Page 108 of House of the Iron Reaper

“Everyone is okay,” I tell her, firmly.

She falls forward, resting her forehead against my shoulder, and lets out a relieved sob.

“They’re okay,” I tell her again, smoothing a hand down her back. “They’re all okay.”

No screams or darkness.

Not anymore.

Epilogue

Part 1

Novalie

“For Saint’s sake, can everyone be quiet?” I rub my temples. “One at a time, please.”

“But my library is important!” Cahir bemoans at the same time Meris snaps, “I was speaking first!”

I slam my palms on the table and everyone jolts.

“One. At. A. Time,” I grind out, using the breathing techniques that are supposed to help with patience. I point to Meris. “You were first on the agia-”

“Agenda,” Ronan corrects me.

“Agenda. Fine. Cahir, you will get your turn.” I wave to Meris. “Continue.”

The first meeting of the House Elders is going as well as could be expected for people who have never communicated with each other beyond who can throw the most extravagant balls. Which is to say, poorly.

Ronan hails from a society that moves as one, with five elected members leading. Looking back on the way House Iron and Coal starved while the rest of us sat back on our hands makes me want to hide in the smallest of spaces out of shame.

And so here we are, attempting now to move as one.

“The greenhouse is due to open within the Sunfall Season,” Meris says. “My House thanks yours for the glass, Bu Novalie.”

“My House offers its thanks, also,” Lysandra says with a nod. Her arm is in a sling, her burns not quite healed and her eyes half-lidded with lavender tonic, but she insisted on being present. I did not see the point in arguing.

“No thanks needed,” my mother says. “House Iron has no debt with us.”

She turns to look at me with glittering eyes and squeezes my hand. I smile at her. In the six months since Aythora’s death, I’ve found myself smiling a lot more.

“Nor us,” Meris adds.

This is no surprise—the greenhouse is being built over two tiers of Coalsburgh, growing enough food for Iron and Coal, in exchange for Lysandra’s fire. With Aythora gone, Lysandra is now the strongest fire dragon in the city, and Meris was in need of her fire to smelt her House’s copper. Thus, a deal was struck, saving both Houses. It had been enough to convince the other Heads to form our committee, to make sure no one gets left behind again.

As Meris continues to update us on the greenhouse, my eyes drift to the empty seat next to her. At first, Lysandra continued to be Elder of House Coal and Iron, but the strain of leading two Houses was too much. Deyanara, it was decided, would lead Iron in her father’s stead.

When she returns.

“Let’s take a break,” I say, getting to my feet.

The others sit back from the table, stretching, as I turn and make my way to the steps outside. The House of Elders is still under construction, with our meeting hall only part-way finished. I step through an open gap between walls and settle under the shade of a sweetlemon tree. The sky is an unbroken blue and a warm breeze washes over me.

The joining of the Elders signals a shift. Deyanara’s Ascension—a lower-tier dragon winning divine favour—even more so. The road ahead is long and undoubtedly riddled with obstacles, but this is a start. A good start.

After a moment outside, my mother takes a seat beside me.

Neither of us says anything for a while. The House of Elders is on the lowest tier in Coalsburgh, only several feet above the ground, and I can smell the sandstrider stables from here. A shadow passes overhead as a dragon flies past.