Rules for Thieves by Alexandra Ott

Author:Alexandra Ott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

Chapter Thirteen

I wake to a papery crinkling sound. Something sharp digs into my thigh. I open my eyes, unfamiliar shapes blurring in front of me. I’m on Beck’s couch. I’ve rolled over onto one of the papers, a drawing of the ballroom we were scribbling on. I must have fallen asleep right here, without making it to the bed in the other room.

Instinctively, I look down at my right arm. As usual, the curse has spread during the night. It’s more than halfway up my arm now, past my elbow. The lines on my hand have grown so thick that they bleed together; only hints of my tan skin peek through. Worse, my hand aches dully, and pain shoots up my arm whenever I move.

I sit up. Mead’s lock pick is beneath me. Must’ve fallen out of my pocket when I rolled over last night. I stuff it back into place and look around for Beck. He’s not here. But there’s a bowl of food on the table in front of me, in addition to the dirty dinner dishes from last night. Did I sleep through breakfast?

Oh well. I’m starving.

I’ve nearly emptied the bowl when the door swings open and Beck walks in. “Good, you’re up.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?” I say. “I didn’t mean to sleep so late.”

“You needed to be well-rested for today,” he says, striding across the room. He’s full of energy, but dark circles sit under his eyes.

“Why didn’t you sleep late, then?” I say.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he admits. “There’s a lot to do, anyway.”

“Okay.” I jump up. “Tell me what needs to be done.”

“I’ve got to go see Durban to make sure the forger’s finished our invitations. You need to go to training.”

“Training?” I ask skeptically. “What kind of training?”

“Just the basics,” he says, waving one hand dismissively. “Most people have time to do more training before their trials, but . . . well, you’ll have to make do. I’ve already arranged it for you. Just head to the training center that Mead showed you on the tour.”

“Okay,” I say, but I hesitate. “Couldn’t you just show me whatever it is I need to know?”

The corner of his mouth quirks up. “Please, Allicat, could you do this one thing without arguing?”

“Of course I could,” I huff. “If I wanted to.”

He waits.

“Fine,” I say, realizing I’ve been tricked. “I’ll go to this stupid training thing. But I expect to find lunch waiting for me when I get back.”

“Sure, sure,” Beck says. Already his gaze is wandering to the piles of notes and blueprints spread out on the table, still planning things out in his head.

I sigh and head for the door.

• • •

I enter the room and gasp.

It’s the largest open space I’ve seen here, larger even than the entry hall. Where the Guild’s other rooms are like little caves, narrow and low, this one is a cavern. The ceiling arcs dozens of feet above, shrouded in shadow. And the room below it is so big that calling it a room seems like an understatement.

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