Page 96 of The Iron Dagger
She had a light pack swung across her back containing the few things she had taken from the palace, but it began to feel heavy after a few hours of trudging uphill in the stream. Her feet were icy and numb, and it was becoming harder to see where she was stepping. The wind was picking up, and when Hara began to feel spatters of rain across her face, she thought it best to seek shelter for the night.
Fortunately, she spied a massive boulder fall up ahead. It looked as though it had once been part of the mountain face,but had tumbled down to rest in the forest. She stepped upon the bank and hobbled with numb feet to the rocks, searching for an opening. She found a space where two enormous slabs of rock made a natural cave that went deep enough to block the wind. The ground was carpeted in old spruce needles, but it was dry.
She removed her pack and took a cylindrical hand lantern from it, tapping it twice. The lantern glowed with warm orange light, and she set it on a rock ledge well out of sight of the entrance. She spread a blanket on the ground, the fabric instantly heating at her touch as though it had spent time hanging before a fire. There were many things she would take from her time in the palace, good and bad, but the modern comforts were much appreciated.
She tucked her feet beneath her to warm them and stared into the lamplight. The tapestry in the room of stones led to many chambers connected to the Commander’s suite, including his own private kitchen and a supply closet, but in her haste, Hara had gone straight to her own room to quickly stuff a bag and make her escape. There had been nothing in her room that she could use as rope unless she wanted to tarry and tie bedsheets together. Then she’d remembered the ball of wool Gertrude had given her back in the village. She had pulled it from her reticule and kissed it, thanking the old woman. It did not take long to transform the yarn into steel.
Hara removed her damp clothing and dug a thick, warm nightdress from her pack. She rolled on some woolen stockings and laid down, curling into a ball and feeling very alone.
This was not how she had imagined making this journey. She thought of Seraphine meowing above her as she scaled the side of the palace. Hara told herself that it was too dangerous to try and make the climb with Seraphine perched on her shoulders, but that was not entirely the truth.
She wanted there to be a lifeline.
She couldn’t bring herself to destroy the chance that Gideon would find her.
Hara closed her eyes and wrapped herself tighter. Gideon. There were many things she felt towards him, but anger was foremost. She blamed him for getting caught, and she blamed him for the hateful role he had played in dividing and perpetrating a war.
Over time he’d won her over with his charm, and she had even trusted him with her deepest secrets. It was easy to forget the terrible things he had done when he was with her, but she had been foolish to forget who he really was. With a monster such as Commander Falk as his father, she was nothing short of an idiot to develop feelings for him. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to follow her at all. It would be a relief if she never saw him again.
She was lying to herself.
A shushing sound reached her ears, and Hara peered around the corner to see that rain had begun to fall in earnest. Hara settled back into the pocket of her cave. All the better. The rain would disperse any scent or tracks she had left. Then Hara became aware of a different sound. It was like a shuffling across the spruce needles, and she opened her eyes. After several moments she could not see anything, and so she closed them again.
“So, you made it out of the lion’s den.”
Her eyes flew open, and before her stood the otter. Its fur was sleek and wet from the rain, but it held the same intelligence in its beady eyes that she remembered.
“Yes,” she murmured, unsure if she wanted the company of this strange creature.
“Where are you going?” he said.
Despite his previous assurances that he was her friend, she did not trust him. He was clearly a seasoned sorcerer, mucholder than herself. There was something about the way he spoke that made Hara picture an older gentleman. A sudden thought occurred to her, and instead of answering his question she posed one of her own. “Are you the missing prince?”
He watched her silently, and Hara knew beyond a doubt that he was.
“Seith,” she said, disgust making its way into her tone.
The otter watched her for a minute more, and then he bent double, curling in on himself. In a moment a tall, rangy man was crouched in the cave with her. He straightened, his robes shabby and careworn and his dark hair unkempt. He looked up at her with murky hazel eyes. Her eyes. It was as she had suspected from the moment she read the words in Falk’s journal.
“Father,” she said softly.
“Angharad,” he said, making no movement towards her. “You look exactly like her.”
Rage burbled up from a deep place in her soul. “How could you?”
“It was long ago, I was a different man—”
“Howdareyou speak to me of her? After everything you did?” she said, her voice raw. “You destroyed it all and you drove her nearly mad.”
“I told her to run. I warned her about what was coming so she would have time to take you and get away,” he said desperately.
“You are despicable. Saving your lover and child while leading your family to their deaths.”
“I cannot undo the past. I have come close to madness myself all these years, alone and on the run. You cannot imagine the regret I feel.”
“Regret for yourself!” she almost shouted, but she quickly controlled herself. “Regret that you were not crowned.Now, every magical person in Montag must live as you do, or else be forced into servitude for the Empirator.”
“I could not have known it would be this way,” he said, and Hara could not stop herself from letting out a furious burst of laughter.
