Page 131 of Their Reckless Thief
I yanked my wrist free, frustration burning deep inside me. “I know what I’m doing, Luca.”
A glint of something—anger, pain, I couldn’t tell—crossed his face, and then he stepped back, letting his shadows fade, his face as unreadable as ever. But I’d recognized the look in his eyes, sensed the tension building between us. He could pretend all he wanted, keep up that cold, detached front, but I knew better now. Whatever he had buried beneath his wall was breaking through, no matter how hard he fought to contain it.
And damn it, I hated how much that realization affected me.
The faint droneof screens and the constant tick of electronics filled the silence in the security office as Vivian, Alessandro, Camilla, and I pored over the blueprints of our target.
The stray’s vault housing the Mirror of Truths was deep within a fortress of an estate. It was embedded with layers ofdefense meant to keep its secrets from outsiders. This kind of defense was rare in the human world. We only had one chance to do this right.
“Here,” Vivian said, tapping a glowing red dot on the hologram before us. Vicenzo had asked Vivian to provide him with a list of tech that would make this heist more seamless, and the hologram generator had been right on the top. “This entry point is technically possible, but it’s highly risky. They’ve got multi-layered barriers around the vault, and some of the magic signatures here are ancient. We’ll need precise timing to work through it all, or we’ll be locked out. Or worse.”
I traced the faint grid of magical wards that encased the perimeter, each shimmering faintly on the screen. A single misstep, and the entire plan could implode.
“Looks like we’ll need bypass tokens for those barrier wards,” Alessandro said, scrolling to a section of text with wards listed in spidery script.
Vivian nodded slightly. “It’ll be easier than breaking into a Veil Guard vault, but that doesn’t mean it’s a walk in the park. From what I’ve researched, this stray family loves their illusions and their booby traps. I’d be more worried about the hidden enchantments. They don’t just want to keep intruders out, they want to keep them lost, disoriented, maybe even dead. They have gone to a lot of trouble to protect whatever they have in the vault.”
Camilla grimaced and looked at Alessandro. “Remember the Valencia heist? That whole setup with the shifting walls? Took you three hours to get out of that mess. I thought you’d spend the rest of your life in that cursed labyrinth.”
Alessandro laughed, shaking his head at their memories. “How could I forget?”
Their lighthearted banter was a welcome distraction for me. It took my mind off the three men and the power they held overme, off the somersault my stomach made whenever I thought of them.
Despite this only being our second mission together, Camilla and Alessandro had already started falling into a rhythm with Vivian, adjusting the plan as they noted down key points of vulnerability and potential pitfalls. I’d never thought she would take so naturally to anyone outside of our little trio, but they were proving themselves reliable and sharp.
They would be in the security chamber with Vivian the night of the heist. There were too many moving parts for her to keep tabs on all the security footage, review maps, and watch for danger at the same time.
Camilla’s lips quirked into a small grin as she examined a particularly tricky trap. “Last time I saw a setup like this, it took Alessandro and me a lifetime to realize the exit route was through a wall panel we’d thought was solid.” She glanced at Alessandro, who snorted at the memory.
“Right, and that was after you insisted we’d taken the ‘fast way out.’” He shook his head, his voice holding a mix of exasperation and amusement.
Vivian shot them a warning look. “Glad to know you both have a history of making light of shitty situations, but here, we’re sticking to the plan, no improvisedfast ways out, got it?”
There she was. The bossy and no-nonsense Vivian I loved.
Alessandro raised his hands, all mock innocence. “Understood, boss.”
Vivian continued, pointing to the layers of security that guarded the vault. “The illusions are a problem, but the real issue is getting through the bloodline lock.”
Alessandro nodded. “If it’s anything like the ones I’ve dealt with, there’s a small chance we can trick it with a replication. I’ll have to tailor it to their family’s specific resonance, but if we get it right, it should bypass the lock.”
Camilla looked from me to Vivian, a hint of seriousness setting into her expression. “And if it doesn’t work? What’s our backup plan?”
Vivian looked at me. “Celeste’s tech skills will be our failsafe. She can reroute their magical surveillance grid. That’ll give us a temporary opening to handle the lock by force if we have to.”
I nodded. “I’m gonna hope it doesn’t come to that, but I’ll be ready.”
Vivian’s expression held a hint of pride as she handed me a small, enchanted tablet. “You’ll need this to override the primary grid. It’s tuned to the stray family’s network, so use it carefully.”
“Got it.”
Dorian and Luca stepped into the chamber and assessed the scene.
Dorian eyed me. “This is your show, Celeste. You ready?”
Confidence surged through me, and I held his gaze. “More than ready.”
Vivian gestured for everyone to refocus on the plan. “Alarms first. Celeste, once you’re at this junction”—she tapped a point on the hologram—“you’ll disrupt the primary magic grid here. Luca, you’ll handle any guards they encounter. Vincenzo will be up for the bloodline locks. I’ll manage the final ward around the vault from headquarters.”
