Page 52 of The Iron Flower

Jules and Lucretia exchange a quick, loaded glance. “Close the door, Elloren,” Jules says quietly. “And lock it.”

Almost vibrating with outrage, I do as he asks before taking a seat in front of his desk.

“Olilly is here illegally,” he says calmly.

“I don’t care,” I shoot back, my voice shaking. “She’s fourteen years old and nothing but sweet and kind to everyone. Theymutilatedher. The military apprentices who did this should bepunished.”

“If she went to the Verpacian authorities,” Jules replies, his voice hardening, “she’d be deported to Gardneria.”

I internally war against what he’s saying. “She won’t speak,” I throw out, incensed. “She won’t leave the kitchen. She’s got a scarf wrapped around her head to hide her bald head and her scarred ears.” Now my body is trembling along with my voice.

“I understand your outrage, Elloren,” Lucretia says, her gaze suddenly stripped of her prim Gardnerian demeanor and glittering with rebellion. “But Verpacia is already up in arms about the Urisk workers who attacked that Gardnerian farmer here—”

“Fernyllia said he was abusing them!” I cut in.

“He was,” Lucretia replies patiently. “But most Verpacians don’t know about that. All they know is that the four young women are Urisk and in Verpacia illegally. And that they attacked a Gardnerian.”

“Those Urisk women have been found guilty of assault and deported to Gardneria,” Jules adds somberly.

“And will likely be sent to the Pyrran Islands from there,” Lucretia unflinchingly puts in.

The two of them stun me with how calm they can be right now—willing to look this thing straight in the eye without flinching, when it’s withering and frightening and heartbreaking to even think about.

I struggle to fight back the sting of furious tears. “So, the Verpacian Council doesn’t care that there were mobs all over the city attacking innocent people last night?”

Lucretia’s answer, when it comes, is dripping with disdain. “The Verpacian Council noted this morning that some vandalism took place in response to the capture of the ‘criminal Urisk.’ Do you see what they’re stressing here?”

“Twelve Urisk were cropped last night,” Jules Kristian says gravely. “Of those twelve, nine are in Verpacia illegally. Including Olilly.”

“What about the Urisk who are here legally?” I rage. “Can’t they press charges?”

The line of Jules’s mouth hardens, and he shakes his head. “If they ask for help from the Verpacian authorities, they will draw the mob back down on their heads like hawks to prey. And possibly have their workpapers rescinded in retribution.”

“Which would result in them being forcibly returned to Gardneria,” Lucretia says.

I struggle to control my breathing. “So, there’s no way to fight back against this?”

Jules picks up a few papers from the top of his tidy stack and eyes me pointedly. “There are a few.”

“What are those?” I ask, desperate for a solution.

“New identity papers for Olilly, Fern and Bleddyn,” he tells me. “Foolproof enough to have a chance against a thorough Verpacian or Gardnerian investigation. This is the only way we can fight back for now. Keep them and others from being deported and find a way to get them out of the Western Realm.”

I slump down into my chair, unbearably discouraged, wishing I could grab the wand from my boot and set this right. Wishing I could wield my magic and force justice.

“What’s going to happen?” I ask them shakily. “Do you think it’s going to keep getting worse?”

“The situation is not good,” Jules says. He looks briefly to Lucretia. “We’re surprised by how quickly the Verpacians have buckled to Gardnerian influence.”

Lucretia gives a small nod of agreement. “Both the Gardnerians and the Alfsigr Elves have too much power, and it’s growing by the day.”

“Will the Western Realm fall?” I ask. The question is almost too terrible to say out loud.

“There is only one thing keeping the Gardnerians out of Keltania,” Lucretia says, a jaded cast to her expression. “The fragile coalition between the Lupines, the Amaz, the Vu Trin and the Kelts.” She pauses, her unflappable calm cracking for a moment. “If that fails, the Gardnerians will roll clear over the Western Realm.”

I turn to Jules imploringly. “Do you think that will happen?”

He holds my gaze, his whole body rigid, as if struggling to deny his answer. “Yes, Elloren,” he says finally. “I believe the Western Realm will fall.”

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