I was no longer just trying to steal my freedom.
I was trying to outrun the men who might ask me to choose what to do with it.
If there was one thing Jace had learned since running away from the palace, it was this:
Finding freedom was easier than finding a decent girl.
"Try smiling less like you're being sentenced," Logan muttered, leaning lazily against the bar with a drink in hand.
Jace shot him a look. "I am smiling."
"No," Logan said dryly. "That's the face you make when you're about to politely reject someone."
"I reject everyone politely."
"That's somehow worse."
The bar in Dane was loud, warm, and far too crowded for Jace's liking.
Laughter spilled over clinking glasses, music thudded from the back, and bodies moved shoulder to shoulder beneath low lantern light. The air smelled like smoke, perfume, and poor decisions.
Exactly Logan's kind of place.
Exactly Jace's current nightmare.
This whole ridiculous outing had started because of one stupid idea.
If he could just find a girl-any girl decent enough to pass as serious-then maybe he could drag her back to the palace one day and tell his parents, There. I found someone. Now stop trying to marry me off like a prize stallion.
Simple.
In theory.
In reality?
Every woman in Dane seemed determined to prove fate hated him.
The first was Liora.
Elegant. Beautiful. Polished from head to toe.
She spoke like every word had been rehearsed before it left her mouth.
"You have a very noble posture," she said, eyes glinting over the rim of her glass.
Jace nearly choked.
She reminded him too much of every palace girl who had ever smiled at him because their mothers told them to.
Too graceful. Too perfect. Too familiar.
He escaped under the excuse of getting another drink.
The second was Mira.
Bright smile. Pretty eyes. Sweet laugh.
She also managed to tell him her entire life story in less than five minutes.
Her aunt's bakery. Her cousin's wedding. Her old cat. The time she tripped into a fountain when she was twelve.
Jace blinked at her, stunned by the sheer speed of it.
Logan passed behind him at one point, grinning like a menace.
"Still breathing?" he asked.
"Barely."
The third was Selene.
Bold. Beautiful. Flirty enough to set the room on fire.
"I like your mouth," she told him with a smirk.
Jace blinked.
She leaned in. "You look like trouble."
On another night, maybe he would've entertained it.
But something about it felt too easy.
Too practiced.
No spark. No challenge.
No dark eyes looking at him like she might kiss him or stab him.
Or both.
He politely excused himself.
By the time he reached Talia, he was already questioning every life choice that had brought him here.
At first, she seemed promising.
Sharp wit. Quick tongue. A teasing smile that actually made him laugh.
For a moment, Jace thought maybe Logan had been right.
Then Talia noticed the coin he used to pay for their drinks.
Her smile changed.
Small. Subtle.
But Jace noticed.
Suddenly she wanted to know where he lived, whether he had family, whether he came from money.
And just like that, the charm cracked.
No thanks.
By the time the fifth girl, Nessa, slipped onto the stool beside him, Jace was exhausted.
She was quiet.
Pretty in a soft, guarded kind of way.
She didn't say much, which was a relief after Mira.
For one brief, reckless second, when the lantern light caught her dark hair and still expression, his heart kicked.
But it wasn't her.
Not the same eyes.
Not the same mouth.
Not the same dangerous fire.
Not the same girl who had pinned him to a wall, kissed him breathless, and stolen a priceless ruby from his pocket like she was doing him a favor.
Jace stood.
Nessa frowned. "Leaving already?"
"Afraid so."
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No," he said, forcing a smile. "You're just not the one I'm looking for."
That sounded more tragic out loud than it had in his head.
Nessa gave him a strange look.
Logan nearly collapsed laughing when Jace returned to the bar.
"Oh, you are hopeless."
"I hate this place."
"No, you hate that none of them are your mystery thief."
"I do not have a mystery thief."
Logan raised a brow.
Jace glared.
Logan grinned.
Across the room, Logan was doing far better than he had any right to. Two girls sat close to him now, both laughing at something ridiculous he'd said, while he leaned back like he hadn't a care in the world.
Traitor.
Jace dragged a hand down his face. "I'm done."
"You can't be done."
"I can absolutely be done."
"Jace-"
"No." He pushed away from the bar.
"If one more girl asks me where I'm from, I'm going to say 'emotionally exhausted' and walk into traffic."
One of the girls near Logan snorted into her drink.
Logan pointed at him. "See? You're funny. Get back in there."
"I'd rather fight a bear."
"In Dane?"
"I'd take my chances."
Logan groaned as Jace headed for the door. "You are impossible."
The night air hit Jace the moment he stepped outside-cool and sharp against his skin.
Better.
Much better.
The streets of Dane were still alive despite the late hour. Lanterns swayed overhead, casting golden shadows over stone roads and crooked storefronts. Voices drifted from nearby taverns. A cart rattled over loose cobblestones in the distance.
Jace exhaled, finally feeling like he could breathe again.
A second later, Logan shoved through the tavern door behind him.
"Dude, you have to get back in there."
Jace didn't even look at him. "I can't, Logan. I'm just not interested in any of them."
