Page 76 of Steel Heart Iron Claws

K-I-N-G

He juts his head toward me.

I feel the sting of the accusation behind Tòrr’s pointed ears, and scoff.

“Me? You’re turning this on me? That’s your answer?”

Tòrr stomps emphatically next to the word. His eyes bore into me. This damn horse is calling me out.Hard.

I grit my teeth. “I’m a hypocrite. I get it. My blood is supposed to mean I’m a king, right? With all those same responsibilities. But the difference between you and me? The world doesn’t need someone like me in charge.”

Even as the words leave my mouth, they feel hollow. The truth is, Tòrr and I are the same. Both of us have been betrayed, abandoned, and neglected by a world that never stops taking. We both want the world to burn.

My chest feels too tight as I pace in the stream.

“Maybe we’re both animals,” I mutter, the words gruff.

But the thought feels bitter on my tongue. From everything I’ve heard about Sabine Darrow,shewouldn’t let this twisted world stand. She would tear the rot apart with a steel heart and iron claws.

She’s stronger than me.

And, dammit, I need her strength right now. I need her to show me how to be the man I must become—the man who wouldn’t let what happened to Madame Caleau and Annabella go unavenged.

I thrust my hand into my pocket and circle my thumb around the locket’s edge, focusing on the face that won’t let me sleep at night.

“Or maybe we both need to stop running.” My voice is barely above a whisper now, but it feels like a confession. “And face our duty.”

Tòrr huffs. I don’t think he wanted this. Peace. Calm. He wanted me to join in his gleeful vengeance tour.

I kneel down and swipe my hand through the mud next to the word he wrote, writing:

M-Y-S-T

I jab my finger in her direction. “That mare, there? You love her. You don’t want to lose her, but that’s exactly what will happen if you don’t tame your temper. I have a woman, too. One who I’m fighting for blindly with one hand tied behind my back. Because I have faith. You and I? We have a duty to this world, even if it’s wronged us. Maybebecauseit’swronged us. Because we can make it right for those who come after us.”

Tòrr watches me in silence, his posture slowly relaxing. He blows out a long breath, his ears twitching, and for the first time, the anger in his eyes seems to dim.

“We can be better.” I stand up and rest my flat palm on his nose. “For them.”

Chapter 22

Sabine

As the days pass, I slowly get used to my new reality. I reread the tales in the Book of the Immortals to sort fact from fiction. I explore the fae artifact room with fresh eyes. Through it all, I’m as cautious as curious. It would be easy to lose myself in the allure of the fae world, in the intoxicating sense that I’m a part of something ancient and mythic.

But for every story I read, I wonder what’s been left unsaid.

For every artifact I touch, I feel the weight of promises broken.

Why doesn’t girlie smile?a voice chirps from the window.

I jolt upright as the silvery-blue cloudfox bounds up onto my bedroom windowsill. Her purple-blue tongue lolls from her open jaw. Her eyes are bright, alert. Her fur floats gently like she’s underwater.

It’s you!I breathe out a long exhale.I was afraid Iyre had caught you.

She prances along the windowsill, heedless of the plummeting drop.I have news that will make girlie smile.

I dig my nails into the windowsill eagerly.Did you get the bottle?

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