Girls of Storm and Shadow (Girls of Paper and Fire, #2)(6)

Nitta arches a brow. “Oh? Which ones are those? I must have missed them somehow in all the years I’ve known you.”

The siblings continue to bicker as we approach the temple. Its stone walls are dark against the snow-cloaked trees. Muffled light glitters off the frozen surface of the lake sweeping to its right. A steep cliff face rears behind the temple, and it’s from this rock that half of the building itself is carved, giving the impression of a great stone monster with jaws splayed wide, ready to swallow us whole.

Wren stands at the top of the steps in the temple’s open entranceway. She’s wrapped in a heavy wool overcoat, her dark hair tumbling over the deep purple fabric. Her arched lips are pink from the cold. An iciness emanates from her that has nothing to do with the snowstorm.

“Good luck,” Bo whispers, only half hiding the gleeful tone in his voice.

The siblings hang back at the bottom of the steps. Wren watches as I make my way up to her, my calves aching after hours of trekking through the mountains. She stands so stiffly it’s as though she were hewn from the same dark stone of the temple, her arms crossed, chin tilted slightly up, the dance of her wind-teased hair around her high cheekbones the only movement. She’s so beautiful, even in her anger, and I resist the urge to throw my arms around her and bury her in kisses. That will come later.

Instead, I pull down the ice-crusted scarf where it was covering my mouth and give her a bright smile. “Good afternoon, my love!” I sing. “Did you have a good nap?”

Bo’s mock-whisper—“Bold opening”—carries from the bottom of the stairs, along with Nitta’s snicker.

Wren’s eyes flick behind me, silencing them in a flash. “Don’t joke about this.” Her husky voice is clipped, her eyes narrowed and dangerous as she rounds on me. “Can you imagine my panic when I woke up to find you gone? How scared I was?”

My expression sobers. “Wren—”

“This was the only thing Merrin and I asked of you. Lei, you know why you can’t go wandering off into the forest. Let alone the fact you’re still recovering from what happened at the Moon Ball. What if you’d run into royal soldiers? Or anti-Paper groups who’d murder you just for fun? It’s not safe out there—”

“When is it ever?” I cut in, my lips pursing. “When has Ikhara ever been safe for girls like us?”

Something melts in her features.

“I couldn’t stand to be useless anymore,” I mumble, dropping my gaze to the floor. I scuff the tips of my boots against the wet slabs. “We’ve been waiting for your father for more than two weeks now. The rest of you have had stuff to do, while I’ve just sat around doing nothing.”

Wren takes my gloved fingers with her bare hands. “Lei, you are far from useless.”

“So let me help! We’re not in the palace anymore, Wren. You don’t have to keep protecting me. I know what I’ve gotten myself into. I want to help.”

Her liquid brown eyes soften. “If you were hurt…”

I step in close, turning my cheek against her chest. “You can’t keep me safe from the rest of the world forever,” I whisper.

Her breath warms the top of my head. “Watch me try.” Then she circles her arms around my back, squeezing me close.

I smile into the fabric of her coat. Behind us, Nitta and Bo burst into applause.

“Awww!” Nitta croons. “You two are the cutest!”

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” Bo whoops.

Wren laughs, a sound that brings warmth to my cheeks despite the still-bitter air. I lean back, lifting my mouth to hers. But just as our lips meet, footsteps sound from within the temple.

Wren pushes away from me in an instant, her face tightening into the closed mask she usually reserves for others.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

Before she can answer, the steps ring louder. They are smart and assured, neither the click of Merrin’s talons nor the light, almost silent movements of Hiro, the shaman boy who makes up the last member of our group. Moments later, a tall Paper caste man strides out from the temple’s entranceway.

His smile is the first thing I notice—wide and dazzling, lighting up the rest of his handsome face. A midnight-blue traveling coat sweeps across the wet stones behind him, and underneath it he is broad-shouldered and lean. Wavy hair threaded with gray falls in a shock over his forehead; more white peppers the stubble across his jaw. Like his smile, his eyes are bright and shining. Deep-set and tapered, they are black as coal, gleaming with the same keen intensity I saw in Nitta and Bo earlier after our encounter with the snow leopard.

I know who he is in an instant. Ketai Hanno, leader of the most powerful Paper clan in Ikhara. And, as of recently, the King’s number one enemy.

Well, perhaps number two now… behind me.

Wren bows her head respectfully. “Father.”

But he moves past her, spreading his arms wide as he comes instead to me. His sparkling grin seems to stretch across half his face. “Finally,” he says. Taking my hands in his, he bends at his hips in a half-bow and brings my knuckles to his forehead. Then he straightens, grasping my shoulders with a clap. “I’ve been waiting so long to meet you, Moonchosen.”

My forehead furrows. “M-moonchosen?”

“Haven’t you heard? That’s what they’re calling you. You’re celebrated among us Papers, Lei-zhi. Even some of our demon clan allies are using it. We owe so much to your bravery.”