Page 22 of The Ashborn

She bit her lip, failing to hide her grin.

Danek laughed.

“I think we can run the city perimeter in enough time to get you back before you leave,” Kienna said. “It’s basically a giant circle, so if we start here at the markets and weave around the outskirts, we’ll have enough distance.”

“What do you say we race?” Danek stretched his legs as he looked around the trail.

It was Kienna’s turn to laugh. “Oh, Danek. You forget I grew up with you. You’re not that fast.”

“Then you won’t have an issue taking a bet.”

Kienna shook her head. “We’re betting now?”

“How about if you win, I’ll buy you that shirt from the market yesterday? If I win, I’ll kiss you. No harm in that one if you know you’re faster, right?”

Her attention drifted toward the market. Danek knew it from the way she looked at it and touched its fabric that Kienna wanted that shirt, though she’d probably never admit something so vain. They grew up with the bare minimum, and though Kienna could have asked for more, she never did. Even now, she cycled through the same wardrobe, wearing out the Elvish garments a lot faster than most. Danek couldn’t decide if he wanted to give her the shirt or kiss her more.

The wind shifted between them, and Danek grinned. Kienna returned it, and like lightning passing through his limbs, the ground faded away, and they were running. Kienna started strong as she always did, running ahead of him through the passage of the city. He needed her to lead. He didn’t know Dove Port well enough. No, he had to wait until they were out in the open, running toward the hills to make a move. Once they neared the trail that opened to the farmlands, Danek leaped up and pushed his legs off the last building and pushed forward until he soared through the air, landing in front of Kienna. He hit the ground hard but kept moving. The wind hadn’t even caught up to him yet.

Everything blurred at the edges, like the world couldn’t keep up. Speed roared in Danek’s blood with electricity. His breath came fast, sharp, but weightless. He moved with the certainty of knowing where his body needed to be. His chest rose with heat. Damn, was he fast.

If Kienna faltered, he didn’t know. He pressed forward until he slowed to what he considered the finish line and waited for her, still a distance behind him. In the hills, Connak and Tislin spoke quietly while waiting for Danek. Kienna was right. It was perfect timing.

She caught up to him and panted. “Shit, Danek, you could have mentioned you were a lot faster now.”

“I didn’t know,” he said, realizing how attuned to his senses he’d become. He could see clearly with each stride he’d taken. His body moved as if it already knew what to do, and he didn’t have to think about it. Was this how the Elvish always felt—how they moved with such grace? “These changes are fairly new.”

Kienna heaved in a bigger breath as Danek found her gaze drifting past him and over his shoulder, where Connak and Tislin were.

He couldn’t have that. “A bet’s a bet,” he said with a steady voice as he stepped in closely.

The heat of her body radiated. Her breath was still uneven from their run, but she stood tall and steady. Almost steady. There was a hitch in her breath she didn’t want him to notice. He noticed anyway. Up against her, she had to look up at him, something she never had to do before Danek’s transformation.

He leaned in, slow and deliberate, stopping shy of her lips. He hovered there for a breath, close enough to feel the heat between them. Without breaking eye contact, he reached for her hand and guided it upward, pressing a kiss on her knuckles instead.

When he glanced up through his lashes, he caught the flicker of frustrated embarrassment curling at the corner of Kienna’s mouth. He let out a soft hum and then stepped back. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you again.”

Danek turned from her to meet Connak on the hills. With a newfound victory in his heart, he released a sigh and focused on keeping his vision straight. Being utterly confident came unnaturally to him at first, but with his transformation, he didn’t feel so bogged down by insecurities anymore. He could fight them easily, and he would. Hers, too, if needed.

That gave him enough confidence to think maybe he stood a chance.

Chapter 9

—Kienna—

“You. Girl.” Calder Ashfell growled as he spoke, smelling of rum and sweat.

Kienna looked up from another carving she had started and feared he would toss it in the corner again. She was prepared to take the criticism. All she had to do was stuff the bird incident down and pretend it didn’t affect her. It helped to talk to the men from the shipyard, but the woodcarver’s words still bit.

“You’re useless here,” he continued. “I need you to run to the sawmill and put in an order for long planks. Oak or pine. Do you understand, girl? No cedar. And then to the Brass Knot for beeswax and tree resin. I will need a sizable amount. Norrin will know how much.”

“Are you building ships?” Kienna asked, recalling Fenlo and his friends commenting about him taking on ship work. “I thought you were only a carver.”

“I was a shipwright long before you were anything. Shut up and do as you’re told.” Master Calder set a large bag of coins on the table and disappeared. Kienna slumped her shoulders and took the coins.

She wove closely to the tree line on the outskirts of Dove Port near the Goldmere River to the sawmill. The older gentleman she met at The Elarent House greeted her when she approached. It made sense why he could speak to the Ashfell character. He’d apparently been working in tree logging his whole life.

“What can I do you for, miss…Kianna, right?”