Page 105 of Steel Heart Iron Claws

Like I can stop my heart from breaking apart. But I can't—there’s nothing to stop anymore. I’m empty.

"There were never any fucking memories,” I murmur.

The words taste bitter on my tongue. I choke on them, half snarling, half gasping, as if saying them aloud might make them less true.

But nothing changes.

My knees go slack, and I slide to the floor. My vision blurs. I can’t seem to focus on anything, my stare detached, everything cast in a weak shade of gray. Weakly, I kick at a broken bottle. It spins uselessly on its side, just like me.

“All this damn time…” A dry rasp catches in my throat.

I thought I could restore what was lost. My memories. My past. My time withher. I thought I could bring it all back.

But it’s gone.

Forever.

She rubs her throat, looking down at me like I’m filth. Slowly, she bends down to whisper in my ear.

“Food, Lord Basten. That’s all you mortals are to us.” She pads back to the door and gracefully swings it open. “Now get out before I find myself hungry.”

Chapter 28

Sabine

Three days and not a word exchanged with Basten. Now that he’s an honored guest, he dines in the Hall of Vale—but three tables over. Each evening, I watch longingly from my window as he walks the grounds with my father, making plans. Likewise, I feel his burning gaze when I ride Myst through the Twilight Garden each morning beneath his tower.

Spying each other from afar isn’t enough. We’re twin shadows on the wall, so close and yet never intersecting.

And that barrier’s name?

Vale. He of the fae axe that will separate Basten’s head from his shoulders if we’re caught together again.

I’ve searched for excuses to be near the guest wing, hoping for a glimpse of him, a whispered word, anything to bridge the chasm between us. But the guards’ ever-watchful presence blocks every attempt.

The quiet of the evening settles around me now, the fire in my bedroom’s hearth crackling as I sit with my unease. My fingers toy with his frayed twine ring, pulling at loosethreads, while I imagine scenarios in which I could outwit the guards.

It's in this restless silence that I hear a rustling from the fireplace.

I glance up, half-expecting to see nothing.

But there, amidst the cooling ashes, a small shape stirs. The forest mouse, her fur dusted with soot, pokes her head out. She pauses, sniffs the air, and then fixes her bright eyes on me.

Mouse-talker,she chits excitedly.Follow me!

To where?I ask silently, my heart beginning to beat faster.

You shall see! We must make haste—there is a clear path to the kitchen at the moment.

The…kitchen?

She scampers to the door and swiftly picks the lock, then motions for me to open it. I peek out into the hallway, heart fluttering. It’s empty.

Where are the guards?I ask warily.

One of the army captains was married today,she answers.The soldiers were briefly called to the military offices to eat honey cakes. They will be back soon—hurry!

She scampers along the wall so swiftly that I have to jog to keep up. We head down the narrow secondary stairs the servants use, descending until the walls take on the cool air of the basement level, then even further into a stone-lined hallway filled with storage rooms for root vegetables.

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