Free Cinderella Dreams of Fire (Fairy Tales Forever #1) by Casey Lane

we start here tonight? Think we've gone in a circle for the entire village."
    Cinderella eyed the outer wall of the building next door. “I want to check it out again."
    With expert agility, Cinderella pushed off the rooftop and aimed for the side of the other building. The second she came into contact with it, she pushed off the wall with her opposite foot. She repeated the same motion several times over until she'd rebounded off each building three times and landed softly on the ground below. She looked up at the bewildered prince.
    "I think I'll just climb down. Meet you over there?"
    Cinderella tsked and walked across the road to the captain's front door. She went to the exact location where the golden bird had perched. She placed her fingers on the spot, as if trying to conjure the memory where she'd seen the bird before. Closing her eyes and concentrating hard on her breathing, she couldn't come up with anything relevant.
    The prince startled her out of her thoughts. “Now that’s interesting."
    Cinderella turned toward him. “What?"
    He stepped forward and placed his hand on hers. A small bolt of nervousness went through the thief's arm and into the rest of her body. Her instinct said to withdraw her hand immediately, but she let her hand linger under the prince's touch.
    Damn it.
    The prince gripped her hand in his and pulled it off the front of the captain's house. Her eyes widened.
    "Are those…?"
    The prince nodded. “Claw marks."
    Sure enough, something with sharp, powerful nails had clawed up the front facade.
    Cinderella had seen a variety of claw marks and paw prints in her missions through neighboring forests, but these marks were larger than any she'd ever seen. Her blood pressure began to rise.
    Prince Braedon seemed to be having the same reaction, as his face whitened. “What could've done that?"
    Cinderella examined the door from top to bottom and opened it a crack. She shook her head. “I don't know, but there's a matching pair on the other side."

Chapter 16
    K iyara learned a long time ago not to ask her mother questions. When Armenia told her to put on something dark and leave the house in the middle of the night, she did it without a moment's hesitation. Her mother hadn't brought up the previous night's adventure whatsoever. It was as if she didn't even consider Kiyara had a part in it at all. All the blame was laid at the feet of Cinderella.
    It isn't fair. It's never fair.
    Kiyara thanked the gods that neither her mother nor her sister checked Cinderella's bed before they left the house. She prayed that none of them would see the thief of the night as they walked from their carriage to an unfamiliar part of town.
    Her fears were never realized. They didn't see a single soul on the way to a house that didn't ring a bell in her recollection. The house was modest but well decorated on the outside. Kiyara stood behind her mother and her sister, playing with the fabric of her dress. “What are we doing here?"
    Malina turned back with a sneer. “What do you think we're doing, genius?” Kiyara took a step back, which startled both a rat and herself.
    Armenia clicked her tongue. “Sisters should support one another, Malina. You know that Kiyara has developed a unique gift of blocking out the past. Apologize."
    Malina wrinkled her nose. “I'm sorry. Now can we get on with this?"
    Armenia grinned with pride. She reached her hand toward the door and touched the knocker. Then her hand pushed through the door like it was made of nothing. The lock on the front had fully disintegrated before Kiyara's eyes. Her left arm began to twitch.
    "I think it's time to pay our new friends a visit.” Armenia gripped the new hole in the door and easily pulled it open into the street. Malina practically dove inside, while Kiyara required a bit of coaxing from her mother. The butterflies in her stomach were multiplying with every second and, with great hesitation, she stepped inside the unfamiliar house.
    When