Page 103 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

His dark eyes narrowed, slitted with irritation, but behind the displeasure lurked something sharper—curiosity, stirring in the abyss. Not at his sister.

Ather.

Wren had never been particularly skilled at recognising discomfort in others. ‘Well, hello there!’ she chirped, stepping forward with the unrelenting energy of a gusting wind. ‘I am Wren. Wren Wynter. Sista of Bryn Wynter, soon-to-be king of da Kingdom of Ice. Well, not soon, I shouldn’t say that—poor papa would be horrified. But he ain’t getting any younga.’ She moved towards him, eyes gleaming as they settled on the violin. ‘Oh, I’ve always wanted to learn! Will ya show me? All me brothas and sistas play some silly thing. But me mama used to say I wasn’t born with da ear for music—whatever that meant. A boy once told me I had a lovely voice, so maybe she was wrong. Or maybe he was a bit too drunk on icebroth.’ She spun towards Mal, tossing her a grin. ‘Icebroth is a drink we have—made with a lot of ice. It’s meant to makeya happy, but I’ve neva tried it becas me papa says if I did, I’d neva shut up.’

Kage stared at her, unmoving.

Not with irritation.

Not even with curiosity.

But as if he had just stumbled upon a peculiar creature—one he had never encountered before and was unsure if it was venomous.

Slowly, he turned to Mal and murmured, ‘Why does it speak like that?’

Mal rolled her eyes. ‘She’s just cheerful. You might want to learn from her.’

‘I am fine, thank you,’ Kage said flatly, closing the violin case with an air of finality. ‘Why are you in my room, sister?’

‘Oooooh, ya and I are going to steal some documents from a library full of old folk,’ Wren sing-songed, eyes dancing with mischief ‘Mal already explained on da way here why she can’t go.’

‘Did she?’ Kage’s gaze darkened.

‘Yes, she did.’ Wren nodded enthusiastically. ‘She’s married to the Fire Prince, so she can’t be caught stealing if she’s to become the future queen of this land. Butwecan.’

‘No, we cannot.’ Kage’s expression turned murderous. He spun towards Mal, fuming.

‘You said I just needed to find someone that would steal them! Ta-da!’ Mal patted Wren on the back, then quickly turned on her heels and ran out of the room. ‘Good luck!’

The door slammed shut behind her.

Kage stood in silence.

Staring.

Wren, completely undeterred, clicked her tongue and began wandering the room, touching everything. Occasionally, she plucked a book or parchment from its place, onlyfor Kage to snatch it back with a scowl.

Finally, his patience snapped. ‘Why would my sister chooseyouto steal something?’

‘Becas I’m a thief, a spy and a Seer.’

Kage went still. ‘A Seer?’

‘Mm-hmm. Iseethings.’

‘Iknowwhat a Seer does.’

‘Oh, I just wanted to clarify as ya seemed a little lost there for a minute.’ She pulled another book off the shelf. ‘When are we going to da library?’

‘You’re a girl. Women are not allowed inside.’ Before he could argue, she grabbed his arm and pulled. Kage froze. No one touched him. No one ever dared to touch him.

It was an unspoken rule—one that no one had ever needed to be told. And yet, this infuriating, ridiculous, tiny wolverian girl had justgrabbedhim as if he were nothing more than a common acquaintance.

As if she had no fear of him at all.

Wren caught the look on his face and smiled, warm and utterly unconcerned.

‘It’s okay.’ Wren smiled sweetly. ‘Ya will get used to it.’

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