Page 128 of The Iron Dagger
Gideon’s lip quivered, his eyes hard, and fear plummeted through her middle.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Now that the city is in darkness and the war is over, it puts him in a desperate position.”
The fingertips of a desperate man was the worst place for such a weapon to be.
“But what would he have to gain?” she asked. It was difficult to comprehend the motivations of such a man.
“He would find a reason,” said Gideon bitterly. “It is not a question of what he has to gain, but what does he have to lose? It is the only leverage he has, and so he will use it.”
Hara closed her eyes, concentrating on the shush of the grasses and the rumble of the sea. She did not regret that the sorcerers were now free, but the cost seemed too great to bear. Alexandra and Tom had to know.
She opened her eyes. “I know that it would be dangerous for you, but selfishly, I want you to come with me.”
“You do not need to ask,” said Gideon, enfolding her into his arms. “They can throw me in the dungeons, but I will find my way back to you. I got out of that damn stone, didn’t I?”
Hara’s smile faded. “I suppose it’s not as if you can go home now.”
“No. When my father finds out I was involved with freeing the sorcerers, I’m afraid he’ll be rather vexed with me.” Said Gideon softly. “Who knows? Maybe he’ll train the weapon on me instead.”
Underneath his joking tone, Hara sensed a heavy sadness. His discovery and capture would mean death for treason. He had all but lost his family.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, cupping her hand over his cold cheek.
“Don’t be,” he murmured. “I would forsake them, enter the stone, wait for months, and walk backwards into faerie all over again if that was what you wanted.”
He leaned down to kiss her, and his mouth was warm amidst the wind that tore at their hair and their cloaks. They watched the gray, shifting sea, and Hara breathed in the salt air.
“Do you want to know something odd?” she said. “Even though my mind conjures up a beach to use my Sight, I’ve never seen the ocean before. The real ocean,”
“Perhaps you have some foresight after all,” said Gideon.
“What are those creatures there, on the rocks?”
Gideon squinted. “Seals. Though after all the magic we have seen, I would not be surprised if they were actually selkies.”
The casual way he spoke of mythological shapeshifters brought a smile to her lips. It made her think of the sour faces he used to pull at the simplest of her healing spells.
“I’m sorry for entangling you in all this. You must be ready to never hear the word ‘magic’ again,” she said.
Gideon’s eyes were warm as he drew her into another kiss.
“Entangle me. Please, entangle me.”
EPILOGUE
The Southern Sea
Bryan
She slipped beneath the water, her silvery body lithe.
Bryan smiled as he crumpled the napkin he carried, a few sticky crumbs of corn cake all that was left of the treat. The seal’s head burst from the waves again, keeping up with the ship’s prow with ease.
He’d first noticed her on their second day at sea, riding along in the ship’s wake. The way she spun in the current, round body teasing the surface of the water and racing alongside the ship—it seemed as though she was doing it for fun. Bryan had never seen a seal behave in such a way, with such curiosity.
One day, he had brought some smoked kippers to the deck, and sure enough she was there, swimming alongside the ship. He tossed out a fish, and she leapt from the water to catch it in her jaws. Bryan laughed, delighted.
The seal swam with her head above the water, watching him intently. He threw out another fish, and another, and she caught each one. Her whiskers twitched adorably as she ate. Every day after, Bryan brought a treat to the deck.
