Page 53 of House of the Iron Reaper

“I hardly think you gave her a choice,” Deyanara replies, the ghost of a smile on her lips. “She did not seem pleased when I left this morning but she said nothing to stop me.”

“The best we can hope for, I suppose,” I muse. I throw a sidelong look at Deyanara, aware I may broach a sensitive topic. “Lysandra mentioned once that she was married to your father?”

I keep my tone insouciant. Still, I feel Deyanara’s grip on my arm stiffen. When I glance at her again, her lips have drawn into a thin line.

“Yes,” she says. “She is my stepmother.”

Reluctant to push the conversation, we lapse into silence. Deyanara inhales, seeming to steady herself.

“My father had me at a young age. He and my mother were never officially together and she left shortly after I was born. I do not even know if she was a dragon—if my father told me about her, I was too young to remember.”

I wait for her to continue but she falls back into silence. I do not press.

We turn a corner as the sun crests over the horizon. Deyanara is bathed in golden light, turning her eyes into shards of silver. When she casts them to the ground, irritation stokes in my chest. For a gaze so soft and sweet to have learned to be lowered is an injustice.

I reach over and place a finger under her chin, gently tipping her face up. When I withdraw and Deyanara keeps her gaze high, a sense of pride swirls pleasantly in my stomach.

The upper tiers grow busier, swelling with the morning rush. Deyanara and I head into a covered stall. A stick of rainbow glass hangs from the canopy, indicating a jewellery stall. Deyanara ducks slightly, her horned hair skimming the fabric ceiling.

“Welcome, welcome!” The merchant greets us brightly. “Wonderful to see such beautiful faces today!”

I roll my eyes but Deyanara’s cheeks glow pink, rosy against her dark skin.

We peruse the shop, a litany of sparkling jewellery and hair pins on display. I browse one section, marked with purple glass to indicate witch magic. Earrings that can never be lost, a necklace that glows when you’re with the one you love… I frown at the last one and pick it up carefully. The small garnet twinkles at me. I stare back at it. Will it…?

No. I place the thing back down before it can do anything. I do not want to know.

The merchant chats incessantly, which I ignore, but Deyanara listens politely. I steady my breathing and walk away from the enchanted jewellery to the other end of the shop. My eyes catch on a pair of sapphire earrings I suspect Deimos may like, when I hear the merchant’s voice drop.

“You are a most striking woman,” he tells Deyanara. “Shivanya made flesh, if she does not strike me down to say so.”

My head snaps up to see him standing entirely too close to her. A wave of possessiveness closes around me.

“You must let me call on you,” the merchant continues with a wide smile.

Deyanara shuffles away, but does not have time to reply before I stride over.

“You may certainly not call on her,” I say with enough venom the smile immediately slips from his face. “She is spoken for, thank you.”

I slide my hand into the crook of Deyanara’s elbow, and pull her in close to me. I make my eyes wide and unkind at the merchant, inviting challenge. He steps back, hands up.

“My apologies,” he says sheepishly.

I turn my nose up, glaring, and leave the shop, pulling Deyanara with me.

“The nerve!” I fume, stomping down the street.

Deyanara opens her mouth, and I wave her off.

“Not you, him,” I say. “Do not apologise, for Saint’s sake.”

Deyanara goes quiet. I force a breath through my teeth, pushing down the swell of irrational jealousy. The further we walk from the shop, the more I feel a fool, the heat of the moment dissipating.

“In fact, I should apologise,” I say, with some difficulty and no small amount of guilt. “I… may have overreacted. And I should not stop you from finding a real suitor.”

“He was merely flattering me,” Deyanara says, just above a whisper. “I know I am not a pretty thing.”

“Do not discredit yourself,” I reply without hesitation. “He was a weasel and he encroached on our courtship but… he was not wrong. You are a striking woman.”