Page 68 of The Iron Dagger
Determination replaced the worry in her eyes, and Gideon was glad to see it. Though his heart was heavy with the things he hadn’t told her yet.
“Hara, do you remember much of the night when you and your mother escaped?”
“A little. It happened late at night, when all was dark. She woke me and told me to wear several layers of my warmest clothes. Then we climbed into the tapestry, through paths I had never taken before, and when we emerged, we were at the top of the cliff looking down at the city. I was confused, but I did as my mother asked.”
“Did you see any armies, or great rolling weapons?”
Hara shook her head. “No. But when the morning broke, I started to hear things. Distant booms. We hadn’t gone very far. That was when my mother told me what was happening.”
“How could she have known?” he murmured. “According to my father, Desideria’s visions were repeatedly erased from her memory.” Had one of them somehow slipped through in time to save them?
Hara gave a little gasp of shock. “What?”
Gideon then explained the role of the Ilmarinen traitor and how he had been the secret to Corvus’ victory all along.
Hara was silent for several long moments after he spoke. She’d drawn her knees up to her chest and was staring intothe fire, deep in thought. When she finally spoke, Gideon was surprised by what came out of her mouth.
“Has the river Morais always had water with magical properties?”
Gideon took a moment to process the bizarre question. “I don’t know. As far as I know, it has always been used to fuel the city.”
“Hmm. I have no memory of it being special in any way. At least, nothing that my tutors ever mentioned.”
“Maybe it did not seem remarkable because you lived among magic-folk, and it was only after Corvus took over that we found a way to use the water. I don’t think the Ilmarinen were too pressed to invent autocars and funiculars when they had magical gusts of wind to fly on.”
“Maybe you are right. But something is strange about all this, and I feel it is connected somehow. The prison, the river. I just learned today about a substance that can absorb magic, and I think I am realizing that there is much about magic I do not know.”
“What substance?” asked Gideon.
“Sorbite. I held a piece in Sarai’s laboratory.”
So, Hara and Sarai were becoming friendly. Of course they would, Gideon thought ruefully. Hara’s pensive expression lightened and a teasing glint came into her eyes. She quirked a smile at him. “She told me a little about your history.”
Gideon huffed. “If you can call it that. More like the biggest embarrassment I have ever suffered. Can you imagine your mother proposing marriage to a woman you had just started to like? It was dead before it even properly began.”
“Is that why you didn’t try to pursue her? You were embarrassed?”
“Isn’t that enough reason?” asked Gideon. “You should know by now that my pride is very precious to me. Anything thatwounds my ego is something to avoid, even by association. I can barely look at Sarai without withering up on the spot.”
“But if that hadn’t happened, would you still pursue her?”
Gideon had no idea why she was pressing on about this. It happened many years ago, and Gideon had long moved past the what-ifs. He thought about it honestly though, to humor Hara.
“She’s intelligent and ambitious. I admire that about her. But I think in the end she was a bit toogood. She’s always had a stick of justice rammed up her rear. She wouldn’t have pushed me against a door and kissed me after a fight, for instance.”
Hara gave him a shrewd smile. “You forgot to mention the minor detail that she is stunningly beautiful and wealthy.”
“So am I,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “And beauty can change once you get to know a person. She was often scolding me, but not in a fun way.”
“Her courage is what I like most about her,” said Hara. “I’m going to accompany her to a mine tomorrow to collect samples.”
Gideon’s stomach plummeted as he remembered his father’s parting words. “I don’t know if you should be seen having anything to do with metalworking, Hara.”
She looked wary at his tone, and Gideon took a deep breath. “My mother noticed you using cutlery at our luncheon. And she told my father.”
Hara sighed and closed her eyes, and he knew she was feeling the same regret he did at being so careless. “And?”
“And so, he has told me to find out if you are an alchemist by any means I can, but he hinted that I should seduce you.”
