Egos’s gaze stayed on Kyra and she seemed to take that as permission to elaborate.
“It did look like a very big storm to me,” she said, her eyes glimmering with honesty. “There was so much sand and the wind was howling.” At her words the stifling air in the den seemed to shift and for a moment I felt a breeze pushing through my hair.
I cleared my throat and Kyra offered me a sheepish look as the breeze fell away as if it had never come at all. Egos turned his action back to me.
“And you made no other detours? You weren’t tempted to spend any of my treasure? Set yourself up in a palace perhaps? Name yourself the king of hearts and lure noble women everywhere to your bed like some kind of pied piper?” Egos’s mouth hooked up just a little like he was teasing but a sliver of fear ran down my spine at his words. There was just a little too much of the truth hiding in them. And Cassian had told me that someone had recognised my face the night Gothel had tried to put a bug in his brain. If it had been one of The Forty then they’d have told Egos for sure. There was nothing I could do about that though. Egos may have had his suspicions but my only choice was to stick to my story and hope for the best.
I barked a laugh and flashed him both dimples. “Maybe I should bear that in mind for next time,” I joked, making sure it didn’t sound likely at all.
“Of course, if you did that I’d have to kill you. Slowly.” Egos held my gaze and it felt like he was trying to rip my soul apart and force the truth from my lips.
I swallowed back the snarky response which sprung onto my tongue as his eyes trailed over me before moving to Kyra. I didn’t miss the lust which sparked in his gaze as he surveyed her. There were far more men than women in The Forty; a lot of the female members of the slums turned to whoring as a safer way to earn their meals than thieving. Especially the attractive ones. At least there was no law against selling your body and work in a brothel earned them a bed to sleep in, three meals a day and sometimes even the attention of a highborn fool who might shower them with gifts or even raise them up out of the gutter. Not that I’d ever known a whore who had ended up as a highborn man’s wife, but it was the whispered promise of that possibility that kept a lot of them happy while working on their backs for the men who walked through their doors.
Egos had Amira as his own personal source of female comfort whenever he wanted her and his possessive manner about her may have seemed like love to some. But I knew better. Amira was the most attractive woman in the den. He took her for his own as a mark of his position in much the same way as he claimed the best of every haul we brought back to this place.
The way he was looking at Kyra made me more than a little uncomfortable. If he tried to lay a claim on her, I’d be left with no choice but to engage him in a fight over it. And despite Egos’s years, I didn’t like my chances against him. He was sly and as quick as a cat, fierce and as unpredictable as the wind. More men than I could count had fallen prey to his wrath for much less slights than denying him a night with their woman.
“Tell me again what became of the others,” he purred, his one eyed gaze staying locked on Kyra in way that made my blood chill.
“I’m still not entirely sure,” I said, sticking as close to the truth as I could. I didn’t know what Cassian had revealed to him before my arrival, nor did I know if he’d sent anyone to follow us who might have seen the bodies left behind in that cave. “The cave which housed the treasure was unlike any place I’d ever seen. We crossed beneath a waterfall which tore secrets from our lips and seemed to cast judgement over our very souls. It was as if it was assessing us, deciding if we were worthy to claim the riches within that cave. At first all seemed fine but then as we started to gather the jewels, the others began screaming, their flesh was ripped from their bodies... I still don’t understand it.”
“It was cursed,” Kyra breathed, her knowledge of that place certain in her tone.
Egos licked his lips slowly, sifting through my words like he wasn’t sure what to do with them. Yes, we all knew magic existed but it was unusual to come across it in our line of work. Power like that tended to be reserved for the highborn. Magic was rare and its cost was great. Of course, if it was being used to guard endless riches, that wasn’t so unbelievable.
“And yet you were allowed to touch it?” Egos asked, hunting for a lie he knew was there somewhere.
I shrugged, knowing that giving him a straight lie wasn’t likely to work. The man had an uncanny ability to sniff out falsehood and make men pay for it in blood. “We didn’t touch the jewels the others tried to take.” I didn’t elaborate, and I hadn’t lied.
