Page 52 of The Ashborn

This was a bad idea. Whatever happened, she’d eat the consequences.

“If those weapons get out onto the streets, King Vaerin’s army will be unstoppable. We will become his army, and he’ll break the wards. Burn it. Now.”

“The weapons will survive,” Kienna said. “What good would burning it do besides kill everyone here?”

“They’ll get out. Your fire will kill the shadows before they can settle.”

The door creaked behind them. Tislin winced as he twisted. An Umbrin bore its dead eyes into them. Kienna gasped. With Tislin injured, she’d have to fight it alone. “Tislin, please, let’s go. Pull me through the shadows.”

Tislin’s face paled, his blood pooling around their feet. Would he even have the energy to get them out after? “Burn it,” he said.

“Give me your sword.” Kienna’s voice came out stern. “I‘ll get us out of here.”

“By burning it,” Tislin replied but didn’t stop her from taking his weapon. He leaned against the wall to conserve his energy.

The Umbrin watched her, tilting its head from side to side as if predicting her move. She would have to be unpredictable. Before she let herself think, she lunged. The creature reached its long, dark fingers in her direction. Kienna spun herself out of its grasp, slicing her sword over its arm before finding her footing. It shrieked, then reached for her blade with its other hand.

Kienna yanked at the blade, but it refused to come free from its body. The Umbrin leaned, pushing it deeper before the blade shook and surged a spark through her arms. Crying out, she let go, and the Umbrin kicked her against a pillar in the small room. Something cracked, and Kienna screamed as her shoulder dislocated.

Her shriek alerted the others, and they scrambled to collect the weapons they could and put them into a cart.

Tislin stood up straight, approaching her. “You’ll have to forgive me for this,” he said, holding her wrist. A shadow appeared in the corner, one that took form to match the Umbrin’s appearance. It was no Umbrin. Kienna didn’t have time to study it, but she assumed it was the Shade Tislin mentioned.

Before she could process, Tislin gripped Kienna’s charm and flung shadows toward her face. She gasped, lighting a fire in her palms. The flames took hold of the wooden floors and walls around them. As soon as the flames erupted, Tislin restored the charm and yanked her through the darkness.

Chapter 21

—Kienna—

Kienna’s heart exploded in the dark. They’d barely cleared Alverton before Tislin started to fade. She clung to him as their bodies fell from the sky. He caught them and disappeared again into the shadows. Over his shoulder, a Shade followed closely behind.

It swiped at Tislin’s foot. Before panic could completely bind her, Kienna lit her hands with embers in the hope they would serve as a beacon into the void. Instead, the searing flames scared away Tislin’s shadows, and too soon, they were free-falling again, terror pulling them faster. Tislin’s weight slipped, his head tilting back at a sickening angle. His eyes fluttered shut as they gained speed. Kienna clawed desperately at his arms. Tislin didn’t respond. They plummeted from the clouds, straight toward the Goldmere. The water would catch them, but from the height they were falling, they’d crack on impact.

The warmth of Tislin’s blood spilled through her fingers. He was on the brink of death, and she’d be damned if she got this far only to succumb to the shadows. She inhaled, clung to his chest, and pushed the heat of her body against his until a tiny flame flickered up his abdomen. The smell of burning flesh made her wince, reminding her of the woman in River Storm. Kienna pushed past the memory. The heat sparked Tislin awake. His eyes went wild, and without warning, they flung into the shadows one more time before he softly dropped them into the Goldmere.

Kienna burst through the surface of the water, but Tislin was nowhere to be seen. She sank back into the freezing river, opening her eyes in hopes of finding him. His pale hair helped. Kienna swam fast, kicking her legs with all her might. She pulled him up with her good arm. His limp body resisted the flow of water, but she didn’t give up. She pulled as hard as she could. Her lungs began to cave, running out of air, and she feared she wouldn’t elude death twice today. But they couldn’t die now. She still had to yell at Connak. Tell Ash how grateful she was for his presence. Maybe tell Danek she’d have his back, too.

Connak and Moira would never let her hear the end of it if she let Tislin die.

Kienna’s head finally bobbed above the water. She gasped for air, pulling Tislin up with her good arm and kicking her legs frantically to keep them both above the water. By some miracle, they were close to the shore.

Kienna gulped air. “Tislin, are you breathing?”

No response.

She pushed her legs harder to land. Ruva’s mind sparked back into hers, and she could already hear the panicked whining when Kienna reached the shore and pulled Tislin’s unconscious body to dry ground. She’d never had to revive someone before. Her head spun. Tislin was dwindling. She put her ear to his mouth to listen for breathing, then pushed her mouth onto his, blowing air as she pinched his nose tightly.

Hot tears ran down her face as she worked. Ruva appeared over a hill, howling. What happened?

Mistakes, she cried. Mistakes happened, and Tislin is dying! What should I do?

I saw this before, I think. Push your hands onto his chest. Hard. And fast.

Kienna straddled Tislin’s body, unable to move her right shoulder at all. Pain radiated through her entire body as she cupped her left hand onto Tislin’s chest and pushed where his breastbone met his ribs and pressed.

Harder.

Hesitantly, she pushed with all her strength, and the sound of Tislin’s ribs cracking rang out. She stopped, ready to pass out herself. She looked at Ruva.