Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(79)

“Have you ever heard of tact?”

He smiled. “Tact is just another way of lying.”

“Hello, Prince Declan. I knew you would come looking for me,” a sultry voice said from behind me.

“Oh, goddess, no,” Declan said, proving he really didn’t believe in tact.

I watched a look of complete horror cross the prince’s face, and it took everything I had not to laugh because I was sure now I knew at least one of the names of Declan’s sexual partners from last night. I looked Hildie over. She was pretty but not exactly Declan’s type. She was slightly tough looking and her speech was rough. I could see from my place that her hands were callused from work and she didn’t care about her clothes. They were stained and torn in several places.

All in all, I approved mightily of her being Declan’s future queen.

“Do ya want to go upstairs then?” she asked. “I can spare ten minutes or so for a rough tumble.”

Declan looked at me, his eyes pleading.

“Sorry, Hildie, I’m afraid I’m the one who wanted to see you,” I said, taking pity on my brother-in-law.

“Really? What for?”

“A couple of years ago, the queen gave you a jewel for your service to her,” I started.

Hildie smiled, showing only two missing teeth. “Ya, her carriage had broke down on the road and she was beset by a couple of bandits. I fought ’em off with a club.”

“Very impressive,” I said, and noted the wolves were impressed as well. Only Declan was thinking about how the large woman could take a club to his head.

Hildie shrugged her broad shoulders. “Anyone would do it for her. She’s a good queen, she is. And she’s got some pretty sons.”

I gave Hildie a broad smile. “Don’t I know it, sister. High-five!” I held my hand out and she gamely did the same but didn’t know to slap hands, so we just ended up waving at each other. “Anyway, I need that stone so if you could just get it for me, Dec here will pay you handsomely.”

“Zoey,” Declan protested. “I did not bring money with me.”

“Then I guess she can take it in trade,” I teased, loving the way his face went stark white.

“Damn, I knew I should have kept it.” Hildie was cursing.

I reached out to grab my water but noticed that someone had placed a nice cup of tea where the water had been. I hadn’t noticed when Ross had changed that but the tea smelled delicious. I breathed in that scent and couldn’t help myself. It smelled light and delicious, like something that would settle my sometimes crazy stomach. I brought the delicate cup to my lips and savored the semi-sweetness of it.

“You don’t have it anymore?” Neil asked the question I would have if I hadn’t had a mouthful of fragrant tea.

Hildie sank ungracefully into a chair at the closest table. “No, I don’t have it. It’s the damn leprechauns’ fault. They’re a menace, they are. They run those damn card games. I won for a long time but then I just couldn’t stop. Once I started losing, I just kept trying to get it back.”

I sighed and took another drink. “That’s how the con works, Hildie. You think you can win it all back, but you just get in deeper and deeper. So you paid your debt to the leprechauns with the Blood Stone.”

“Yes,” she acknowledged. “I didn’t have anything else and those damn leprechauns can be mean. You don’t want to owe them nothing. I always knew it would come back to haunt me. It would have looked good on my crown, you see.”

“I think we should go now, Zoey,” Declan said, standing suddenly. “If we hurry, we can find the leprechauns.”

“Oh, no, Prince Declan. It was many months ago. They’re long gone by now.” Hildie winked at him. “We have plenty of time.”

“Oh, I have to get back to the palace right away,” Declan said. “Don’t I, Zoey?”

I shook my head but something was off. I felt a small pain start low in my belly. I took a deep breath and figured it was my first pregnancy pain. I smiled to myself because for the first time, I actually felt a little pregnant. It was just a cramp and I stretched to relieve it.

“Zoey, are you all right?” Neil asked, his brows forming a concerned V.

Zack sniffed the air. “I smell blood. Where the hell is that coming from?”

“Yeah, I do, too.” Lee turned, looking straight at me, his face grim. “Zoey, what’s wrong, darlin’?”

Neil was on his feet, moving around the table toward me. All three guards stared in my direction, but I didn’t see the problem.

“I’m fine,” I assured them. “Who’s bleeding?”

“Oh god, Z.” Neil stopped as he approached my seat. “You are.”

I stood up suddenly and my gown was soaked in blood.





Chapter Eighteen





I doubled over as a horrible cramp hit me. Pain filled my body, racked every inch of my flesh.

“Oh, god, what’s happening?” Deep down I already knew what was happening. I was just too horrified to admit it. It had to be something else. It couldn’t be that. Not my boy.

The gown that had been delivered for me to wear earlier this morning was a light yellow. It turned a dirty brown color as I continued to bleed. So much f*cking blood. Like it would never stop.