I push Vesper’s hand away. “I tried, okay? But the merrow attack was only four days ago. The palace is swarming with guards and soldiers and executioners, and King Constane is on high alert for any sort of treachery. Soldiers have been told to arrest any suspicious persons without trial. I couldn’t exactly seduce the High Priest right under their noses.”
Vesper glowers at me now, and Eos doesn’t try to stop her. Sharp as a blade, Vesper says, “You can’t seduce the High Priest. Mortia priests and priestesses vow eternal silence and celibacy in honor of Mortem. You shouldknowthat.”
I blink at her. “Oh. Well—good thing I couldn’t try.”
Vesper seems about ready to throttle me. “I cannot believe you. Why are you here if you don’t have the fucking key?”
It’s not a bad point, but there’s no way in the Fathoms I’m missing out on this score. “I offer this group more than just a key.”
“I’m not seeing evidence of that.”
I narrow my gaze. “Who told you that the king’s premier jewelerwas moving inventory three months ago? Who found the records for the shipwreck you plundered?”
Vesper seethes, her cheeks flaming red. “You are not and haveneverbeen a real part of this crew. You found us in a tavern, and you attached yourself. We allow you to help us—”
“Two hundred twenty-six,” I hiss. “That’s how much copper we’ve made the last few months. I’vehelpedplenty. Stavros may have been the brains behind this particular plan, but that’s because he’s desperate for a reason to explode his newest shipment of gunpowder. I’m here to make sure it goes smoothly and we actually nab the jewels.”
“It is true,” Stavros answers earnestly. “I want to make boom.”
I grin at him, and nowhewinks atme. It’s oddly disconcerting as he continues stroking his precious powder. At least he’s on my side. Vesper shakes her head, however, still unconvinced. “This is the fourth time you’ve screwed up. If we’re caught—”
“We won’t be caught.”
“You’re a liability,” Vesper snaps under her breath.
Panic begins to seize my lungs.Reckless. A liability.It’s a familiar narrative. It’s damned me more times than I can count. I shove my coarse blonde locks behind my shoulder and lift my chin, my own skin flushing with bitter resentment. “You have such interestinghair, Vesper,” I whisper. “I don’t believe I’ve seen that kind of blonde before. Almost as if it’s… silver in the light.”
A muscle feathers in her jaw. Her inhumanly silver brows pinch. “Maybe because it’snatural, and you wouldn’t know anything about that. Would you, Zephyra?” She reaches for my own hair, and I smack her hand away.
Luckily, Eos interjects before I can hurl myself at her sister and potentially expose our entire operation. “Both of you, knock it off.”
I glance at her, deciding on my next insult, when my gaze drops to our feet.
Aha. That’s it.
Tilting my head, I force a serene smile and flutter my lashes at Vesper. “What’s the point of your minnow of a sister coming if notthis?” I gesture with delicate fingers to my new discovery.
An air vent an inch or two less wide than Eos’s shoulders restsbetween us, right beside the keyhole that would typically open the secret stairwell.
“Eos goes down,” I say, “and she opens the stairwell herself. So long as she does it soon, we’ll be able to finish the job behind the guards’ backs.” I lick my teeth when Vesper stares at me, unable to think of a mean retort. “See?Helpful.”
“I don’t know whether you are a genius or just really fucking lucky,” Stavros says, his unibrow pinched in concentration.
I shrug. “A bit of both.”
Vesper sighs. Apparently deciding I’m no longer worth the fight, she turns to Eos and asks, “Can you fit?”
Eos studies the vent. Prying up the metal frame with my dagger, she traces her fingers along its smooth edges. “Hypothetically, yeah. Looks easy enough.”
Vesper’s gaze flashes with an anger typically reserved for reckless daughters rather than careful sisters. “If you dislocate your shoulder again—”
Eos huffs. “I’ll be fine, Ves.”
Vesper frowns, clearly incredulous. “No amount of coin is worth your safety.”
“Ves, I’vegot it. I’m a professional, remember? No one smaller and skinnier in all of Mortia.” Eos scrunches her nose, beginning to dangle her legs over the opening. She concentrates the same way she always does—with her tongue poking through her lips. Her feet slide through first. Her thighs don’t even touch the sides. “Easy,” she mutters. “No problem.”
Vesper holds her breath, knuckles paling as she grabs Mortem’s wing for strength. The stone splinters, however, and she glances at her hand. The sudden realization that she is both touching the God of Death’s statue and breaking it makes her rip her grasp away. She exhales a ragged breath, seeking her sister once more.
