Zula, the notorious Blue-Feathered Bard, lives for the thrill of her heists, heedless of the consequences. Her latest job—pilfering priceless treasures from a peaceful troll village—could spark a kingdom-wide conflict, making it her riskiest venture yet. Brimming with confidence, she anticipates nothing but success. What she doesn't expect is Neo.

Neo, the kingdom's sheriff, is determined to bring Zula—an uncatchable thief armed with a magical ukulele—to justice. With a secret weapon at his disposal and a growing infatuation with the cunning thief, his duty has never been more challenging.

When a chance encounter brings them together, stirring unexpected emotions, a thrilling chase begins. Both determined to achieve their goals, neither expects their hearts to be caught in the crossfire. Will Zula execute one final, daring escape, or will Neo's love prove to be the ultimate snare?

She sat up with another grunt, peering around the hut. When those fierce brown eyes landed on him, he tried to keep his heart from stuttering out. She was furiously beautiful. Her hair had come undone and waved around her shoulders, her feathered hat was askew, and her mouth contorted as she glared at him. Most glaringly, her ukulele was missing.

“What are you doing here?” Zula demanded.

Ah. That. He shrugged, wishing he’d thought of an answer earlier. “I got lost again, wandered into troll territory, and they put me here until morning. What about you?”

She snorted, yanking at the rope that bound her wrists and ankles. “I’ll be off in a moment once I get these ropes undone. Tell me, what’s a farm boy like you doing getting on the bad side of trolls? They don’t lock people up for just any reason.”

Neo stiffened, insulted that she considered him a farm boy and troubled by the fact that his story was quickly unraveling.

“You tripped the magical barriers, didn’t you? How long have you been here?” Zula pointed at his bonds. “I left you hours ago. Tell me you’ve come up with a way to escape.”

“The door is locked with troll magic,” he sputtered.

She was interrogating him, ever so easily, with those dark eyes and the way she moved, fingers slipping into her boot, wiggling free a blade, then slicing ever so easily through the ropes, as though she’d done it before. All the attention was on him, and he needed to turn it back to her.

“You’re the Blue-Feathered Bard,” he said at last.

She paused just long enough to scrunch up her nose, lips turned down. “What gave it away?”

“Did you come to steal from the trolls? What did you take?”

Now he had her full attention. Zula stood and marched over to him, holding the knife dangerously close to his neck. She dropped her voice. “There’s something odd about you. I thought so when we bumped into each other in the jungle, and you’re uncannily familiar. I think I know why—you’re from a rival thief gang, aren’t you? After what I’m after, although I see you’re taking the easy route out, trying to steal directly from me instead of from the trolls. It’s happened before, you know, but I’m the best, the very best. No one steals from me, and no one captures me. So whoever you are, stay out of my way.”

He stared at her, slack-jawed. The story she assumed about him was much better than anything he could have put together. But it was also time to play his hand. He slipped his fingers out of the rope and snatched at the knife.

“Ha!” she yelled, skillfully rolling out of the way, but she let out a small whimper as her body weight landed on her left leg.

Escaping the last of his bonds, Neo took advantage of her pain to lunge at her. Knocking her flat on her back, he straddled her, pinning her down with his weight. “I can’t let you escape now,” he announced, stretching out the rope. No one escaped from his knots. “Where is the jeweled egg?”

Her eyes went wide, and suddenly Neo couldn’t breathe.

She’d punched him in the throat!

His body went slack as he wheezed for air. The world tilted as he slid off her and his ears burned as his head smashed against the floor. He had the presence of mind to kick out his feet and heard a thump, followed by a wail as she fell. Neo willed himself to move, his long arms flailing, fingernails catching bits of skin and fabric.

He felt bad, clawing at her like that, but repeated the words in his mind like a mantra.

She’s a thief. A terrible thief. She deserves this.

The knife he’d forgotten about snagged his shirt, ripping it. His vision cleared as his sheriff badge fell out and clattered on the dirt floor.

It looked like a jewel, lying there.

Neo lunged for it, but Zula was faster. Snatching it up, she flipped it over, and her expression changed.

Neo’s heart sank as a slow awareness came over her face—surprise, pain, fear, and then anger. Her brown eyes blazed as she glanced from the badge to him, and he felt like she’d punched him in the throat all over again.

Odd as it was, he wanted to apologize. Apologize to a thief, when he was the law and he was doing the right thing. Yet the haunted look on her face said otherwise.

He cleared his throat. “I’m Neo, the sheriff, and you, Zula, also known as the Blue-Feathered Bard, are under arrest for multiple crimes related to the crown—first and foremost, thievery.”

The badge came hurling at his face, followed by a handful of dirt that momentarily blinded him. By the time he finished spitting and swearing and clearing his vision, the Blue-Feathered Bard was gone.

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