Page 63 of The Iron Flower

“My sister! They took her! My sister! She is very young! Younger than me! Help me! Please help me!”

She pulls her head out of the water again, pulling at me with desperation. And then she completely breaks down. Her gills fly open wide as she closes her eyes tightly and lets out a long, flute-toned wail.

The full horror of what she’s trying to tell me crashes down. Her sister. Trapped by someone like the groundskeeper who once held Marina prisoner—or perhaps somewhere much worse.

Overcome, I throw my arms around her. Marina’s slender body is violently trembling, her gills frantically opening and closing as she sobs.

“We’ll help her,” I promise tearfully as she struggles to regain control of her breathing.

“I swear to you, Marina,” I tell her, not knowing how we’ll manage it, but sick of feeling helpless. “We’ll find your sister. We’ll get help, and somehow, we’ll get you all out.”

MAGE COUNCIL

RULING

#271

Smuggling Selkies or spirits across the Gardnerian border shall be grounds for imprisonment.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

GARETH KEELER

A few nights later, I leave my kitchen shift and venture out into the frigid cold, bundled tightly in my cloak. Marina has been on my mind all day, and I’m eager to get back to the North Tower.

I’ve told everyone in my small circle the news of Marina’s newfound ability to communicate. Jules and Lucretia are redoubling their efforts to quietly rally support for the Selkies, and my brothers tried to visit last night, hoping she might be able to share more information about where her sister and the other Selkies are being held. Marina devolved into panicked protest at the sight of them, terrified of men, and they left quickly to avoid causing her further distress.

I’m just starting down the path by the kitchen’s back door when I spot a tall, stocky young man making his way toward me from the bottom of the hill. He’s broad-shouldered and wearing a dark Gardnerian cloak and tunic lined with the single blue stripe of a Gardnerian mariner. The tips of his hair glint silver in the light of the walkway’s sole lantern.

My heart leaps in my chest, and I break into a run down the hill. “Gareth!”

Gareth sweeps me up in his muscular arms, chuckling as I practically hurl myself at him. We envelop each other in a warm, overjoyed hug, and for a moment all my exhaustion and grief and stress fall away as I cling to my childhood friend and tears come to my eyes. I step back from him, smiling and crying and laughing all at the same time. Gareth squeezes my shoulder and gives me a warm smile and a heartening look of solidarity.

“I’m so happy to see you,” I tell him, wiping away the tears as relief spreads through me. Movement at the top of the hill catches my eye.

Yvan.

He’s leaving his kitchen shift, too, heading up the higher path that goes by the livestock barns, his heavy book bag slung over his shoulder. Yvan pauses, watching Gareth and me, and I can feel a surprising flash of his unsettled fire from clear across the hill. He’s been remote and closed off ever since that horrible night of mob attacks, and I suppose I’ve been withdrawn, as well. Both of us holding back, knowing our time for goodbyes is coming soon, and that there’s absolutely nothing to be done about it.

Briefly, I hold Yvan’s gaze, my sudden, heated awareness of him shimmying through my fire lines.

I remember what Lukas told me about my rising ability to read affinities—a rare skill.

Even Fae affinities, I realize.

I turn back to Gareth, flustered and acutely aware of Yvan’s shadowy figure disappearing into the line of woods.

Gareth’s eyes flick up to follow Yvan’s retreat. “Someone you know?”

A wry sound escapes me, and I nod. “Oh, Gareth, so much has happened.” I study his face in the dim light and realize how much he’s changed—his jaw squarer, his sparse beard fuller. It dawns on me that my childhood friend isn’t a boy anymore. “When did you get in?” I ask.

Gareth angles his head back toward the central University buildings. “I just arrived with the other maritime apprentices. The Saltisle Pass has finally iced over, so they’ve got us back here for a couple of weeks to take astronomy and some other classes.”

The back door to the kitchen creaks open, then slams shut. I glance up and spot Iris and Bleddyn walking down the hill together.

“Have you seen Rafe and Trystan yet?” I ask Gareth. “Have they told you anything about what’s going on here?”

Gareth shakes his head, his silvered hair sparkling like it’s snow-dusted. “No, I came straight here. I remembered they had you working in the kitchens.”

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