Page 111 of The Iron Dagger
Gideon and Hara exchanged a glance. Nothing had changed. The mountains were still snow capped and imposing all around them, the groans and creaks from the glacier and the roar of the pit still echoed.
“I think we are out of the stone,” said Alcmene, a hesitant smile lighting her face.
Hara closed her eyes and her breaths became long and slow. And then she gasped. “I can see my mother. She is back in her realm, in her corridor.” She opened her eyes and looked around her. “But I am still here.”
There was a beat of silence as they all accepted that they were back in the physical world.
“It worked!” Gideon said, and Hara’s worried face finally broke into a beaming smile. He couldn’t help but gather her in a crushing embrace and lift her from the ground. His mouth found hers, and he poured all the relief and joy that was coursing through his veins into her lips. When they broke the kiss, they reached for Alcmene and they all held each other, rocking backward and forward and letting loose tears.
When they had collected themselves, Gideon quickly sobered when he realized what must come next. His eyes met Hara’s.
“Take her to the fae cottage,” said Hara. “I will go back and get the others.”
“Not alone,” said Gideon.
“I must. One of us needs to stay behind to watch for the others. We do not know how much time has gone by sincewe went into the stone ourselves. For all we know, it could be months or years since we snuck out of the palace.”
She broke off, and the unspoken worry floated between them. How long would it be before they would see each other again?
“I’ll be quick,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips and not quite making it. “I know what to do now. And the more people we set free, the more help I will have. Hopefully, some will be willing to go back inside to help visit the other realms.”
Gideon took her hand. The awe he felt for her was surely palpable in his touch. If it took a week, six months, or one hundred years, he would wait for her until he turned to dust.
She threw her arms around him and kissed him again. The weight of her in his arms, the scent of her hair, the way she snuffled against his shoulder, all of these details were seared in his mind. They would be his comfort while she was gone.
They held each other for an untold amount of time, and then Gideon found the strength in himself to release her.
“Go. As soon as Alcmene is safe and well, I’ll come back and set up camp. I’ll watch for the others. I’ll wait for you.”
Angharad
Hara emerged gasping from the water, and she crawled up onto the dry surface of her mother’s realm. As she coughed and sputtered, she felt gentle hands grip her arms to pull her to her feet. Hara looked up, glad to see her mother again, when she realized that the hands belonged to the tall and slender mock-Seith.
Its painted face was very close to hers, and she smelled something sickly sweet on his courtly robes, like stale incense.
She yanked herself out of its grasp and heard her mother say, “Did it work?”
Hara took a few steps away from the uncanny monster, and she turned to her mother with a smile. “Yes, it worked. Gideon is taking Alcmene to a safe place nearby. We are going to get you out of here.”
“Out of where? There is nowhere else to go,” said the mock-Seith. Her mother turned to him.
“Don’t listen to him, Mother,” said Hara. “He doesn’t know anything but here.”
A look of confusion crossed her mother’s face. “Seith was the most educated sorcerer at court; he knows everything.”
“No, he doesn’t,” said Hara, and even though she knew that her mother was ill, she could not hold back her anger. “He could have tried to find a way to set you free, but he never tried because he is a coward—”
“Don’t speak of him that way!” said her mother, cutting her off and grasping her hands. She sounded fearful, almost panicked, stealing a glance at the mock-Seith.
Hara stared at her.
After a moment, her mother trained her features into a reassuring smile. “When we get out of here, he will take back the throne from Corvus, and everything will be as it was. We can make a fresh start.”
She was not listening. “Mother, look into the future. You know that will never happen.”
At Hara’s words, a look of horror transformed her mother’s features. She began to shake her head violently and sank to the floor. “No. I don’t do that anymore. I won’t.”
“What?”
