A Court of Thrones and Thieves (ACOTAR FANFIC)

Prologue

~~~LOKI~~~~~~

The club beamed with life as the worst kind of people came out of the woodwork to place bets or drink themselves sloppy.

The smell of alcohol and iniquity permeated the air as fae and humans alike bustled with sinful excitement.

Hybern had always been a place of tricksters and thieves, after the death of their king cities like Ketterdam turned into palaces of chaos and ruin. 

With no more sovereign to care, greed swept through the land and left no one untouched. 

The door of the crow club swung open and the roaring crowd quieted as they who entered the main room.

Loki Brekker was a name not many good people knew, but it was burned into the hearts of the bad ones. 

The bastard of the barrel, queen of thieves, and leader of the crows, a group of criminals who would sacrifice any of their morals for a quick buck.

She didn't miss a step as all eyes focused on the criminal queen.

Inej, a shadow singer and Brekker's right hand, dutifully followed behind making their way through the parted crowd.

Each of the crows acknowledged their boss's arrival, muscles slightly stiffer than they had been a few seconds prior.

As she made her way into her office, the crowd relaxed once again reveling in their merriment. 

Inej closed the door behind them, blocking out the roaring noise of the crowd. The moment the door latch caught a knock sounded at the door. 

Loki and Inej both let out a sigh of exhaustion, no rest for the wicked. 

With a nod of Loki's head, Inej opened the door. 

Jesper stumbled in, clearly well past tipsy. "Welcome back, boss! Listen I got some high fae out here who's been wanting to talk with you since noon. Says he's gotta job." The slur of his words did not hide the clear excitement in his eyes. 

Loki's gloved fingers expertly spin a pen in her hand trying to subdue the forming headache, "This better be fuckin' good, Jesper. Send him in." 

With a nod, Jesper stumbled back into the main room only to return a minute later with a high fae male. 

He was tall, his white hair perfectly combed and his clothes screamed wealth, a dangerous look to be sporting when walking around the barrel. 

Though he was physically a lot bigger than Loki, the fae nearly cowered when her steel grey eyes picked him apart. 

She looked at him like she was trying to figure out just how much money each of his body parts would be worth on the black market. 

A chill shot down his spine as the quiet continued to weigh down on the room, though Loki looked completely at ease still spinning her pen. 

"U-Um... You are Loki Brekker I assume." The voice that usually held such calm, shook without his permission in the presence of the intimidating female. 

"You'd assume right. I don't have all day so what is it you want?" The man was startled by the venomous rasp in her voice, making him sink back into his chair slightly.

"M-my name is Jack Malak, I have a job for you and your crows." He said, trying to regain as much confidence as his racing heart would allow. 

Loki didn't speak and the fae took that as a sign to continue.