When Shadows Rise (Book 1)

Chapter 1 (Zara)

One problem. That was all she'd had today. But as Zara Tait poked her hand through the cage's metal bars, she now had five.

Little noses pressed closer, straining to boop her fingertips. Four fluffy faces with sad, sapphire eyes and pointed ears. Flies skittered over their blood-crusted fur. Across from her, the merchant who had abused the lynx pups glared.

"Fetch your silver or move along, girl. This isn't a petting zoo."

Withdrawing her hand, she sized him up. Thick, corded muscles wound around his arms. He wheezed in the Leodian heat, and as he wiped the perspiration from his brow, she glimpsed a black tattoo against his pale white skin. A stag with two daggers crossed over it. Hunter's Guild of Englia. No wonder the climate irked him so much; Leodia was a long way from the north.

She adjusted her thin, gray cloak. If only the man knew what her cloak meant, he'd cower like all the others. She was a Watcher, only ever seen when she wanted to be. In shadows, she was deft as a blade, carving out well-hidden secrets for the queen. Watchers never dealt with their own personal affairs during assignments. But Zara's tendency to bend the rules would be the death of her someday.

"Catch," she said, tossing a silver coin in his direction.

A poor throw, too far to the side. It glanced off the tips of his filthy fingers and landed in the street.

"Not enough," he grunted. But he crouched anyway and searched for the silver.

Fool.

She unsheathed the smaller of her two daggers. The one with the thinnest point—perfect for lockpicking. By the time the man stood and brushed the dirt from the coin, she had the cage open and the lynx pups huddled in her arms.

"Thanks for your generosity." She dipped her head. "You helped a great cause today."

Then she took off running.

"Thief!" the man shouted. "Stop that girl!"

But the people on the streets scurried away from her. Eyes casted downward. Voices fell quiet. A Watcher in broad daylight wasn't uncommon, but it almost always meant trouble.

By the time she crossed the bridge over the river separating the Yellow and Blue Districts, her cloak sleeves were stained with pee. The lynx pups meowed and cried. She ducked into an apartment and climbed the steps to the fourth floor. When she got to an entryway with a familiar curtain hanging over it, she knocked on the wooden frame.

"Who is it?"

"It's Zara." She cradled the whimpering pups. "I need your help."

The curtain was pushed aside, and Faraj appeared. Their medium brown skin had yellow undertones. Their hair was pulled back into its usual messy bun, and red eyeliner emphasized the sharp look of their eyes. The moment they saw the lynx pups, they frowned.

"It's not what it looks like," she said.

Faraj crossed their arms and gave her a hard stare.

"Okay, it is what it looks like. But look at their cute, little faces." She booped one of the pups' noses. "How could I resist?"

"Zara, you've already brought me three animals this month."

She winced. "What's four more?"

Faraj glared. But their silence said enough.

She wouldn't accept 'no' for an answer. She couldn't. Not with these small bundles of fluff turning their big, blue eyes on her. "I'll help you find a home for them."