Page 136 of The Iron Flower

He’s staring at me so intently, I find myself coloring. I take his ardent expression as an invitation and wrap my arms around him again, his own arms sliding around my waist, pulling me close, his fire ignoring the boundaries and flickering through my lines in a decadant rush that makes me shiver.

I kiss his warm cheek and whisper into his ear. “Happy birthday, Yvan.”

He tilts his head and looks down at me, his eyes suddenly glowing gold. His fire gives a hard surge, and I just know.

He wants to kiss me.

Everything stops, except for the insistent rhythm of my heart. Then Yvan forcibly banks his fire, his eyes blazing with a sudden frustration as he looks away, his mouth tensing, the moment shattering. A crushing disappointment rolls over me.

“I should go see Wynter,” he says, his arms still loosely around me.

I don’t say anything. I’m thrown off balance and suddenly miserable. He must sense it, since his face tightens with concern.

“Elloren... I...”

“No, stop,” I tell him, gently pulling out of his embrace. “You don’t need to explain. It’s just so easy sometimes...to forget everything.”

He reaches up to caress the side of my face, and I can see in his fiery eyes that he’s tempted to ignore every danger in this. Just like I am.

“Go to Wynter,” I prod, ignoring the sullen ache inside me. “Think of the Selkies. Not about us.”

He nods tightly and goes to her.

* * *

Trystan returns next. He wears his usual unreadable expression, but I can see from the tension around his eyes that he’s deeply upset. He echoes a similar story very matter-of-factly and takes Yvan’s place in front of Wynter.

Marina is staring out the window, standing between Diana and Gareth, the three of them speaking in hushed tones. Marina’s voice breaks down into grief-stricken notes, and both Gareth’s and Diana’s arms come up to embrace and comfort her.

Yvan settles down next to me in front of the fire and he stares into it for a long moment. The horrific images they’ve all described play through my mind, and I’m finding it hard to contain my anger and sadness. When a hot tear skids down my cheek, Yvan’s arm slides around me, and my breath shudders. I sniff back my tears and let my head rest on his warm shoulder. We both quietly watch as Ariel makes little fireballs and hurls them into the hearth.

Another hour passes, and Rafe finally returns.

The moment I see my older brother, I know something’s very wrong. Even the way he shakes off his cloak is odd, his movements stiff and uncomfortable. Diana can sense it, too. She’s strangely alert as she moves toward him, studying him intently, almost sniffing the air around him.

“Rafe, what’s wrong?” I ask. Yvan’s arm is still draped around my shoulder, his other hand absently petting one of Ariel’s sleeping chickens.

Rafe shakes his head in reply, refusing to meet my eyes. He grabs a desk chair, drags it over to the fire and sits down, still not looking at any of us.

“What happened?” Trystan asks him.

Rafe presses the bridge of his nose between his fingers and shrugs. “They’ve got about forty of them. I spent time with two—they seemed to understand the message. The tavern keeper knows they’re not animals. Heknowsit, and he keeps them there anyway.”

“How do you know that?” I ask.

“He told me he won’t let the Selkies have water containers larger than a small bowl—that they can communicate if they get underwater together.” A tight fury lights Rafe’s eyes. “So, I said to him, ‘If they can talk to each other, does that mean they’re human?’ He said, ‘I don’t give a rat’s ass what they are. They sure can bring in the guilders.’”

He glances over at Marina. “Marina, your sister’s there.”

Marina seems to have stopped breathing. Gareth quickly takes hold of her arm to steady her.

“I didn’t actually see her,” Rafe tells her, “but some of the other Selkies recognized her picture. They made it clear that she’s there.”

Marina nods rigidly, too overwhelmed to speak. Gareth pulls her close, murmuring to her softly as he strokes her hair and she clings to him.

“Damion Bane was there, as well,” Rafe says.

Yvan stiffens at the sound of Damion’s name, and my own stomach tightens with revulsion.

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