Free Shadow Blessed (The Shadow Accords Book 1) by D.K. Holmberg

river, listening to the sound of it rushing over rocks as it flowed toward the sea. She could jump in, let the river carry her. She’d learned to swim the surf in places like Darfan and didn’t fear the water. If it flowed far enough, she might even make it all the way back to Ih-lash, where she’d been born. She never understood why her parents had left a land they so clearly loved and come to Nyaesh. Whenever she would ask, her mother’s response was always the same: Later . Now there would be no later.
    Kel stood next to her, his shoulder brushing up against hers. “Were you a thief before?” he asked again. She shook her head. “Maybe trained by the A’ras?”
    “Careful,” she cautioned.
    Kel faced her, a smile splitting his mouth. “Funny that you would tell me to be careful. I’ve seen how you sneak out, come back with full pockets. You never stray this far in the city. Where do you go when you run off?”
    “Nowhere. And I wasn’t a thief.”
    Kel studied her face a moment, the moonlight reflecting off his deep brown eyes, making them almost appear black. “If you say so. Doesn’t change the fact that you have faster hands than me.”
    “I didn’t see you complaining when I split my collection with you tonight.”
    Kel grinned again. “I didn’t say I’d complain. It’s nice to actually collect enough for a change.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean? Vera doesn’t care if we don’t bring in coins.”
    “Maybe not, but I can’t imagine she likes it when we don’t bring in what she wants, either. There’s a price to staying with them.”
    “Yeah? Then what’s the price?”
    “I don’t know. But there has to be something. Vera might not tell us outright, but that don’t mean we get a free pass. And if I can’t sell enough, then I got to collect scraps.”
    “But I’ve seen you collect enough before.”
    “Have you? I’ve never really managed to move quickly enough. Most of the time I have to use the bump technique.”
    “That’s a stupid way of collecting. You’d be crashing around the streets.”
    Kel arched a brow at her. “Yeah? Before you came, that was all we needed. Then you show up and demonstrate your quick hands, collecting scraps that would last a week before.”
    “Vera doesn’t need the money anyway,” Carth said. When Kel arched a brow at her, she shrugged. “The Lyre is busy enough that she doesn’t need the money to feed us.”
    The tavern was busy. Most nights it was crowded, with the attached inn managing to rent out its rooms more often than not, especially situated near the river as it was. That much business wouldn’t require her to need Carth and the others to bring in much money. Did she have them selling in the street to keep them busy? It would keep them away from the tavern during the day, at least give Vera a chance to cook without them bothering her, and she’d never asked them to stick around to help.
    “Where have you been going at night?” Kel asked.
    Carth shook herself, pulling her thoughts back to the conversation. “I’ve just been wandering.”
    “That’s not safe, you know. The A’ras patrol more than they used to. There’s something going on outside the city that makes them nervous. You get in the way…”
    “I’m safe enough.”
    “Yeah?” Kel grabbed at her arm quickly and pulled on her. “What happens if—”
    The suddenness gave her a flashback to when the man had grabbed her outside the square and covered her mouth. Carth jerked on her arm, tearing it free, while pulling the A’ras knife from her pocket.
    Kel raised his hands and took a step back. “What do you think you’re doing?”
    “I’d ask you the same thing!” She jabbed at him with the knife and he took another step back.
    His feet slipped and he started to fall.
    Carth jumped for him.
    There would be no way for her to reach him. Kel had moved too far from her, but fear for him must have made her quicker than she should have been. She reached him,