Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (z-lib.org).mobi

“Don’t patronise me, boy!” Her voice split the air like the crack of a whip. To
my amazement, I saw the Darkling stand up straighter and then scowl as if he’d
caught himself.
“Don’t chide me, old woman,” he said in a low, dangerous voice.
Angry energy crackled through the room. What had I walked into? I was
thinking about slipping away and leaving them to finish whatever argument I’d
interrupted when Baghra’s voice lashed out again.
“The boy thinks to get you an amplifier,” she said. “What do you think of that,
girl?”
It was so strange to hear the Darkling called “boy” that it took me a moment
to understand her meaning. When I did, hope and relief rushed through me. An
amplifier! Why hadn’t I thought of it before? Why hadn’t they thought of it
before? Baghra and the Darkling were able to help me call my power because
they were living amplifiers, so why not an amplifier of my own like Ivan’s bear
claws or the seal tooth I’d seen hanging around Marie’s neck?
“I think it’s brilliant!” I exclaimed more loudly than I’d intended.
Baghra made a disgusted sound.
The Darkling gave her a sharp glance, but then he turned to me. “Alina, have
you ever heard of Morozova’s herd?”
“Of course she has. She’s also heard of unicorns and the Shu Han dragons,”
Baghra said mockingly.
An angry look passed over the Darkling’s features, but then he seemed to
master himself. “May I have a word with you, Alina?” he asked politely.
“Of … of course,” I stammered.
Baghra snorted again. The Darkling ignored her and took me by the elbow to
lead me out of the cottage, shutting the door firmly behind us. When we had
walked a short distance down the path, he heaved a huge sigh and ran his hands
through his hair again. “That woman,” he muttered.
It was hard not to laugh.
“What?” he said warily.
“I’ve just never seen you so … ruffled.”
“Baghra has that effect on people.”
“Was she your teacher too?”
A shadow crossed his face. “Yes,” he said. “So what do you know about
Morozova’s herd?”
I bit my lip. “Just, well, you know …”
He sighed. “Just children’s stories?”
I shrugged apologetically.
“It’s all right,” he said. “What do you remember from the stories?”