Rebel of Fire and Flight by Aneesa Marufu

Author:Aneesa Marufu
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Dawn was only a few hours away when Jacob finally stumbled through the sewer grate back to the Hāreef’s tunnels after trudging aimlessly through the city’s streets for longer than he cared to admit. It was a relief to be back, but with it came a jittering in his wrists that he struggled to conceal. What if they knew what he’d done? What if someone had seen him speaking with Anam?

Nonsense. No one had seen. But the knowledge did nothing to ease his trepidation. Jacob turned down empty tunnels that reminded him of hollowed-out wind chimes until the familiar smell of hot glass welcomed him. He entered the workshop.

“Ah, there he is.”

Jacob froze, eyes scanning the workshop for life. Marcus and the other hāri had long since retired to sleep. A rustle of fabric from the corner made his head snap around as Sara rose from the stack of crates she’d been perched on.

“Decided to take a little detour?” There was a sharpness to her voice that made his insides twist into a knot.

No. She couldn’t have seen. He’d made sure of that.

“So where could possibly be more important than the Hāreef?”

Every muscle in his back tensed, waiting for her accusation of betrayal. But none came, only her look of suspicion. His posture loosened slightly. She hadn’t seen, he realized, only suspected. “I got lost,” he mumbled.

Sara folded her arms. “Lost your cloak as well, did you?”

He cursed. In his haste to flee from Anam he’d left it discarded in the bush. “I didn’t want the soldiers to catch me wearing it.”

“Let me guess, you lost the brass and copper we collected as well?”

Jacob chewed on the inside of his cheek. “It was … making too much noise when I ran.”

Sara tutted, unconvinced. “All I’m hearing right now is excuses. Do you think Vera cares for excuses?”

Was he supposed to answer? Jacob kept his mouth clamped shut.

“Seems Vera misjudged you.” Her tone was biting. “You may be good at blowing glass, new boy, but you’ll need to do more than that if you want to impress her. When we leave in a few days, we won’t be taking the workshop with us. Maybe we won’t take you with us either.”

No. They had to take him. He had nowhere else to go. “Wait! Please. Just give me one more chance—”

Sara’s snort cut him off mid-sentence. She’d been so nice before, the sudden change in her jarred him. Maybe no one was nice unless they had to be.

“That’s not up to me, I’m afraid.” She waved him over as she left the workshop in a swish of white material. “Vera has another task for you, and you’ve kept her waiting long enough. Hopefully, this one you don’t screw up.”

Jacob nodded meekly as he followed Sara through the tunnel network, the only sound being the pad of their footsteps and the crinkle of Sara’s cloak. He rubbed his eyes and forced himself to focus. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since

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