Page 48 of Steel Heart Iron Claws

“Tries and fails,” she murmurs. I think she might let it drop as she moves to the next set of shelves, running her finger along the spines, but then she declares, “Lord Kendan seems perfectly agreeable.”

“Lord Kendan probably perfumes his balls.”

She gasps before her initial shock rolls over into a chuckle. “He does seem the type, doesn’t he?”

We return to our books, but barely a minute passes before she whirls back around, sputtering, “I mean, what does Rian possibly gain from toying with people?”

The D’s prove worthless, so I move onto the E’s. “Entertainment, Lady Suri. And you seem to provide the most.”

This silences her. She pulls a book out, moodily blows dust off it to read the spine.

I soften. “I’m not saying you should give Rian his damn parade of women. Only that there’s someone for everyone out there, isn’t that what the matchmakers say?Someheart-of-gold woman out there will want to find the good in him. A baroness who finds his antics as alluring as enraging. A countess who shares his love of himself. Don’t begrudge him happiness because of a few lies.”

She shoves the book forcefully back on the shelf. “If lies were gold, he’d be the richest man in the kingdom.”

“Heisthe richest man in the kingdom.”

She rests her hands on her hips. “My point exactly.”

A floorboard creaks outside, and my head whips towardthe sound.

“Wait,” I hiss. “Quiet.”

“What do you hear?” she whispers.

I hold up a hand for her to remain silent as I track the sound of footsteps through the castle’s entryway, two floors down. These steps also try to be quiet, but the person has none of Suri’s lightness. I hear the faint jangle of a chainmail sash.

It’s Kendan.

“I have to go.”

“Wait, Wolf, about Rian?—”

But I’m already silently slipping out the library door, tiptoeing into the hall. Quietly, I jog down the central stairs and into the entryway. As I duck into the shadows, I see a small side door click closed.

Keeping a careful distance, I follow Kendan out of the castle, into the city streets. The wealthy neighborhood surrounding Hekkelveld Castle is tense but quiet, with royal soldiers stationed at every street corner to keep the peace from looters.

Once I cross into the city center, however, signs of unrest crop up like mushrooms. “MAY THE FAE NEVER AWAKEN” is painted across the side of a tavern. A straw effigy of Immortal Iyre with red hair made of dyed wool is propped against a street lamp with her straw wrists bound in chains. Angry protesters stand outside the Temple of Immortal Vale, chanting, “Fae built this city, but humans gave it life!” and “Death to Volkany and all fae supporters!”

Despite the unrest, my shoulders relax, and my stride falls into an easy gait. Here, among the riffraff, I blend in as well as a drunk in an alehouse. This isn’t Duren, but the chaotic streets are the same.Theyare my childhood home.

I track Kendan’s footsteps to a wealthy gentleman’sclub, and spend an hour waiting outside, next to a nearby tannery, watching the club’s doorway. The tannery’s stench drives my senses mad, but it keeps everyone else from looking closely.

Finally, my patience is rewarded.

Kendan steps out of the club and, after a word to the doorman, crosses the street to enter the Temple of Immortal Meric.

I snuff out my pipe and cross the street, barely more visible than a shadow in my dark cloak and with my locks falling in my face.

Kendan moves with a brisk determination, and I keep a careful distance, slipping through the bustling night revelers like a wraith.

At this hour, the temple is empty. Wooden benches span the small nave, and a locked glass case contains a gilded copy of the Book of the Immortals. The scent of incense chokes the air, mixing with the damp chill of stone walls.

Kendan doesn't pause for prayers to the altar but heads straight for a side door.

I follow him down the temple’s twisting corridors with all the silent focus that I give to stalking a deer. He stops at a locked iron gate, and my heart thuds hard with the thrill of the hunt.

This is it.

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