Page 103 of Stealing Tink

My skin crawls at the thought of the Sister already knowing exactly who Acel is. Has she seen in his tapestry the fact that he’s working with us?

The Nomad hadn’t thought so. He’d said her tapestries were woven to be hyper-focused on romance, and that Acel’s tapestry was more likely to show a vague rendering of him going away for a while to obtain more money, but that it would be more focused on the time he fell in love with the princess, as well as his love confession after returning grandly with a medallion.

That’s assuming we succeed.

The crew member must nod, because the Sister says, “Very well, let them in.”

The door above creaks and a pair of footsteps take the place of the crew member’s.

“Ah, I wondered if you would come to see me, Acel,” says the Sister, but her tone immediately sharpens. “And who are you?”

Next to me, I can feel the Nomad holding his breath. Phoenix’s lie hinges on the hope that the Sister is so wrapped up in romance alone that she won’t question it.

“A colleague,” says Phoenix. “I once worked at the palace with Acel.”

When the Sister speaks, I don’t miss the jealousy tinging her voice. Is she jealous for herself, or on the princess’s behalf? “And what is your relationship with the queen’s bodyguard?”

“Transactional,” says Phoenix, blandly. “I was fired from my position after the queen realized I had overheard a rather sensitive conversation between Acel and the princess.”

“Surely you weren’t fired for simply overhearing it,” says the Sister, her voice sickeningly sweet.

“Perhaps I attempted to make a profit off of the information,” says Phoenix. “Is that a crime?”

“In most kingdoms, yes,” says Acel, sounding agitated.

I glance over to the Nomad, who looks pleased with their performance.

“One must do what they must do to make a way for themselves in this cruel world,” says the Eldest Sister, sounding much less hostile to Phoenix now that she’s sensed Acel’s contempt for her in his voice. “Let me guess? After you were fired, you took your blackmail straight to sweet Acel here?”

“We had a common interest,” says Phoenix.

“Indeed, riches is one of the most common interests, although it rarely brings people together for long. So you help Acel obtain enough coin to purchase his medallion, and he gives you the remainder of the sum to live off of?”

Phoenix doesn’t answer.

“I always wondered how you managed to get it,” says the Sister. “If my Middle Sister had woven your tapestry, I’m certain it would have included those details. And likely a terribly grave end for you and the princess. Or worse. She might have paired you two together,” says the Sister, obvious disgust in her voice.

“So we do end up together, then?” asks Acel, his voice trembling, and I know in my heart it has nothing to do with acting. “The princess and…” The man can’t even bring himself to say it, to put himself in the same sentence as the woman he loves.

“You end up with no princess,” she says, her voice still sweet.

A silence bridges the room. The Nomad and I snap our gazes at each other. My heart sinks for Acel, for the silence emanating from above us.

We need to move, signs the Nomad.

Leaving feels like dragging myself away from Acel, away from being there to comfort him, but it’s not as if I can do anything from down here. And besides, how the Nomad will be thinking of it is that Acel’s devastation will provide us with more distraction than we could have ever hoped for.

So we climb over to where the Sister’s closet is, where there is yet another trapdoor. The Nomad reaches up and inserts the key he snagged from the windowless room.

My ears are still homed in on Acel, who is saying, “What do you mean…”

The lock clicks, and soon the Nomad is hoisting me on his shoulders up through the floor. The closet is dark, lit only by a slat between the boards of the closet. A sliver of light that lands on a safe.

I press my ear to it and my fingers to the knob, then feel the hum of the lock back at me as I turn. I try to focus, but it’s as if one ear is on the lock and the other on Acel.

“Does she end up married off to another prince?” His voice is pained.

“Not that,” says the Sister, suddenly sounding bored.