Page 112 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

She turned and fled, weaving through the shelves with the silent swiftness of a shadow. The books threatened to slip from her grasp with each step, but she held on, dodging corners, twisting down unfamiliar aisles.

Until she crashed straight into someone’s chest.

The impact sent her stumbling back, books slipping from her grasp as a startledscreamtore through the quiet.

The drakonian scholar she had barreled into gaped at her, wide-eyed and frozen in sheer disbelief.

Wren blinked up at him.

Then, on instinct,shescreamed too.

The scholar flinched, caught off guard, leaving her just enough time to snatch the nearest book off the floor andrun.

She did not look back.

She bolted for the ladder, nearly tripping over her own feet in her haste, scrambling up onto the wooden platform. Another set of rungs, another desperate climb, until she was bursting back onto the rooftop.

The air hit her like a wall—hot, dry, thick with the weight of the sun.

She gasped, dragging in lungfuls of stifling heat, her hearthammering wildly against her ribs.

Only then did she dare glance down at the lone tome in her hands—the only one she had managed to take.

Notenough.

But it would have to do.

High above, silhouetted against the afternoon sky, the crow of smoke glided effortlessly through the air, its path steady, leading the way.

She followed.

Kage was waiting for her in the shadows of an alleyway, his back against the stone, arms crossed. His dark eyes flicked over her disheveled state, the book clutched in her hands, the flush of exertion still painting her cheeks.

And then, in the kind of bored, infuriating tone only Kage Blackburn could manage, he said, ‘Took you long enough.’

‘How did ya get out?’ she asked, glancing up at him with unfiltered curiosity.

Kage merely shrugged, his expression unreadable. ‘I told them I thought you were a scholar who had offered to assist me.’

His dark gaze drifted downward, tracing the length of her arm until it settled on the single tome she clutched in her hand—the only prize she had managed to steal.

‘Your work as a thief is not very impressive,’ he said flatly. ‘I do hope you’re better at being a Seer.’

Wren couldn’t help it—she laughed. A bright, uninhibited sound, free as the wind rolling over the icy plains of her homeland.

‘I’ve neva had any complaints so far,’ she mused, falling into step beside him as they made their way back towards the castle. ‘Then again, I’ve neva had anyone complain about me stealing skills, so… who knows.’ She nudged him with her elbow, playful and unrelenting. ‘Ya ought to be a thief yerself, Kage Blackburn. Not bad work at all, if I may say so meself.’

‘You may not.’

Wren grinned. ‘Well, I think ya had a little bit of fun. Ya just don’t want to admit it.’

‘I did not.’

‘Well,Ithink—’

Kage abruptly stopped, turning towards her with a sharp glare. ‘Stop thinking.’

Wren placed a hand over her heart, feigning offense. ‘I can’t do that. Me brain would implode and then I’d die.’

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