Page 94 of The Iron Flower

Relief washes over me. I know it’s unfair to want him to be exclusively mine when we can never be together, but I don’t feel like being fair.

“And Lukas?” he suddenly asks, obviously not of a mind to be fair, either.

I look up at him and am thrown by the severe look he’s giving me. “He’s not what I want.”You are.

He nods, and some of the tension drains from his face, only a troubled resignation remaining. He glances up at the ridge, then holds out a hand to me. “Shall we?”

I walk over to him and take his hand as I wrap one arm, then two, then my entire body around him. I close my eyes as we begin our ascent and lose myself to the feel of his warmth and his strong heartbeat against mine.

MAGE COUNCIL

RULING

#319

All diplomatic relations with the Northern and Southern Lupine packs are hereby suspended and trade sanctions will be vigorously enforced.

The sanctions will not be lifted and diplomatic relations will not resume until the Lupines cede the disputed land along the Northern and Southern border of the Holy Magedom.

CHAPTER FIVE

NILANTYR

The day after Yvan and I return from Keltania, a fierce storm blows in from the northeast. The heavy winds and driving snow cut off all visibility and make travel to Amaz lands an impossibility for now.

As the sun begins to set and the storm takes a sharp turn for the worse, Ariel bursts into our North Tower room, slick with snow, her eyes wild, her raven flapping in behind her and cawing abrasively.

Diana, Marina, Wynter and I stare at her in confusion, startled to see her in such a panicked state.

Ariel stalks to her bed and hauls the mattress off it. She frantically feels around the mattress’s edges, searching desperately for something, not even noticing her beloved chickens as they run about her feet and try in vain to get her attention. She’s deathly pale and sweating, despite the chill air.

“Ariel,” I ask carefully as she flings open a dresser drawer and throws the contents on to the floor, agitatedly moving from one drawer to the next, barely noticing me. “What’s the matter?”

Ariel hurls one of the drawers clear out of the dresser and lets loose with a stream of profanity. She rounds on me, her eyes savage. “Naga set it on fire! She planned it this way! She waited...waited for the storm!”

I’m thrust into further bewilderment. “What are you talking about?”

“My nilantyr!” She goes back to hurling things around in desperation.

Diana rises slowly to her feet. “Stop this right now,” she demands, tensing her muscles authoritatively.

Wynter has abandoned the drawing she’s working on and is slowly approaching Ariel. I can tell by Wynter’s grave expression that the situation is even worse than it appears.

“Ariel,” Wynter says, nearing her with supreme caution, “you brought all the nilantyr with you. I watched you put it in your bag.”

“No...no,” Ariel vehemently protests, shaking her head as she frantically tears the pillow on her bed apart, feathers flying everywhere.

“It’s not here,” Wynter calmly insists.

Ariel continues to shake her head from side to side as she paces the room, looking through anything she can find, thrusting her arms under furniture. I notice, with mounting alarm, that she’s starting to tremble.

Sweet Ancient One, she’s been pulled completely off the nilantyr.

“What will happen if she stops taking the nilantyr so suddenly?” Wynter asks me, fear in her silver eyes.

I send her a troubled look, my mind racing back through all my apothecary lessons, trying to think of a way to help Ariel. To offset what’s coming.

“If it’s all gone,” I tell Wynter, “she’ll get very sick—”

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