Page 125 of The Iron Dagger
Roger stepped forward, sparks glittering from his fingertips. As the leering faces of the fae snarled and snapped at them, Hara felt an odd tugging sensation on the blade in her hand.
She tried to catch it, but suddenly it was free of her grasp and flying across the room. It moved like a glint of light above their heads, a shard slipping silently through the air. She watched as it flew of its own accord and buried itself in Armot’s screaming throat.
Her screams halted abruptly with a wet gurgle.
The fae queen clutched at it, choking, but her hands sizzled as they slipped around the handle. She fell slowly, sinking within the folds of her downy skirt. Steam rose from the smoking wound in her neck, and finally, the rustling of her small struggling form halted.
Hara turned wildly, expecting that the fae creatures would descend upon them and they would have to fight for their lives back out of the mountain. But to her surprise, she found that they had all turned to stare at Adira, whose mouth was agape in horror.
There was a beat of silence, and then one by one, they began to bow. All manner of fae bent low at the waist until only Adira and the humans remained standing upright.
Hara looked all around in bewilderment, and then she caught Odessa’s eye.
Odessa gave her a secret smile, then she turned away to look at Adira, the new Rexina of the fae court.
Hara and the other humans were escorted to a room located behind the thrones. They were seated around a long oval table, and fae of various sizes lined the wall, each with daggers of bone and wood pointed toward the sorcerers’ backs.
After a few moments of tense silence, Adira entered, followed by a dozen fae in robes of spider silk. Her head was downturned, and when she raised her face to survey the room, her eyes were rimmed with purple, as though she had been crying. Her expression was stony, however, as she took the place at the head of the table.
At the other end of the oval, the toad councilor stood surrounded by a group of toad-like fae. His black eyes roved unblinkingly over them all. Hara’s hands were cold as she clenched them into fists, fighting the tremble that radiated from her center. Adira was obviously upset at the death of her sister, and Hara did not know what would happen now. They could not rely on her mercy.
The frosty silence was eventually broken by the toad councilor.
“How dare you return here to stage an assassination,” he said in his guttural voice.
Adira hesitated, and when she spoke, her voice was soft and weak.
“That was not our intention, Mog. This was a tragic accident.”
“It doesn’t look well on you to begin your reign with the blood of your sister on your hands.” He snarled, and the councilors at his back let out burbles of agreement.
Hara thought it was curious that though Adira was suspected of murdering her own sister, her reign was not contested. The fae’s instinct to follow the Rexina was stronger than Hara believed possible.
“It is not what I would have chosen,” said Adira in the same weary voice.
“Which one of you did it?” said Mog, slapping his webbed hands so that they were splayed upon the table. He glared around at the sorcerers, transparent lids blinking once.
“They cannot stand the touch of iron, just as we cannot,” said Adira.
“She can,” said the toad, and all turned to look at Hara.
She couldn’t announce to them all that she was an alchemist. Could she?
She turned to Gideon with searching eyes and he shook his head the tiniest fraction. He did not seem to think it wise. But he was non-magical and human. She had rescued these sorcerers from the stone, and all had come here out of loyalty to her. The fae cared nothing for gold, using faux gold to lure humans and little else. Even if the fae did seek to reveal her secret, she planned to be far from here as soon as possible.
And the only way she could leave this place was to explain. Hara still had to work against every impulse as she spoke.
“I am an alchemist, a Seer, and a healer. But I am no telekinetic.”
“How can we know for sure?” sneered Mog.
“I cannot prove to you what I am not,” said Hara.
“The knife was tugged from her grasp. We all saw it,” said Gideon. “Why would she try to catch it if she was the one controlling it?”
“Why, indeed,” said Mog. “A clever trick, a sleight of hand to prove your innocence. You say the Maw was destroyed by chance. Now you would have us believe that the knife flew by chance as well?”
“Enough,” said Adira, and instantly, Mog’s wide mouth snapped shut. “The human is right. We all saw that the bladeescaped the alchemist’s hand against her will. She is above suspicion.”
