Page 35 of A Legacy of Storms and Starlight

She rolled her eyes as she put her boxes beside his and straightened her apron, biting back a retort in front of Jilah, the smell of turned soil hanging in the air where he’d disturbed it.

“If Liss would like to accompany you, I see no reason why not,” Jilah said, raising an eyebrow to her as if waiting for her agreement.

At least one male she knew had the sense to let her make her own decisions.

Although, Holt had, too.

She kept demanding more of him when he’d already done so much.

Raif held out an arm for her to take, but Kopi flew down and landed on her shoulder.

“Ah, so he isn’t yours, but you are his to watch over,” he mused, shrugging off his offer and leading the way back out of the dome.

He ducked under the wood strings that brushed his shoulders, their spiralling tendrils cascading from the trees above.

Kopi hooed in agreement, and Zylah laughed quietly at the owl’s response. “Something like that.” She noted the cloud violas looked a little lacklustre and might need their soil turning, making a mental note to address them when she returned. Anything to distract her from what might come next.

She absentmindedly brushed her hands against the rough hem of her apron to keep herself from fidgeting, hoping to appear as if she was used to joining uprisings every day of her life and that this was no exception.

Raif looked back and winked at her again. “Pallia’s owl watched over her too, you know.”

“I am well aware.”

His eyes flickered to her hair for a moment, but he said nothing, leading the way out into the cobblestone streets and past the pedlars that always set up outside the dome, some of whom Zylah had come to know on a first-name basis.

Raif watched her silently as she greeted them.Hiding in plain sight.

“Care to share the joke?” he asked as she smiled to herself.

“Care to tell me where you’re taking me?” Zylah ignored the way he dragged a hand through his godsdamned hair, cut short the thoughts that were leading her somewhere other than the streets of Virian, her aching muscles rooting her firmly in the moment.

A mischievous grin broke across his face, and for a moment, she wondered if some Fae had the ability to read thoughts. “You’ll see.”

She considered confessing that she’d already had one training session that morning but didn’t want to risk losing this opportunity, no matter how much her muscles protested. Raif led the way down Virian’s main street, past the pillars and arches of buildings Zylah recognised, taking different turns until they reached the river. The trees that lined the pavements stopped abruptly at the bridge. This was the furthest Zylah had been in the city so far.

Something about the river always sent Kopi into a fluster, and he started to flap his little wings in irritation as they approached.

“Your owl is wise to mistrust the river,” Raif said as Kopi flew ahead to the first tree on the far side of the bridge, waiting.

Only a few people crossed the bridge, and all looked a little rougher than those walking the main streets, none of them meeting Zylah’s eye. She could just about make out Kopi’s little silhouette in the tree across the river, waiting, watching.

“Why is that?” she finally asked.

Raif rested a hand on the stone wall, looking into the murky water below. “Our dead were thrown into the river during the last uprising by Arnir’s men. Many say they leave the water at night.”

Zylah followed his gaze. Surely the dead were free to do whatever they wanted? “What is so wrong about that?”

Raif let out a quiet laugh, but Zylah doubted there was anything positive in it. “Because the dead should stay dead. Come on, we shouldn’t linger here.”

Zylah ignored the chill that raked its way down her spine as they crossed the bridge, Kopi landing on her shoulder the moment they reached the other side.

The buildings soon turned to boarded-up, rundown shells of brick and timber, wooden terraces half broken and fixed in multiple places. The sun disappeared behind the clouds and a dark shadow fell across everything.

Raif glanced up and down the street and pulled Zylah into a side alley, his hand around her wrist. He brought a finger to his lips, and Zylah’s heart was like a drum inside her chest.

The alley was narrow, barely wide enough for the two of them and Zylah’s back grazed across cold brick as she looked up at Raif in question.

“Just being cautious,” he said with a smirk and tapped three times on a door behind him that Zylah hadn’t even had the chance to notice.

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