Not necessarily, but I’d certainly hoped for it. “What do you suggest, then?”

“Every now and then a few of my boys cross the border into Carthya and cause a little trouble. The last group returned a couple of days ago, but, unfortunately, there were some injuries.”

If it was the men I had run into near Libeth, then I hoped there were some career-ending injuries.

“I haven’t gone with them in some time,” he continued. “You come with me and I’ll watch you in action, see if you really belong with us.”

“What if I don’t fit in?” I asked.

“Then you won’t come back.”

I smirked. “I know about those raids. They’re pathetic.”

He didn’t like the insult, but he was still listening. “And why is that?”

“There’s rarely enough wealth to make it worth the effort. You stir up plenty of trouble but don’t bring home much of value. Isn’t that what matters?”

He stroked his chin again. “You have a better plan?”

My mind raced. I had to have a better plan. Because if I didn’t help them, they would kill me. And under no circumstances would I attack my own people.

Almost immediately, an idea came to me. It wasn’t very good, but it was better than Erick’s. “There’s a noble who lives in Libeth,” I said. “His place isn’t well guarded and he’s rich.”

“We don’t go into nobles’ homes.” Erick firmly shook his head. “Too much danger, and we’re in foreign territory so we’d get no support from Avenia if we were caught.”

“Send me in alone, and I’ll come out with anything I want.”

Erick continued shaking his head. “It’s too risky.”

“But it’s my risk,” I said. “If we’re going to prove ourselves to the pirates, border raids are meaningless. Let me show the pirates we deserve a place with them.”

Erick glanced over at Fink, who nodded eagerly. “All right,” Erick said. “But if you try to trick us, we’ll burn the place down with you and anyone else inside.”

I smiled in agreement, but my stomach churned. It was no trick. In a few hours I would return to a man who had shown me nothing but kindness, and there I would steal from him everything I could.

We planned to leave for Libeth late that afternoon. In the meantime, I was allowed free rein of the camp, though everyone there kept a close eye on me. It was a good thing I wasn’t trying to escape because it would’ve been impossible anyway.

When it was finally time to leave, I half expected Erick would order me hooded, but he didn’t. Maybe he had decided to trust me and accept me into the group.

I rode with Erick on his horse until I gave him directions to find Mystic, who amazingly was still tied up where I’d left him. Erick never asked about Mystic, obviously assuming he’d also been stolen. I almost wished he had asked. At least, it would have been fun to tell the story I’d prepared about how I obtained this horse.

Because of the swampland behind Libeth, we had to take almost the same path as I had taken in coming to Avenia yesterday morning. It was nearly midnight when we entered the town, which was silent except for the occasional shuffle of farm animals in the fields or restless crickets at the roadside.

“Where’s the house?” Erick asked.

I pointed up the hill. From here, it looked entirely dark, which was a relief. If there’d been evidence of anyone awake, I would have made an excuse to cancel the plan. “For a job like this we need quiet,” I said to Erick. “I’ll go in alone and everyone can wait for me.”

“You and I will go in,” Erick said. “This is a test to see how you operate, remember?”

I remembered that all too well.

Erick handed me my knife. “I assume you want this.”

I took it and strapped it to my waist. “What about my sword?”

“It’s still in the tent, still safe. Let’s see how everything goes tonight.”

Once at Harlowe’s home, Erick directed the men to wait at the edge of the estate. He and I would walk the rest of the way on foot.

“I don’t like this sneaking around,” Erick said. “I much prefer the use of force.”

“The last time your thieves used force, several of them came home injured.” I decided not to burden him with the detail of who had caused their injuries. “This is better.”

We fell silent as we got close to the house. I wondered how many people were inside. Did Harlowe’s servants live here or travel to their own homes at night? Did he have vigils like Conner used to have? Every part of me hated what we were about to do, and hated myself for bringing the thieves here.

Once we reached the home I hesitated, debating the best course of action. Erick’s presence made the situation far more complicated. I could climb the exterior walls of the house and enter through an upper story. Erick likely wouldn’t follow me, so it was my best chance to be alone. I could find Harlowe and explain to him as much as was necessary to get his help. But if Erick did follow me, that would put him on the same floor as the bedrooms. I knew very little about the layout of Harlowe’s home. If I startled someone, there was too much risk it would create a fight, and Erick was well armed.

So I led Erick around the front of the home. We’d go directly into Harlowe’s office and hope no servants were still awake.

It was not so many hours ago when I’d been a welcomed guest inside these walls. Could I really have fallen this far so fast? I made a silent vow to repay Harlowe for my crimes as soon as possible. Still, what I was doing felt like the ultimate betrayal. Harlowe would understand someday why I persuaded the thieves not to go to the border settlements. But I wasn’t sure I could ever make him see that I needed to take them somewhere, and that this was the only place I felt I had some control.

The window to what I thought was Harlowe’s office was high off the ground, so I’d have to shinny up a tree to get in. Hopefully that was enough deterrent for Erick to follow me. I doubted he was a man who did much climbing.

I brushed my hands on my pants to dry them. Erick glanced up at the window, then grabbed my shirt and pressed me against the tree trunk. “You swear to me this isn’t a trap?” he hissed.

“It isn’t a trap,” I assured him. “Trust me, I want to get in and out as much as you do.” Probably more.

“If anything looks funny, I’ll signal my men and guarantee nobody leaves here alive. Especially not you.”

“If you don’t want anything to go wrong, then stop making so much noise,” I said, pushing back at him. “Now let’s do this.”

I climbed the tree with no more noise than the occasional rustle of leaves. Then, keeping myself shielded by the wall, I peered into the window. With the little moonlight available, I could see that this was Harlowe’s office and it was empty. Even better, the door was closed, and as far as I could tell from looking beneath the door, the halls were dark. If servants were awake, there would still be some lights on the main floor.

“Wait for me here,” I told Erick. “I’ll be out in five minutes.”

I wormed my fingers beneath the window and slowly raised it. It slid silently and easily, an indication that Harlowe often opened it, perhaps for a breeze during the warm spring afternoons. The leap from the branch where I was perched wasn’t too bad, and within a few seconds I was standing inside Harlowe’s office.