He angled his staff at her. “That right there is your real problem, Corynth. You’re still thinking in terms of defeat. Our goal isn’t to take a beast down; it’s to get it to safety. Most of the time, fighting isn’t the answer. Remember your first few weeks here.”
“Oh, I remember.” She winced at the thought of the song she had sung to Benlo.
With a wave of his hand, Allaster produced a scrap of paper, which he handed to her. “These are all books on beast behavior. Nothing I’ve assigned you so far will prove more important in day-to-day beast missions than these.”
She pocketed the list with a frown, and he raised a brow. “What? I thought you liked reading.”
“I likestories,” she corrected. “The factual stuff I can manage, but I learn better by doing.”
Loraya had spent hours explaining the ins and outs of picking someone’s pocket. Only choose marks in crowded areas, never second-guess yourself, always have a distraction. But it wasn’t until Kasira had been in the rush of the market, her fingers slipping through folds of cloth, that she had really understood what any of it meant. Granted, she’d nearly lost a hand more than once, but for everything she did wrong, she learned to do something right.
“I’ll take you on my next mission.” Allaster hefted his staff. “But in the meantime, read.”
CHAPTER 22
KASIRA
SOKASIRA READ.
When she wasn’t tending to Gievra or training with Allaster, she had her nose tucked into a book, making a point to always be around the Librarian. Now that she had his tentative trust, she needed to solidify it and begin identifying his weak points. The delicate comradery they had established was all well and good, but she would need a deeper connection than that if she were to begin manipulating him into transgressions Vera could use against him for the Conclave.
Allaster spent half his day buried in dusty old tomes, whether in his office or the forgotten upper levels of the library, and she would seek him out and sit at his table. It was a simple con, but an effective one. Slowly, she made herself a part of his everyday, not as a responsibility to be trained, but as a companion, until her presence felt as natural as sunlight on his skin.
She expected him to resent the insertion, but he absorbed her company without so much as a glower. He even went so far as to ask her about her reading, her day, showing a new interest in her that made her far more nervous than his animosity ever had. Had their talk in the Eyrie really had such an effect on him, or was this some new means of ferreting out her secrets?
All the while she kept half her attention on the Library’s magic, waiting for that same sense of warmth she’d felt at Iylis’s presence.He could reappear at any time, her true name on his tongue, and she wanted to be the first to see him when he did.
May found them studying one morning, Allaster’s untidy sprawl of books dominating their shared table. Kasira had made a bookrest of them, thumbing slowly through a past Librarian’s account of living two months with a herd of Kyvals, whose migratory patterns took them from the heights of the Terasor Mountains in the summers to the depths of the Melonair Shoals, where fish gathered in the thousands come winter.
May approached their table with a cup of tea in hand, her dark curls bundled atop her head with a patterned cloth. Kasira hadn’t seen her friend since she had abandoned the celebration so abruptly days before, as May had been away, but Kasira had procured both more cloudtrapper mushrooms and spiced chocolate for her, which she’d left in the First Mage’s room.
Still, she owed May more of an apology than that, and it was nearly on her lips before she realized where the impulse had come from: not from a need to maintain her anchor, but from a desire to genuinely be forgiven. Perhaps a little discord between her and May would do Kasira good, lest she grow too easy in their rapport.
“There is an F class in Ayador, requesting immediate assistance,” May informed them with a sip of her tea, the scent of lavender wafting from her cup. “I thought you might want to take Lana for training.”
Allaster stood abruptly. “I’ll handle it myself.”
Kasira pointedly closed her book. “You said I could go with you on your next mission.” This would be the perfect chance to test her new magic in action, and the more time she spent in service of the Library with Allaster, the better.
“There will be plenty of other missions.” He snapped his fingers, but she was faster now, and by the time he arrived in the portal room, she was already there.
“Saints.” He stepped back from her reflexively. “You’re a menace, you know that?”
She folded her arms. “Take me with you, or I’ll show you exactly how much of a menace I can be.”
He paled, likely imagining what havoc she could wreak without him around. Then he sighed a defeated, “Very well,” which sparked a low thrum of satisfaction in her. His strings were getting easier for her to pull, though she wondered at his reluctance to take her.
Kasira held out her hand. “I want a real weapon this time.”
He sized her up. “What do you prefer?”
It took her a moment to realize he wasn’t saying no. Everything between them had been a battle of push and pull for so long; she didn’t know what to do with herself when he just agreed.
“What about that sword in the main library?” She didn’t know what made her say it. The arena was full of swords, more than one of which she had spent several hours practicing with. But for some reason, her mind jumped straight to the one on the wall.
He frowned. “What sword?”
“The one wrapped in linen on the wall between the windows.”
