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

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    “What do you think you can do?” she dared him.
    Etan grabbed for her arm, but Carth backed away, slipping into the crowd.
    She expected him to leave her, thinking that she would have to deal with him later, but he surprised her and gave chase, wearing a determined and satisfied look on his face.
    Carth weaved between the crowd, getting as far from him as she could. She didn’t fear Etan catching her here. That wasn’t anything that he would do. No, she feared him attempting something while she slept. But she didn’t want to let him catch her now.
    She moved quickly, sticking to the sides of the streets, knowing ways to hide that she doubted he had discovered, keeping along the buildings, where she wouldn’t have to work so hard to avoid running into people in the street. She put space between her and him as she worked her way up Doland Street. When she paused, she noted that he still chased her, hurrying up the street, unmindful of crashing into others as he did.
    No… that wasn’t what he did. The fool thought to bump and steal as he chased her! All it would take would be crashing into the wrong person, making the wrong lift, much like what Kel had experienced. She would have no interest in trying to help him if he did, not after the way that he’d been treating her.
    She turned a corner, not wanting to watch.
    The street was emptier than most, and darkened by the height of the buildings so that the sunlight didn’t quite reach, leaving shadows stretching long across the cobbles. Carth moved quickly, trying to get as far away from Etan as was possible, but curiosity made her hesitate.
    She turned back toward Doland Street.
    As she did, she caught sight of a flash of maroon on a pair of men marching toward the docks.
    A’ras.
    They were rarely seen down by the docks. They came from time to time, but not as often as they patrolled in the rest of the city.
    Slipping to the end of the street, she stood at the intersection, watching the A’ras as they made their way toward River Road. She saw no sign of Etan. At least he had the presence of mind to get out of the street when the A’ras came through. Risking their wrath meant certain imprisonment.
    There came a soft scream.
    Carth started forward, cursing herself. What was she doing risking herself against the A’ras? If they noticed her, they would have no reason not to pull her to them. And if they noticed her and realized that she carried one of their knives… that probably meant death.
    There came another scream.
    Damn the A’ras!
    After what they had done to her family, a part of her wished that she had the same skill as Felyn, able to kill them with barely more effort than taking a stroll. All she had was her knife and the ability to move quietly. Maybe that was the real reason that her parents had taught her how to move quietly, to track without being seen, and to notice if someone followed. That would be a better reason than becoming the thief that she was.
    She nearly reached River Road when she found the body.
    An older man with dark hair much like her father’s lay on the road, his neck split, and warm blood still pouring out onto the stones. He didn’t move. Carth examined him, reaching into his pockets by instinct, and found a small purse that she pocketed. A slender knife rested under his arm.
    Had this man thought to attack the A’ras?
    What kind of fool thing was happening here? Were they finally coming after the Thevers? In the time she’d been on the docks, the Thevers hadn’t bothered her at all, but she knew the A’ras intended to push them from the city.
    Carth heard another shout.
    She spun, twisting back toward the shadows of the nearest building, not wanting to be so easily seen in the street when the A’ras were out.
    Nothing moved.
    Where had Etan gone?
    She should have passed him as she made her way down the street, unless he had veered off through one of the alleys, but she didn’t think he had sense enough for that. Etan