Page 69 of Iron Hearts and Dragon Magic

“And yet…” She paused. Telling him that they had retreated to the Ancient City by the end of the war with the humans would be like poking a wound.

River shook his head, as if sensing her thoughts. “The fae most humans faced were commoners, peasants, families, who used to live peacefully in the land here. I wouldn’t wantthemto fight. What I’m suggesting is the help of our warriors. There must be about thirty, forty of them, that’s it. And it’s about making a deal that makes sense. If the terms are too easy, the Ancients will think there’s some trick. They won’t accept help without a price they deem fair, it’s not our way.”

“River, we don’t know if, when, or how this conflict is going to play out. We don’t even know if humans and Ancients will ever have a common ground to fight side by side. For now, I just want to make sure your people survive. We’ll think about Ironhold later. Still, I want the fae to avoid human settlements, avoid being seen, and that’s where I want to focus the deal on. I trust you, but I still don’t have any reason to trust other Ancients.”

River sighed. “You should hate them all.”

“No. They were following orders and I have no way to know their opinion about it, and there was a girl who warned me not to follow your father. I did turn back, but I ended up caught.”

He perked up. “What did she look like?”

Naia shrugged. “Long white hair, dark red eyes.”

River rolled his eyes. “You just described the majority of the population of the Ancient City.”

“It’s not my fault they all look the same.”

“Was she a guard, a noble, a wisewoman, a cleric…”

“Noble. She was sitting by your father. There was a young man as well, but he didn’t tell me anything.”

“Let me guess, he also looked like a typical Ancient.”

“Yes.”

River took a deep breath. “The woman who helped you could be my sister. Not the one who died. Obviously. Her twin, Anelise. We never got along well, but when my father exiled me, she seemed… to care. She even gave me a scrying mirror.” He exhaled. “Lost when I was pushed into the hollow.”

“You think we could talk to her?”

“She doesn’t have authority over the Ancient City. You can’t get her word for other Ancients.”

“So we’ll need to negotiate with your father.”

“You saw how nice he is.”

“I bet he doesn’t want the people in your city to die.”

River scoffed. “You don’t know him well, then.”

“What do you suggest?”

* * *

Fel consideredthe First Dragon Mage’s advice. Doing instead of doubting sounded nice—in theory—but it would be pointless to rush to that stone wall and try to climb it. Believing he could was not going to make him sprout hands or manifest some climbing equipment.

His father, or rather, heart-father, like the dragons said, had once told him that willpower couldn’t conquer everything. Most things, yes, but not everything. Some limitations were real, and there was no point banging on them. The trick was to work with them, and not against them.

None of these words gave him a clue how to conquer that wall.

Wait. Azir’s words actually did.

There was no point trying to do something he couldn’t. Yes, Fel could perhaps climb that wall if he had special equipment—but he didn’t have any. But climbing wasn’t the only way to reach the nest.

The First Mage hadn’t specified how he had to do it.

If only Fel knew how to make those dragon rings! Maybe he could ask for help. No, the challenge was his and his only, and he didn’t even know where he was or how to reach any other dragon—or anyone, for that matter. But there was always a way around obstacles.

Fel approached that solid rock. There were crevices here and there. Maybe he could put his feet, then lean on his arms. No, it was too dangerous. Falling to his death had not been his goal when he’d decided to talk to the great dragon.

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