Free Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne Page B

still think that?”
    “You two are more innocent than you think, and less innocent than I’d like.”
    It occurred to Kyra that with Bella’s son dead, she’d have no one to care for her when she grew old. The responsibility would fall to her and Flick. Kyra found that she liked the idea.
    “Well, Bella, if it makes you feel better, you don’t have to worry about Idalee following my footsteps. She doesn’t have the knack for it.”
    “Just as you don’t have the knack for preparing vegetables.” Bella eyed the pile of shreddings. “How did I do?”
    Kyra held up the longest shredding, about the length of her forearm. “Not bad, but not your best.” She fetched the scrap bucket and held it as Bella swept in the turnip peels.
    “Are you leaving?” said Bella. “I have some leftover roast from lunch.”
    Kyra obediently served herself some roast before excusing herself.
    She thought about Idalee and Lettie as she left the tavern. What was it that made them different from the others? If Kyra was honest with herself, it was Lettie who really tugged at her heart. While the other children evoked memories of Kyra’s adventures with Flick, tiny Lettie tapped at more painful times—the earliest years before Kyra was old enough to fit in with the other children. Those were a blur of cold nights and days without food, scavenging like an animal in Forge’s alleyways. She’d been different from the others. Younger, smaller, and darker, strange in the way she moved and hid in the shadows. The other children had given her a wide berth. They’d feared her, even though she was too small to pose a danger to anyone. Though things got better, Kyra never got rid of the nagging feeling that she had barely survived, that she owed her existence to a few strokes of luck. Did she help Lettie out of compassion or out of some selfish desire to rewrite those memories?
    The Guildhouse was more crowded than usual, with about a dozen people gathered in the storeroom. James stood at the back, speaking with Bacchus and a few others. The rest of the men were scattered amongst the wares. Some were stacking boxes against a wall, while others were just standing and talking.
    “Rand,” she called. “Why’s everyone here?”
    He looked surprised to see her but sauntered over. “Job tonight. James needs the extra hands to raid an armory.”
    “An armory?”
    Rand shrugged. “That’s all he’s told us.” He joined a cluster of men as they erupted into laughter at some joke she couldn’t hear.
    Kyra had never seen the Guild mobilize such a large group before, but she doubted James would explain his plans to satisfy her curiosity. She glanced around the room one more time, looking for someone else she could ask, but aside from Rand, there wasn’t anyone she knew well enough to talk to. She moved on to James.
    “Why are you here?” he asked brusquely. His expression clearly signaled that she needed to say something or get out of his way.
    “Am I to keep mapping this week?”
    “Aye.”
    “I’ve gone over everything twice.”
    “Go over it again.”
    A clear dismissal. James directed his attention back to the man he was talking to. Frustrated, Kyra turned toward the door.
    Someone plowed into her from behind, and she stumbled into the wall.
    “Sorry, miss,” Bacchus called with a grin. A few of the men looked in her direction and chuckled as Bacchus entered their circle.
    She usually ignored Bacchus’s jabs, but this time something snapped. Maybe because it was the first time Bacchus had physically touched her, or perhaps Kyra had just kept things bottled up for too long. She earned her keep in the Guild just as Bacchus did. If she ever left, it would be on her terms. She strode toward the group, furious, but stopped when she saw Bacchus’s face. He looked smug, delighted even, that she was reacting. She stopped. What was she going to do, yell at him? Attack him with James watching? She couldn’t fall into his trap. But she