Logan folded his arms. "The whole reason we're out here is because of you. You're the one who said if you found a girl, your parents might stop trying to auction you off to some noblewoman."
"Technically, they're not auctioning me."
"Jace."
"Fine. Politely auctioning me."
Logan sighed. "Then you have to be interested. Even a little."
"I'm trying."
"No, you're comparing every girl in this city to her."
Jace shot him a look.
Logan smirked.
"Don't tell me this is about that thief girl."
"It's not."
"Oh, come on. Jace, you cannot seriously be taking that kiss as something meaningful."
"I'm not."
"You're probably never going to see them again."
Jace opened his mouth to argue-
Then froze.
There.
A voice.
Familiar.
Sharp. Quick. Female.
His head turned toward the pharmacy across the street.
"Shh."
Logan blinked. "Don't shush me."
"Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That voice."
The small pharmacy sat just across from them, its windows lit warm gold against the dark street.
A girl stepped out moments later, a small wrapped parcel in her hand.
For a second, Jace only saw the back of her.
Dark hair. Quick stride. Slender frame.
But something about the way she moved-
His pulse kicked.
Logan's expression changed too.
"No way," he muttered.
The girl turned just enough for the lantern light to catch her profile.
Recognition hit Jace like a punch.
"It's her," he said under his breath.
"Jace," Logan warned, "don't get any funny ideas."
Too late.
He was already moving.
"Excuse me, miss!"
The girl stiffened.
Then slowly turned.
The second her eyes met his, fear flashed across her face-fast, sharp, undeniable.
Got you.
Logan came up beside him, breathing harder now. "Well, I'll be damned."
The girl recovered quickly, too quickly. She blinked, then gave them a blank expression.
"I think you've mistaken me for someone else."
Then she started walking.
Fast.
"Miss," Jace called again.
She didn't stop.
"Miss!"
Now she was almost speed-walking.
Logan muttered, "Oh, she absolutely knows who we are."
That was all the confirmation Jace needed.
The second she broke into a run, he cursed and took off after her.
"Seriously?" Logan shouted behind him. "We're doing this again?"
The girl darted through the street like she'd been born in it.
Left around a fruit cart.
Right between two shouting merchants.
Straight through a knot of late-night pedestrians that nearly took Jace out at the knees.
She was fast.
Faster than he expected.
But he was faster.
"Stop running!" he shouted.
That only made her run harder.
Somewhere behind him, Logan yelled something that sounded suspiciously like, "I'm too handsome for cardio!"
Coward.
The chase tore through side streets and half a market lane before Jace finally gained on her.
She glanced back once.
Mistake.
Her foot slipped on loose stone, just enough to slow her.
Jace lunged and caught the back of her jacket.
She stumbled with a gasp, spinning around as he steadied her before she could fall.
"Let me go!" she snapped.
Jace immediately released her and stepped back, hands raised.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
Her chest rose and fell fast, eyes wide and alert in the dim alley light.
Good.
At least now he knew for certain.
She recognized him.
And if she recognized him, then she knew the girl from that night.
"I just want to talk," he said.
"Talk?" she repeated, disbelief flashing across her face. "I'm done here."
By then, Logan finally stumbled into the alley, bent over and breathing like he'd survived a war.
"I'm here," he wheezed. "Barely. But I'm here."
The girl looked between them, clearly calculating how fast she could run again.
She was definitely going to bolt.
So Jace spoke fast.
"You were there that night."
She said nothing.
"You know the girl who stole from me."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.
"Really?" Jace stepped closer.
"Because you looked terrified the second you saw me."
"That's just your face."
Logan choked on a laugh.
Even Jace nearly smiled.
She did know them.
No question now.
His gaze dropped to the small parcel in her hand.
Medicine.
Something clicked.
"You went to the pharmacy."
Her fingers tightened around the package.
"For who?" he asked.
No answer.
"Is she hurt?"
The girl's expression changed so quickly it almost made Jace curse.
There.
He'd hit something.
"Stay out of it," she snapped.
A strange feeling settled in his chest.
Worry.
Which was absurd, considering the last time he'd seen her, she'd robbed him, kissed him, and hit him hard enough to make him see stars.
Still.
He looked at the parcel again.
Then back at her.
"I could get you more."
For the first time, she hesitated.
A flicker.
A pause.
"More?" she asked carefully.
"I have more gems" Jace said. "If she needs medicine-"
"I don't think so."
And before either of them could react, she twisted out of reach, ducked around Logan, and bolted back into the night.
"Hey-!" Logan yelped as she shoved past him.
Jace took one step after her-
Then stopped.
Because this time, he knew something he hadn't before.
He hadn't imagined it.
The girls were real.
The thief was real.
And somewhere beyond the lantern-lit streets of Dane, the girl with dark eyes and dangerous hands was still just out of reach.
Logan finally caught his breath beside him. "Well," he panted, "that went terribly."
Jace stared down the empty street where she'd disappeared.
Then, slowly, he smiled.
"No," he said.
"It went perfectly."
Logan blinked. "How exactly?"
Jace turned toward him, eyes glinting.
"Because now I know she's closer than I thought."