Egos nodded, sensing the truth in my words. “Perhaps the sorcerer who cursed it just placed his foul magic on the riches closest to the entrance. You were lucky to escape with your lives and my treasure.”
I nodded like I agreed. There was no further questions of the men he’d sent to their deaths and I could tell that he’d decided to leave it at that. All that death. Barely a mention of it now. Was I so irrelevant to him too?
Balthazar was standing to the left of Egos’s seat and for a moment I couldn’t help but look his way. My old rival. The boy who’d been brought into The Forty alongside me all those years ago and pitted against me at every test. Why had Egos wanted us to see each other like that? Why hadn’t he wanted us to bond the way I had with Cassian? It seemed cruel to think that I’d allowed this man to drive me and hone me into something other than my true self for all those years. Perhaps Balthazar never should have been my enemy. Maybe he should have been my brother.
“And where do the two girls come into the story?” Egos murmured as he plucked a ruby the size of a duck egg from the treasure we’d brought him and ran it between his grasping fingers. I drew my attention back to him quickly, shoving aside the strange idea about Balthazar.
“They were-” I began but Egos raised one, fat finger to silence me and I bit my tongue to halt my speech as he pointed it at Kyra for the explanation he sought.
Kyra’s big eyes widened and she shifted a little closer to me, her arm brushing against mine in a way that lit a fire in Egos’s cruel gaze. He could see the bond between us and I knew he would already be thinking up ways to exploit it to his own ends.
“My family has property which borders the Oasis where the treasure was hidden,” Kyra explained, reeling off the story we’d come up with as if it were the god’s honest truth. “My cousin, Punzle was staying with us from the kingdom of Carubai while my father arranged our marriages. He selected matches to fetch the highest dowries without care for our happiness. We were both due to marry mean old men within the month. One night, while we were walking in the gardens, Aladdin and Cassian appeared looking for shelter. We agreed to steal camels, food and water from my father’s household so long as they saved us from that fate.”
Egos clucked his tongue. “How noble of you, Aladdin,” he said, knowing full well that I’d never saved anyone from anything in my life. Aside from the incident with Pip and those guards.
“It was Cassian’s idea to go along with it,” I shrugged. “He took a liking to the blonde.”
“Hmm.” Egos ran a hand over his chin thoughtfully. “I suppose we should bring your royal guard pet and the cousin back in here to see if they agree with this story of yours.” His tone held a note of mocking to it which unsettled me but I kept my face impassive.
At his words Finn turned away and went to fetch Cassian and Rapunzel back to join us.
In the silence that stretched as we awaited their return, Pip caught my eye and grinned enthusiastically. My lips twitched with amusement but I didn’t offer him any more than that. I was pleased to see my number one fan and I could admit to myself that it was for more than just the entertainment provided by his adoration of me. But Egos didn’t approve of my friendship with him and I didn’t need to add any coals to the fire of his displeasure.
Finn returned with Cassian and Rapunzel in tow and I looked their way for a moment before fixing my gaze on E
gos again.
I could feel Cassian’s eyes boring a hole into the back of my head but I didn’t turn to look at him again. I wasn’t sure how good his acting skills were but I didn’t need to risk the chance of him and Rapunzel failing to sell this act.
“So. Aladdin tells me you were tempted by the flesh of this woman?” Egos asked, his attention shifting to Cassian.
I didn’t look at him but Kyra did and I hoped she managed to convey the right response to him.
“Err, yes,” Cassian admitted, his tone clipped. I was glad he chose not to elaborate.
“And there was me thinking you harboured amorous intentions towards horses,” Egos muttered, rousing chuckles from several of The Forty who surrounded us.
“Maybe she reminded him of a palomino?” I offered with a smirk. No doubt Cassian’s jaw was clenching hard enough to crack a tooth at the idea of me comparing Rapunzel to a horse right about now.
