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I stepped forward, glancing at the dark, bound cover and noticed a swirling golden glimmer to the detail. It trailed around, looping elegantly toward a small symbol. I inched closer, reaching for the book as I noticed the symbol was shaped like a cloud, blowing gusts of air.
Wind.
I had seen this before.
In the Hall of Knowledge.
But what was it doing here?
“Step away from there.” Darting out her hand, the woman grabbed the book and fell to her hands and knees. “The damn chaos … it was right by me the entire time.”
A large plank of wood crashed atop a cement stone bench a few feet from us, and it was finally enough to snap the woman out of her search.
My gaze lingered at the fire-engulfed roof. “Please,” I said, staring at her back, hoping she would get up and leave with me.
“I’m close,” she barked. “One more minute.”
My palms itched, and as my heart thudded louder, I knew watching the sky above, peering down at me through the already-crumbling ceiling, that we would never make it.
I closed my eyes, summoning my power—a storm strong enough that could quell the flames.
A faint sound of thunder boomed in the distance, and I embraced the swelling of magic coursing along my skin. The lightning would follow as tingles raced toward my fingertips. Now.
Lifting my hands, a crackle of light pierced the sky above us. Rain drowned out all other noise, and the flickering embers of a raging fire began its battle with my storm.
But it wasn’t enough. The final beams of wood maintaining the integrity of the entire structure quivered beneath the fire and storm.
“Got it!” the woman shouted, as the snapping noise we heard came from the building and not my lightning magic.
Dammit!
Before I could make eye contact with her, a pair of arms wrapped around my middle, flinging me backward as my hair whipped in front of me, blowing in my face as we bolted from the crumbling building.
Her swift exit with whatever magic she possessed carried us to the pile where Killian was trapped. I grabbed his shirt as he furiously heaved plank after plank of wood and stones over his head, then he was swept back along with us.
I was flung to my knees beside Killian, whose wide-eyed stare was enough to have me whipping my head around at the woman who had almost gotten us killed, while also saving our asses.
She was staring at the building, as though none of the absolute anarchy that had gone on between us had even occurred inside. Her eyes teared and she shook her head once, gaping at the collapsing rubble before us.
Killian rose to his feet, marching toward her as though he would drag her to Hell and back for what she had put us through. “What on earth were you thinking? You could have gotten us all killed!”
“I don’t know who you think you are, but I didn’t invite you into my workplace, nor did I ask your little lady hero to stay. I didn’t need help.” The woman, who was a good foot shorter than Killian, had puffed out her chest as she bumped into his tall, unyielding frame.
He growled under his breath. “You’re lucky we were here, or you’d be dead.”
I watched the fight from my knees, sucking in breaths of precious air that was not laced with the stench of smoke.
“You caused more distraction than help. I’d have gotten it sorted.” She sniffed, lifting her chin slightly.
“Gotten what sorted? The building was collapsing around you, and you were rummaging like a thief during a two-bit market day!” Killian’s shouts would have been enough to cause most of his men to think twice about looking at him wrong while in this sort of mood. But whomever the sharp-witted and hardheaded woman was, she could not have cared less.
I rose slowly, wobbly, as my body struggled to stand after being whipped around like a rag doll. “A key,” I said, interrupting the death-match scream-fest. I scanned our surroundings, thankful that the fires raging in the village had cleared most people away from the burning buildings. “She needed to find her key.”
Walking toward an angry Kilian, I placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping he would realize we were safe and there was no need for his pirate attitude.
I studied the woman’s appearance, taking her in for the first time. She was short and stocky, as if she had won plenty of brawls on her own. Her dark hair was knotted back in a lopsided twist that came together in a tight bun on her head. She was terrifying to behold, despite her age and stature.
And that terrifying feeling only intensified as her yellow-green eyes bore into me, searching what felt like the depths of my soul as she curled her lip. “How the bloody hell did you know that?”
