Page 16 of Luca

“You’re right,” she said, finally gazing over at me, her black eyes filled with mischief. My belly swooped. Triple fuck.“You are smart, aren’t you? For a human. I’m surprised you’re my idiot brother’s perfect match.”

I let out a slow breath through my nose, composing myself. There was no point giving up the pretense now. If I could make her believe I was unfazed by her having information on me, she might let it go.Mightbeing the operative word. “Can I help you with something, or are you just here to insult my mate?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Let me know when you do,” I snarked, then shifted forward, intent on walking past her to have a meltdown over everything being ruined in peace, but she quickly shoved off the wall, sorta blocking the way. Despite my best attempts at resolve, my heartbeat picked up the pace, and I once again gulped past the dryness in my throat. She wasn’t exactly confining me to the hall, but her eerily smooth and snakelike body language had me rooted to the spot.

I was almost thirty percent sure she wouldn’t hurt me. She had no reason to, other than scoring points against Cair, but even then, she struck me as the type to know when to pick her battles. I wasn’t worth the aggravation of the aftermath.

At least, I hoped I wasn’t.

She pinched the tip of her dagger’s blade between her fingers and rocked it back and forth. Suddenly, a dash of electricity bounced off its edges before disappearing. My eyes widened, zeroing in on the action and wondering if I’d imagined it. She clocked my interest and her smirk grew.“Do you like it?”

My gaze snapped back up and I nodded. It was stunning, from the intricately carved wooden handle to the ruby set into the hilt, but in all honesty, it was its background that intrigued me more than its appearance. I remembered Cair telling me Teighan had lost the real one when they were young and replaced it with a worthy duplicate. He’d admitted how guilty he felt for it, but not enough to come clean. Apparently, she’d start a war if she knew the truth, so they’d decided to just let it be.

Except when Cair used it to torment his brother, of course.

“Can you keep a secret?” she asked, and I nodded again, curious.

“Those dipshits think they lost the real one, but they didn’t. You really think I’d be so careless as to leave my most prized possession lying around with three snooping brothers?” She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, no. As soon as I clocked their obsession with knowing its origins, I planted a replica.”

Oh. Well, that was certainly a plot twist I hadn’t expected. I also noted how she saidthreebrothers, not two and whatever awful name I’d have presumed she’d give Tee.I’d file that away in my ‘could be useful later’ pile.

“They were even bigger pests as teens, sneaking into my rooms and getting on my nerves. Teighan, the clumsy oaf, dropped it in the river while they were figuring out how it ‘fired up.’” She flicked the dirk in her hand again, another bolt of lightning flashing.It must be enchanted.“I never let on that I watched the scene from the shadows. I like holding that power, knowing they’re terrified of me finding out the truth. Gives me tingles, y’know?”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, puzzled by her sudden confession.

She shrugged, and sheathed the blade in her belt before pushing out her lip in an exaggerated pout, fluttering her lashes in feigned sadness. “Because I have no other fwends.”

I huffed a half laugh and rolled my eyes. She was such a dick, but her sass was impeccable. Unlike Cair and Teighan—and possibly Orian, though I hadn’t seen the full scope of him yet—it didn’t feel as if Maeve wore a mask. Not entirely. I believed that what you saw was what you got, just pure and authenticallyher. She didn’t pretend for the sake of fitting in, or seem to hide behind a front of her father’s making. Of course, that didn’t mean she wasn’t as complex and layered as the rest of the Haryk siblings, or that she had no skeletons in her closet. Maybe she just wasn’t wholly against the life she led, or she didn’t give it much weight. I got the impression that Maeve only did whatever served her. She was a hardened assassin who looked out for no one but herself, so perhaps she was using whatever she had to her advantage instead of wishing for an escape.

I could respect that.

If she didn’t antagonize my mate so much.

“Well, thank you for that interesting story, but if you don’t mind…” I side-stepped around her, officially done with whatever this was—a power play, probably, or just plain old bragging about her capabilities. Maybe a test? “I’m just gonna?—”

“Keep your wits about you out there,” she cut in, her tone light and almost playful. “You never know who’s in the shadows, waiting to pounce.”

I whirled around. “Are you… Was that a threat?”

She tilted her head, the grin on her face much too self-satisfied. “Oh, you’ll know when I’m threatening you, little dove. For instance…” She leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper as she added, “If you tell either of my brothers our little secret, the servants will be scraping what’s left of you all off the floor.”

I recoiled, much to Maeve’s obvious delight. “We both know you can’t kill them, and if you touched me, there would be war, so that means nothing.”

“Ican’t. But I have plenty of pets who’d love to do it for me.” She patted my head condescendingly, but at the same moment, her words fully sank in and my brain finally joined the chat—better late than never.

Instead of cowering like a scared mouse, I stepped back, squaring my shoulders. That seemed to amuse and intrigue her even more, but I didn’t care. She’d unwittingly shown her hand, highlighting an opportunity I couldn’t pass up even if it was reckless. Thankfully, Cair wasn’t around to witness it.

“Counteroffer…” I crossed my arms over my chest, hoping to distract from the way my heart was thundering in my throat. “I won’t say a word about your dagger if news of our trip doesn’t reach the king’s ear, directly or indirectly, from your lips.” It was a long shot, but her secret was obviously fodder for a bargain, or she wouldn’t have added weight to its importance. It was the only leverage I had. I mean, there was every chance the king already knew, since Maeve was the main source of his information and gossip, but I had to hope she’d decided to confront me first before running off to tattle.

Or that she was keeping the knowledge for a rainy day.

The slow smirk that spread over her face wasn’t the reaction I’d expected. There was also a gleam of knowing in her eyes, but I couldn’t quite place its meaning.

“I suppose I can’t fault your spirit, though your intuition could use a little fine-tuning,” she said, making me frown. She began humming in contemplation, her eyes tracking my body as if attempting to make me squirm. I didn’t, at least not outwardly, so she shrugged. “You have a deal.”

I barely suppressed my relieved exhale as she offered an impudent bow and sauntered away. Was that… too easy? Could her word really be trusted? I was apprehensive, to say the least, and it felt like I was overlooking something vital—being oblivious, as Alex would say. But trust, no matter how faint, was all I had. Either she would betray me or we’d both carry on with our secrets locked in each other’s heads as mutual leverage. The outcome couldn’t be predicted.

---