Egos’s mouth hooked up at the corner, one of my jokes amusing him for once as laughs rang out around us.
“No doubt the nobleman will pay a high price to retrieve his daughter and niece then,” Egos mused.
“Well...” I said, offering a cocky grin. “He might have done before they were ruined. Preserving their virtue didn’t really occur to me.”
Balthazar snorted in response to that comment and I turned my eyes on him for a moment, surprised to find how much I’d missed his scowling face while we’d been parted.
“We can’t all offer our attention to the ugly countesses like Balthazar,” I added, throwing him a wink.
Egos quirked another smile at that, his gaze dripping over Kyra hungrily yet again. I was more than tempted to pull her under my arm but staking a claim like that would be like waving a red rag at a bull. It would increase his interest in her, not lessen it so I forced myself to keep my face blank in response to his interest. If he did any more than look then I’d be forced to step in despite the serious risk that would pose to my life.
“Well, if they want to stay you know the rules,” Egos said eventually, his attention shifting to take in Rapunzel instead.
When he looked at the Princess, the lust fell from his gaze and a hint of rage replaced it. I wondered why for a moment before remembering a tale Finn had told me when I’d first joined The Forty. I’d gotten a little drunk on wine and being young and curious, I’d decided to ask how Egos had lost his eye.
The other thief had glanced about uncertainly, making sure Egos wasn’t within hearing range before leaning close, his wine infused breath washing over my face. “He lost it for the love of a woman with golden hair,” he whispered before warning me not to ask any more questions about Egos’s past if I liked my limbs attached to my body. I knew no more than that but the way that Egos was surveying Rapunzel made me feel like there was truth in that tale.
I couldn’t stop myself from looking at Kyra. He wanted them to fight in the ring for the right to sleep here. I was confident that she could hold her own but I was worried that she might give herself away if she did. When we’d been fighting the dead in the catacombs she’d danced among them, disappearing into purple smoke and reappearing to surprise her attackers.
“I’m not sure if-” I began but Egos interrupted me.
“Unless they’d prefer to pay for their places by offering their bodies to any who want them?” he asked innocently.
“What?” Rapunzel demanded in undisguised outrage behind me.
I turned to glare at her and Cassian as he opened his mouth to protest too.
“They’re not really suited to whoring,” I said, my tone suggesting I’d considered it. “So I suppose they’ll have to fight.”
Rapunzel gasped audibly behind me and Kyra turned her wide eyes on me in surprise but I didn’t respond, keeping my mask in place.
Egos grinned excitedly. “We’ll have our entertainment once I’ve counted your haul,” he said, his gaze slipping to the priceless treasure Kyra had conjured for him. “Let’s hope there’s enough here to cover the cost of the lives that were lost. It looks like there may be... but I doubt there will be much left for you to take a cut.”
“I’m happy enough with this prize,” I said with a shrug, throwing my arm around Kyra and dragging her against me indecently. I half expected her to twist away from me as I pressed a kiss to her lips. I didn’t really want to treat her like this in front of The Forty but if I acted differently to the way they expected then I would cause a lot more trouble for us than one inappropriate kiss.
Instead of retreating, Kyra met my passion with her own, her body moving flush to mine, her lips parting to admit my tongue. Although I’d meant it as part of the display we were putting on for the other thieves, I couldn’t deny the thrill of excitement that ran through me as she gave herself to me again. I’d begun to wonder if that kiss between us in the river had just been a moment of insanity on her part but the way she kissed me then suggested she still felt the fire burning between us as keenly as I did.
Cassian cleared his throat uncomfortably and Rapunzel muttered something I didn’t quite catch. I felt a little uneasy with her eyes on me but I had to play this part for The Forty to sell our act.
