Page 26 of The Iron Flower

I nod stiffly and hold his searing gaze, overcome by the sensation of his fire rippling through me. Heat suffuses the very air between us, stealing my breath away.

“He won’t come after her again. I’ll speak to him...” Tierney’s distraught voice breaks through our sudden thrall, and we both glance toward her. Yvan rises and holds his hand out to me.

Heart thudding, I take Yvan’s startlingly warm hand and let him help me to my feet, my fire lines stirring chaotically in response to his touch. “Your eyes are gold,” I tell him, my voice rough with emotion, my fingers still twined around his.

Yvan winces and abruptly tilts his head down. He closes his eyes tight, his sharp jaw tensing as he takes a deep, shuddering breath. When he opens his eyes again, their color has cooled to green. His hand falls away from mine, and he gives me an uneasy look, as if willing me to ignore the obvious.

Fire Fae.

“They’rekillingthem,” Tierney rages to Andras and my brother. “They’ve pounded iron spikes into the waterways. Five of my Kelpies aredead.”

“Where is the other Kelpie now?” I ask her nervously.

Tierney glances distractedly at the woods. “Gone. I spelled him down. It will take him days to reform.”

“You never told me about this,” I say, rattled. “You never told me you have...Kelpies.”

She looks back at me, contrite. “I’m sorry, Elloren. I keep so much secret... I never thought he’d attack anyone, but...” Fear fills her eyes. “He says that you’re the next Black Witch, Elloren. He says the whole forest believes it.”

Trystan takes a step toward her. “Tell your Kelpie my sister is powerless.” His voice is calm, but deadly firm.

Tierney furrows her brow at him. “The forest doesn’t believe that.” She looks to me entreatingly. “Why would the forest believe this, Elloren?”

An angry, embattled frustration swells up in me. I can feel it all around me, the subtle tremor of hatred emanating from the trees. “Do you need proof that I’m not the next Black Witch?” I ask Tierney, bitterly defensive. “Do I have to show you how I can’t even do a basic candle-lighting spell?”

Tierney’s expression grows wildly conflicted. “No. No, of course not. It’s just...your blood, Elloren. Theyfeelit. It’sherblood.”

“I cannot change my blood, Tierney,” I state flatly, wanting to rip it clear from my veins. “Any more than you can change your cursed glamour.” Tierney casts me a resentful look, and I immediately regret saying it. I know she doesn’t like her secrets voiced, even among the people who are privy to them.

She turns to Yvan. “Vogel’s discovered another one of the escape routes east. Last night, his border scouts tracked down two glamoured Fae. They...” She pauses, blinking furiously. “They iron-tested them.” She stops again, her voice straining tight. “And then they killed them with iron spikes.” Tears of outrage slide down her face. “Es’tryl’lyan saw the whole thing, but he couldn’t do anything to stop it because of all the iron.”

“Tierney...” Trystan reaches for her, but she shakes her head and pulls away from him.

She looks straight at Yvan. “They’ll be doing the iron test on everyone.”

My heart speeds up, concern rising. “But you’ve touched iron,” I blurt out to Yvan. “In the kitchens—”

“I touch iron because I’m aKelt.” He shoots me a cautionary look, and I can practically feel the angry fire blazing in him.

“We’ll fly you both out,” I insist. “Once Naga heals...”

Yvan shakes his head. “Elloren, Naga’s wings weredecimatedby Damion Bane. She may never fly again.”

“Then the Resistance will help you,” I persist, fear escalating. “You’ll both find amnesty. Somewhere.”

“There’s nowhere to go,” Tierney vehemently insists. “The Resistance isnothingcompared to Gardnerian power.” She turns to Yvan with desperation. “All the escape routes will be found and shut down. There will be nowhere left for us to go.”

I reach out to touch his arm. “Yvan...”

“You can’t fix this, Elloren,” he says. “I know you want to, but you can’t. And you’ll never fully understand what we’re up against.”

His words sting like wasps. “How can you say that?”

“Because you’re Gardnerian,” he says, his voice taking on a hard edge. “Your family, you’ll all be fine.” His green eyes spark as the bonfire flares brightly. “Especially once you’re fasted to Lukas Grey.”

* * *

Numbed by Yvan’s words, I gaze sullenly into the bonfire.

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