Page 11 of Mirror of Malice
My heart wrenched as I thought about my friends, still stuck in their prison cells, wondering what in the bloody earth happened to me. I tried to rise, but Shadow put a hand on my leg.
“You must be tired.” She nodded to the bed. “You need to rest.”
Wayfinder scratched the back of his head, those black curls bouncing with the movement. “Do you remember much of the night you were rescued?”
I thought back to it: that huge man that had bested my stepmother’s twisted earth magic, the red ring on his finger. I studied the people in front of me. None of them met that profile. Had I imagined him? Who had my rescuer been if not any of these people standing in front of me?
Just then, the flap opened yet again.
One of the biggest men I’d ever seen stepped inside. He towered over me, frowning down, his shadow stretching to where I sat. His white-blond hair was tied back into a bun at his nape, a few strands of hair falling down the side of his face. He crossed his muscled arms against his wide chest, a green tunic stretched over his pecs, brown leather trousers hugging his thick thighs. A satchel was strapped diagonally across his chest, the pouch hanging at his side.
He wrinkled his nose. He had the audacity to stare at me like I was the disgrace. Me. Princess Liliath of Elwen.
“Princess Liliath, meet Penn Vanderbilt. The king of thieves,” Wayfinder said from next to him.
That’s when my gaze traveled to his hand, and I noticed the red jewel sparkling on his finger. The ring I saw the night I’d been kidnapped. My mouth nearly dropped to the ground. It wasn’t any of them who had rescued me. It was him.
The king of thieves.
Chapter Five
Istood despite Shadow’s protests, staring daggers at the ridiculously handsome giant of a man standing before me. How dare he be so loathsome and so attractive at the same time.
I’d heard of the king of thieves. Everyone had. He was the most notorious thief on the continent of Arathia, terrorizing all the courts, stealing valuable objects, and he’d never been caught. In fact, no one had gotten so much as a sketch of him, the descriptions from his victims always varying so much that it made profiling him impossible.
“I thought you said she bathed,” Penn said to Wayfinder, studying me.
My mouth dropped open. He was absolutely vile.
Wayfinder stroked his chin. “Shadow cleaned her with a damp cloth while she slept. You should’ve seen her before. Trust me, this is a vast improvement.”
“I’m sorry I don’t look presentable enough for you after being kidnapped by criminals.” They had to be if they were working with him. I glared.
Charming let out a low whistle. “I like her already.”
Penn’s gaze roved over my body. Those green eyes assessed me in a way that made me want to squirm. “She’ll do,” he finally said.
Oh, what an asshole.
“I’ll do for what, exactly?” I jabbed a finger at him. “You owe me an explanation.”
“I owe you nothing,” Penn said in return, such a vast contrast to the others with his serious face that showed no emotion.
“You kidnapped me!”
“You’re welcome for that, by the way.”
“I didn’t say thank you.”
“I noticed.” He tsked. “Not very polite for a princess.”
I wanted to scream. I thought the others were bad, but after meeting Penn, I was starting to like them more and more. They were a fresh breeze compared to this arrogant man.
Penn looked at the others and nodded. “Good work. Get to the barracks.”
Shadow raised a brow. “She needs rest, Boss.”
“No time.”
