Page 149 of The Iron Flower

102 SELKIES

“Ah, Elloren Gardner.”

Jules looks up from the book he’s reading as I tentatively make my way into his disheveled office, stacks of books and papers everywhere. I place the pile of history texts I’m lugging onto the only open space on his messy desk. “I figured I’d return your books,” I tell him. “I’ve had them a long time.”

“Did they confuse you?” he asks, sitting back in his desk chair and adjusting his glasses.

“Thoroughly.”

“Good. Shut the door, would you? I have a few more for you.”

I close his office door and take a seat by his desk as he gets up and peruses his bookshelves. He pulls out one volume after another, pushing some back in, adding others to a growing tower on his chair.

“Seems you’ve been putting your complete and utter powerlessness to good use, eh?” He pauses to look at me, his eyes bemused.

“Yes, sir,” I agree, cocking an eyebrow. “Seems you’ve been quite busy yourself.”

Jules gives a short laugh, then holds up a cautioning finger and waggles it at me. “You are currently winning, however. Sixteen Fae children ushered out of Gardneria this month to your 102 Selkies back in the ocean. I shall have to work harder to keep up with you.”

I smile, blushing slightly. “I can’t take the credit for that, honestly. I have powerful friends.”

He laughs. “As do I, Elloren Gardner. As do I.” He winks at me. “And thank goodness for that, eh?” He sets another book down on the pile, his expression growing earnest. “Fernyllia and Lucretia and I have been trying to convince the Resistance to take an interest in the plight of the Selkies for a long time now. But our concerns have never been taken seriously. But you finally accomplished it—and just in the nick of time, I’d say. Well done, Elloren.”

“But I’m not the one who rescued them,” I protest.

Jules gives me a significant look. “Sometimes pushing the wheels of change into motion is the bulk of the battle.”

I consider this for a moment as he goes back to surveying his books. “Jules,” I venture, emboldened by his words, “Tierney...and her brother...”

“I know,” he says, cutting me off and suddenly serious. “I’m doing all that I can. It’s up to Gunther Ulrich, I’m afraid. The Amaz won’t budge on this matter—they will not let male refugees through their borders.”

My thoughts fly to Yvan’s iron-ravaged hands. “Yvan told me that you’re an old friend of his family.”

He looks at me questioningly. “I’ve known him since he was a child.”

“And his mother?”

“Yes.”

“So, you...knowallabout him?”Even what he’s not telling me?

Jules’s eyes narrow slightly. “Yes.”

Some relief shudders through me. This is all too big to carry alone. “I’m... I’m frightened for him.”

Jules comes around to the front of his desk and pushes the piles of books and papers back a bit. He perches on the edge and sets an encouraging hand on my shoulder. “I know they’re part Fae,” he says in a low whisper with a glance toward the door. “I’ve known that for a long time. Yvan told me about what’s happening to him with the iron. If Gunther decides to give the Fae amnesty, I’m sure he’ll let Yvan and his mother go, too. It would be a safe place for them, and a boon to the Lupines, really. By driving the hidden Fae out, the Gardnerians could be unwittingly sending the Lupines a large number of young people with a vast array of unknown magical talents. Talents that could prove to be quite useful in the defense of the Lupines’ territory.”

“You think Gunther will say yes because of self-interest?”

“I think he’ll say yes because Gunther Ulrich is a deeply decent man, but the idea of all that Fae magic at the Lupines’ disposal... It can’t hurt our cause now, can it?”

Hope swells in my heart. “You really think he’ll say yes?”

“I think he might.”

I hesitate before continuing. “Yvan and I... We’re... We’ve become close friends.”

“He told me that,” Jules says gently. He smiles ruefully at me and shakes his head. “If ever there were two star-crossed...friends.” He gives me a poignant look full of compassion and sighs. “Well, perhaps, with a bit of luck, even this might turn out all right in the end. You never can tell what the future holds, even in times as dark as these.”

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