I pulled back reluctantly, offering her my best cocky smile as I tore my eyes away from Kyra’s to look back at Egos. He rolled his eyes at the behaviour he’d come to expect from me, clearly not realising that Kyra was entirely different and a wave of relief filled me. He could know I desired her but he could never find out that I really cared about her. If he did, she’d become a pawn he could use against me. I’d learned that fast by living in The Forty. Don’t form attachments; they’ll only hold you back. Though now I was beginning to doubt that that was right. I didn’t feel encumbered by the way I felt about Kyra, Cassian and Rapunzel, I actually felt more powerful because of it. Maybe Egos hadn’t been making us stronger by demanding we feel nothing for one another; he’d been keeping us weak.
Kyra’s fingers brushed against my collar as she pulled back and Egos’s gaze slipped to my neck.
“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the silver chain I wore which held the lamp disguised as an amulet.
My heart stumbled over itself, Kyra’s eyes widened in panic, ice carved a trail down my spine.
I tried to cover my horror with a laugh, masking it as embarrassment but I didn’t think Egos was buying it.
“That’s actually rather embarrassing,” I said, tugging the chain out from beneath my shirt to reveal the amber amulet. When Kyra had created it for me I’d been passing myself off as a Count and I cursed the decision we’d made to make it appear expensive. “I put the damn thing on and can’t get it off.”
I tugged on the thick, silver chain to prove my point. Kyra had made it too small to slip over my head and unbreakable too. The only way Egos could claim it would be by beheading me. Which I wasn’t entirely convinced he wouldn’t do. Especially if he believed I’d been trying to keep it from him.
I closed my fingers around a piece of the chain and looked at Kyra, raising an eyebrow minutely as I gave her a wish I hoped she’d understand. “There’s a catch here that’s seized up and won’t come loose.”
Kyra nodded like she was agreeing with me and a small flare of heat blazed beneath my fingers followed by the feeling of a catch in the chain which hadn’t been there before.
“Well I’m sure Finn will be able to assist you with removing it,” Egos said, his voice close to a growl as doubt coloured his words. He thought I’d been lying to him, withholding a piece of the treasure for myself. He’d killed men for less.
“I’d be more than pleased if he can,” I said, stepping towards Finn eagerly.
Egos nodded and the huge thief gripped the chain between his meaty fists. He eyed the catch for a moment before yanking the chain as hard as he could in an attempt to break it. I staggered forward as the damn thing cut into my flesh and Finn tried to break it again.
“Holy shit, you’re going to strangle me at this rate!” I snarled.
Finn stopped his assault on the chain and looked to Egos for further instruction.
“It’s fine,” I said quickly. “I’m sure I’ll be able to pick the catch apart given a bit of time to focus on it and then of course it’s yours.”
Egos pinned me in his cold stare for several long seconds as I felt a thin trickle of blood oozing along my neck.
“Be sure that you do,” he said eventually, waving a hand at us in dismissal. “I’ll give you fifteen minutes before the girls are required in the ring.”
I inclined my head to him and turned away, drawing closer to Cassian and Rapunzel as the thieves detaining him moved aside. Rapunzel’s lips parted as if she’d been going to say something then thought better of it. Kyra dragged her into an embrace and I ran my tongue over my teeth as I looked around the huge room. Pip looked like he wanted to approach me but Balthazar gave him a shove which sent him scurrying away instead.
“C’mon, let’s go to my room,” I muttered, not wanting to discuss anything while the thieves were looking our way.
“That’s it? We can just go?” Rapunzel questioned as they followed me through the sprawling space towards the stairs.
“I don’t like your chances of getting out of the den but we’re free to go to my room,” I replied.
She fell into silence and Cassian placed a hand on her back, guiding her after me.
I raised an eyebrow at him but he ignored me.
We made it into my room and I sank down onto the single bed which looked even more miserable than it had in my memory. Rapunzel was hovering, her face set in a careful mask which didn’t do anything to disguise the fact that she was somewhat horrified to find out where I’d been living before I came to the palace.
I looked away from her, refusing to admit that I was embarrassed by my room. Up until a few weeks ago I’d been pretty damn proud of this bit of space I could call my own but now it seemed small, bare, a little grubby...
Forbidden Fairytales- The Complete Series Page 59
