Page 142 of The Iron Flower

“I don’t care that you’re Fae!” I cry, trying to free my arms from his viselike grip, but he holds on tight.

“I’mnot just Fae!” he snarls.

I’m swept up in a sudden vortex of bewilderment. “What do you mean?”

Yvan releases me abruptly and takes a step back, his fire an incandescent storm.

“Elloren,” he finally says, his voice coarsened with finality. “If for nothing else but the safety of our families, wecannotgive in to this. I know we both want to, but we can’t. And I’m sorry I keep drawing you in.” Golden fire lights his eyes, his expression wildly distraught. “I wish things were different, but there is no changing them. Find someone else. Anyone you want.Anyonebut me.”

And then he walks away, his pace brisk, his fire whipping back toward me in violently discordant tendrils.

My throat tightens with sorrow as I watch him stalk away from me, rebellious tears welling in my eyes.

I only want you, I want to rage at him from clear across the night-darkened field.Tell me what you’re struggling with, Yvan. Let me help you. Whatever it is.

Tell me what you’re hiding from all of us.

CHAPTER TWELVE

BRUISED SKY

Three days later, Diana and I sit near a bonfire in the center of the Amaz military base, the flames spitting sparks that arc up through the sky. Soldiers in full battle gear fill the clearing, preparing horses and calling out directives to each other in the Urisk dialect that’s common here.

The torchlit base is in the same valley as Cyme, but on the outskirts of the city, with a heavily fortified rune-barrier keeping civilians clear of the area. This mission isn’t something that the Amaz will be heralding for all to hear—they’re keeping it secret even from their own people. Queen Alkaia is betting that the Gardnerians won’t bother to retaliate after the Selkie rescue, since the Mage Council is already gearing up to end the Selkie trade in their own horrific way.

I pray that she’s right.

One of the soldiers calls out a loud command, and all the others immediately grow silent and still, a crackling tension suddenly vibrating on the air. Diana and I rise to find the focus of everyone’s attention.

The soldiers to our far right quietly part as Valasca strides forward in dark armor, her controlled movements radiating a bold, dominant grace. The soldiers raise rune-marked palms out to her in silent tribute.

Marina and Alder enter the clearing behind Valasca, both of them dressed in rune-marked battle armor, like the rest of the soldiers. I’m amazed at how much Marina has changed in the short time she’s spent with the Amaz. She holds her head high, radiating power and confidence. Rune-blades are strapped all over her limbs, and her silver hair throws off a scarlet shimmer in the ruby torchlight.

Marina’s gaze meets mine, and a fierce look of unity passes between us as she takes her place to Valasca’s left, Alder flanking Valasca on the right.

Then Queen Alkaia enters the camp, escorted by Alcippe, the huge warrior’s rune-axe strapped to her back. Marina, Alder and Valasca lower themselves to one knee before the queen, and every soldier follows suit. I drop down to my knee as well, overcome with gratitude for the Amaz gathered here, and also grateful that Queen Alkaia has allowed Diana and me to be present when they leave and when they return.

Queen Alkaia places her hands on Valasca’s bowed head and intones the Goddess’s blessing, then motions for everyone to rise. She pulls Marina down slightly and kisses her on both cheeks.

The soldiers mount their horses, and when Valasca raises a hand, the entire world pauses, my breath suspended in my throat. Then she throws down her hand, and they’re off, sounding like thunder. I catch a glimpse of a rune-road appearing in the distance, cutting straight through the base of the Spine. They ride out onto it and abruptly disappear into the stone.

* * *

Diana and I are surrounded by silence, and I feel as if a great wave has come and gone. Only a few soldiers remain, quietly seeing to the base’s upkeep. The Amaz horses are rune-marked for speed, but still, it will be many hours before they return. Diana and I exchange a fraught glance, and I take a seat by the fire once more, hunkering down for the long wait.

The hours pass, Diana pacing tirelessly while I poke at the fire with a long stick. I attempt conversation with her a few times, but she simply grunts at me and keeps pacing, so I abandon the effort. I know Diana doesn’t want to be stuck here with me—she wants to be out rescuing the Selkies with the Amaz, and this waiting is pure torture for her.

And so, we bide our time, Diana pacing and me worrying the fire with my stick, united in our harried silence throughout the long night.

* * *

Dawn eventually comes, clear and cool, the colors like a raw bruise dealt by the fleeing night sky. The damp morning chill wraps cold tendrils around me, working its way under my cloak, the bonfire long since died down to embers.

Marina and the Amaz finally return as the sun begins to climb higher in the sky. Everyone looks stoic and weary, the previous night’s violence still echoing in their bloodstained clothing and jaded gazes. Many of the soldiers are on foot and leading their horses, most of the animals carrying two or more Selkies.

One horse carries two motionless bodies wrapped tightly in cloth. Horrified, I realize these must be the two broken Selkies—the ones whose skins had been destroyed. Marina had instructed the Amaz to put an end to their suffering, that there was no saving them now, and that death was their only hope.

It was one thing to hear of this, but quite another to be faced with the reality of it, and the barbarity of it all hits me with crippling strength.

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