. “From that Eduardo guy’s point of view, you’re definitely still a thief.”

She had to give him that one.

If they were to get particularly technical about it, using this key to open a private vault that once belonged to Aldous might, in some circles, be considered thievery as well. But it was for a good cause. Whatever Aldous had secreted away for himself beyond Shade’s compound most likely had never belonged to him in the first place but to all of Shade.

If what Bor had told her about the changeling’s dubious side hustles panned out to be true.

Rebecca just hoped whatever he’d hidden inside Nexus wasn’t more dangerous than she currently expected, especially because she was bringing Rowan with her. Now thatheknew what the key opened, she would never convince him to go back to headquarters on his own while she checked this out alone.

Hopefully, he could handle whatever they discovered inside Aldous’s vault. If it was anything beyond a few valuables, even if it held important Shade secrets, letting them fall into the wrong hands could be a grave mistake. After what she’d seenfrom Rowan since he’d found her, she was certain Rowan Blackmoon’s hands were just as dangerous as Aldous’s.

No, actually. She was starting to think they might be evenworse.

Aldous had been a proud, self-serving idiot, and that had made him dangerous enough. Rowan was also proud and self-serving, though he tried to hide it beneath all the humor and charm. But no one could ever call him an idiot. If he played along with something, it was because he believed it would give him leverage for something else he wanted.

He hadn’t yet told Rebecca what he wanted in exchange for helping her find the key-maker, but something told her it wasn’t simply another opportunity to try convincing her to come back home with him.

Which meant she still couldn’t let down her defenses around him just yet.

Talking to him like this—out in the open, alone, as they walked down the streets of Chicago in the fresh air and sunshine with no other impending emergencies and no need to pretend not to know him—almost felt like old times again. Like they could have been strolling through the Lashir’i Gardens or sneaking into the old armory, just for fun.

But this was Chicago, not Agn’a Tha’ros. The more time Rebecca spent with him, the stronger her suspicion became that this was no longer the Rowan Blackmoon she’d known back then.

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