I glanced at Aiden. His face was hidden by his hood as he paced the room. Gods, to be a fly on the wall of his mind. I’d learn everything I needed to know in a heartbeat.
He stopped and faced Melaena, every thought safely tucked away. “How is his security?”
“Tight. His mansion is walled off from the rest of the nobility with high fences and guards all around the perimeter. But there’s never more than a few guards inside and only one outside the vault.”
“See? I told you Kiera was telling the truth,” Maz said, standing and slapping Aiden’s shoulder. “How are we going to do this, then?”
I stayed quiet, my focus on Melaena. She didn’t bat an eyelash at where the conversation was headed. Did they plan this sort of thing a lot?
Either way, she was the key. My gut told me that any plan from her, Aiden would take.
“If you’re planning to do what I think you are,” Melaena said, “then you should know that Asher is having a party in about two weeks’ time. A luxurious affair for his birthday with many guests and additional hired help. He also wants us to put on a special show for him, which I agreed to. I also happen to know the woman in charge of preparations.” She quirked a manicured eyebrow at Aiden. “If that helps.”
“It does,” he said, his eyes flitting to me. “I thought we could steal the vault key from Asher here, as I know he’s a devoted patron of this club, but that presented some logistical problems. Problems that would be solved if we used his party as cover instead.” He didn’t look away from me as he asked, “Could Kiera join your dancers for the show?”
I gaped at him. “You must be joking. I can’t be in a show.”Thiswas his plan? It was almost like he’d heard me thinking about dancing with him as he’d led me around blindfolded.
Melaena turned to me, giving me a more scrutinizing look. “Why not? Even if you’ve never danced before, I’m sure I could teach you well enough to blend in. Besides, you’re beautiful, even dirty and marked up as you are. But I’m guessing a bath and a few of Aiden’s healing salves would fix that.”
“And we need you to get close to Asher,” Aiden said, folding his arms over his chest. Something akin to disgust flickered in his eyes. “He lets Melaena’s dancers get... very close.”
My stomach rolled over.
“But you don’t have to touch him,” Melaena added quickly, shooting a stern look at Aiden. “We have rules here. No one does anything they don’t want to do.”
I threw up my hands. “Even if I could fit in with the dancers, he could recognize me.”
“Never mind that,” Melaena said. “I have a theme in mind that will use masks and makeup with very little clothing, so I’m sure he won’t be looking at your face too closely.”
Gods damn it, to be so exposed... dancing in front of strangers... pulling off a heist.
I had barely started one mission to be thrust into another within that. So many disguises, so many lies. But I supposed this was the life of a spy. I’d started myself down this path with the ill-conceived bait of Asher’s vault, and now I would have to keep to it until the end or risk all the progress I’d made.
Buttwo weeks? I hadn’t thought how much time I would have to ingratiate myself with Aiden and his crew to discover their purpose, but now I wanted more of it.
I shook myself. It didn’t matter. Once I found a way to tell Renwell what they were planning, he would put a stop to the heist—perhaps giving me more time to steal their secrets.
Aiden’s jaw clenched, his eyes hard as gemstones as he stared at me. “We can find another way.”
“No,” I said. “It... it’s just a lot to take in.”
Someone knocked on the door. “Melaena? We’re ready to start,” a woman’s voice called.
“Be there in a moment, Jayde!” Melaena called back. “Keep them entertained!”
“Ah, Jayde’s working tonight?” Maz asked eagerly.
Melaena smirked at him. “Yes, but I’d think twice about approaching her. She knows about you and Tullia.”
Maz grimaced.
“Maz’s labyrinth of a love life aside,” Aiden said, “what’s your answer, Kiera?”
I took a deep breath. “I’ll do it. But could I watch the dancers for a bit? To get an idea of what I’ll be doing?”
Melaena beamed and squeezed my hands. “Absolutely! Aiden can show you where to stand without being seen.” She released me, heading for the door. “I’ll give your name to the gate guards, so they’ll let you through for training tomorrow. Noon. Don’t be late. Aiden, we’ll talk more soon. And don’tbother my dancers, Maz. We have a private wrap party after our show tonight that I wantallmy dancers present for.”
She hurried out the door with Maz trailing her, muttering something about not being a bother backstage.
