Page 47 of The Ashborn

Now, working with him in silence for hours, enough pride beamed through her soul to ease the aches of her other troubles. That is, until she realized that the first thing she wanted to do with this information was to tell Connak.

I’m hurt, Ruva whined.

I don’t have to tell you anything, Ru. You see it all.

Every dirty detail.

Kienna squirmed at the thought. She knew what thoughts coursed through her mind…

Calder moved slowly as he picked up some planks and moved them to the workbench. He took to peeling off the bark with his knife, and Kienna watched him, studying the rhythm of someone who’d done this his whole life.

“I used to build tiny boats for my daughter,” he said suddenly, voice distant and almost lost under the creak of the wood.

Kienna turned her full attention to him. “What was she like?”

His hands moved slower. “She loved the sea. Couldn’t keep her feet out of it. Wild like the wind.” He smiled faintly; an expression carved from grief. “She was fierce, my Avenna.”

Kienna’s heart exploded in her chest as Ash trailed away at the sound of her name. Avenna. His Avenna. How common was that name? Was it possible for there to be multiple Avennas in this city? Calder continued. “I lost her when she fell in with the Elvish, of course.”

Another moment passed before fury returned. How dare Connak and Tislin keep this to themselves? Even if they had good reason to let her find out on her own, she struggled with her morale, wondering if this man had wasted her time. She had to find the woodcarver, and the old drunk reminded her she hadn’t. But she had!

She couldn’t deny it now. Not if his Avenna was her Avenna. Everything in her gut confirmed she was, and the ache in her heart grew. Kienna wanted to know Ash even more. Her hand brushed his, and he jolted out of a daze.

“I’ve lost people, too,” she said, gently setting the carving knife down. “I never met them, but I suspect you did.”

He didn’t answer at first. Just looked at her. The lines on his face deepened. Since sobering up, Ash’s mind was quicker, and the deep recognition that built in his eyes was undeniable. He only huffed. “I don’t know many people these days. And definitely not anyone who would have had the likes of you.”

“You probably wouldn’t have known by the time she went to live with the Elvish.” Kienna stared at him, waiting for the recognition to hit his heart as much as it did his mind. He could see her; she knew that.

His eyes frantically searched her, studying the shape of her face, the color of her hair.

Tears welled behind her eyes, her hands shaking. “My Avenna.”

Calder choked out a cry, grasping Kienna’s hands desperately. He squeezed them so tightly she could barely feel the blood pulsing, but her heart drummed furiously enough to compensate. “Oh,” he said. “She is in you.”

“I’d say I’m pissed that no one told either of us, but I’m so glad I don’t have to feel alone anymore.”

“No, my child. You’re not alone.” He said it so lovingly, but part of it reminded Kienna of Vaerin, as it should have.

Kienna saw bits of the King of River Storm sprinkled around him. The grayness hiding beneath his brown eyes. The shape of his nose. She’d have to ask about Vaerin eventually, but that was worth another day’s conversation. Knowing this, she no longer blamed him for turning to rum to ease his pain.

Ash looked out the shop window, and he didn’t seem so burdened anymore either. “Thank you,” he said. “For helping me remember.”

They sat there, no longer master and apprentice. No, Kienna would go to the ends of the earth to preserve this man. Though she was furious with Connak and Tislin, they could wait to feel her wrath. And they would. She sat with Ash, so deeply connected to the world around her. She found more than she thought she’d ever find.

That was enough to pull her out of the shadows.

Chapter 19

—Moira—

Tislin stirred tea for the millionth time. He said the herbs would be good for the baby and keep Moira strong as she continued to progress. The fact that he even thought about her at all in this way warmed her in places that made her blush. She pressed her hands to her cheeks and brushed her spiraled hair out of her face.

He was handsome. She never thought she’d find herself so drawn to a man like him, but here she was. Maybe the darkness of his shadows made him more mysterious. Or maybe he treated her the way she wished Rhior had. Rhior only married her because of the baby. She knew it, yet the guilt still engulfed her when she looked at Tislin this way. She was, in fact, still married.

“Here, Sunbeam,” he said, pushing the cup toward her.

Moira lifted the cup and took a sip, then hummed as she exhaled. The hints of peach were warm and sweet, softened by the smooth black tea beneath. “It’s your best yet.”