Page 49 of The Ashborn

Connak and Tislin both turned. Connak handed the blueprint back to Fenlo before Kienna reached them. She pushed her glowing hands into both of their shoulders. Small flames took hold of their vests, and both men swiped at the fire.

“What the hell, Kienna?” Connak asked.

“How dare you?” she screamed, pushing them again. She could tell they had no clue what she was talking about. It didn’t matter. By now, the Blades had stopped working. The breeze carrying Danek’s planks slowed to a stop.

“I’m sorry?” Connak asked. “I don’t know what I’m sorry for, but apparently my apologies don’t make a difference.”

Kienna fixed her eyes, her anger, her fury on him. She was equally pissed with Tislin, but she and Connak had left things so uncomfortable that it was easier to pick back up where they had started. Plus, there was the discomfort of him pulling out of her mind and leaving a void within her.

“Don’t be a smartass.” She slammed her fist into his chest again, then gritted her teeth. “You begged me to trust you, and then you withheld secrets! What else are you hiding?”

Tislin reached for Kienna’s wrist, then studied her hands, though he didn’t say anything about them. “Why don’t you tell us what this is about, and we can speak on it more civilly?”

Kienna let out a dry, bitter laugh. “What if I let him die, hmm? Before I knew who he was? What if I gave up and he died?”

Connak’s shoulders sank a little. “The woodcarver?”

“Of course, the woodcarver. Unless you were expecting me to uncover something else?” Kienna was so at peace with Ash, glad to have found him. Pulled from the shadows. Maybe it was Connak who kept pulling her back.

No, Little Flame. He’s always helped you.

They keep LYING, Ruva!

Guiding.

“We’re entangled in politics heavier than you realize. Tristian is—” Tislin cut himself off, shaking his head. “We will get you the answers you need, but we must tread carefully, or it may cost us all our lives.”

“What does Tristian have to do with any of this?”

Connak and Tislin shared a side glance.

Are we mad at the dreamy soldier, too?

Kienna’s eyes drifted to the ship. She crossed her arms, hiding the flames that continued to dance on her palms. “I don’t know if I can forgive you.”

“He didn’t know, either,” Connak said. “It’s not like we could have thrown you both together in the state he was in. It had to come naturally.”

“The fact that you can’t even trust me with the information is why I can’t trust you either. This thing—” Kienna pointed to hers and Connak’s minds, “It’s a curse. And as far as I’m concerned, you shutting it off was for the best.”

Kienna turned and stormed off. Ruva whined behind her, following, nonetheless.

You didn’t mean that.

Yes, I did. It’s you and me, Ru. And Ash now. It’s for the best.

Ruva huffed. And Moira.

Kienna flicked her eyes as she stomped up the hill into the city. Yes, of course, Moira, too.

And Danek.

Yes, Ruva, I get the point.

And Elowen. And this city. And Tislin and Connak, too.

Kienna groaned, curving her way past their apartment. She couldn’t go back there. The ship would be a glaring reminder of this whole day. She wanted to go back to Ash, but her hands wouldn’t stop glowing, and she needed space to be angry. She couldn’t be angry with him, only grateful. Kienna wanted to be angry.

She stepped toward the river’s edge and stared out at the rushing water. With nothing else left to do, she screamed, letting the flames fly from her palm. They were weak, barely holding, but still flared enough to scorch a hole in her gloves and a patch of grass before flickering out. When she was done, she sat on the ground and stared idly as the river flowed.