Page 50 of The Iron Flower

“I’m going to stay here overnight, Ren,” Trystan tells me as he approaches, his wand clenched in his hand. “Along with Tierney.” He angles his head toward the workers’ lodging. “Right outside their rooms.”

“Where will you sleep?”

“On the floor in front of their doors if I have to.”

I nod, glancing toward their lodging. “That’s probably a good idea.” I turn back to my brother, my lips trembling as my tone grows savage. “I wish I had access to my magic. I want to fight back against this.”

Trystan is quiet for a moment, his eyes implacable. “I’m going to find a way to get to the Noi lands, Ren. And I’m going to join the Vu Trin, whether they want me or not.” His expression darkens. “And then I’m going to come back here with an army and fight the Gardnerians.”

* * *

I wait alone for Yvan, the deep night closing in around me, the kitchen lit by the flickering glow of a single lantern set on the table before me.

I’ve made a fresh pot of mint tea in a futile attempt to calm myself, and a soothing curl of steam wafts up from both my cup and the pot’s spout. The edges of the kitchen are cast in deep shadows, and Bin’gley, the gray kitchen cat, silently prowls along the dark edges of the room.

Yvan slips into the room with that silent, lithe grace of his that never fails to make my heart trip. He leans against a counter, facing me, his eyes glowing golden in the dark.

I’ve only seen his eyes on fire like this twice—when he saved me from a dragon attack they glowed green, and when the Kelpie came after me they blazed all the way to gold.

“Your eyes,” I say haltingly. “They’re golden. Again.”

His hands grasp the counter’s edge. “It’s getting harder to control my fire,” he says, and I’m stunned by his admission. His tone is tightly controlled, but fire blazes tempestuously in his eyes. He looks around, as if searching for the right words. “It’s especially difficult when I’m upset, or angry, or...”

His gaze flickers over my face. The flame in his eyes intensifies, and this time, it’s me who has to look away.

“I need to fight them, Elloren.”

His words have the finality of a declaration. An unbreakable vow. There’s an explosive quality to him right now, as if his fire is pent up almost to the point of conflagration.

“Are you going after the mobs?” I ask carefully, my heartbeat picking up.

His lips curl with ferocity. “No. I want to go after the Gardnerian and Alfsigr militaries.” His voice is low and threatening. “When the inevitable war breaks out.”

“Will you join the Keltic military, then?”

“No.” His gaze simmers with import. “I want to go east and join the Vu Trin Wyvernguard.”

We’re both quiet for a long moment as the ramifications of this settle in. “My mother doesn’t want me in this fight,” he says. “She wants me to be a healer, andonlya healer. She’s tired of losing everyone she loves to war.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

The fire in his eyes blazes hotter, the gold stoked to incandescent yellow. “I’m going to talk to my mother and tell her I’m going east.”

I pull in a quavering breath. Jules has hinted that the Vu Trin might start allowing some of the hidden Fae youth into the Noi military academy—the Wyvernguard. I’ve seen Yvan kill a dragon with his bare hands. And I’ve sensed the enormity of his fire power. Of course, the Vu Trin will want him. Of course, they’ll want to bring him east with the other powerful Fae.

Where he’ll be leagues away over an impassible desert.

Get hold of yourself, Elloren. One way or another, he has to leave. You’ve known this for some time.

I look down at the table as a tumult of emotions clash inside me, and my eyes glass over with tears. When I finally speak, my voice is so low, it’s almost a whisper. “I feel like...we never had a chance to...” I break off, too overcome to continue.

A wave of heat suddenly rushes out from him, suffusing my lines. “Elloren.”

There’s so much conveyed in that one, impassioned word and in his surprisingly palpable fire. Everything he won’t allow himself to say.

And in that one word, I can feel us already saying goodbye.

* * *

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