Page 62 of Under the Iron Sky

Ikarus’s knives floated out of their sheaths, as though they too were in no mood for games. “I mean it, Malakai. No. Killing.”

Silence. Ikarus thought he was going to disobey, then—

“Fine!” Malakai’s hand shot into the air, armored palm toward Ikarus, and used the skeletal remains he was refusing to let go of to draw an imaginary cross over his chest. “I swear—on my shriveled black heart—that I will not intentionally kill one of the opposition.”

Some of the tension eased from Ikarus’s body. “Thank you.”

“But if one of them happens to walk into my flames, it’s not my fault.”

The attack went precisely as Ikarus anticipated it would.

Aeris had followed his orders religiously. Whipping around the corner the moment Ikarus gave the order, he’d become shadow and death. Using every dark gift at his disposal, he’d seduced the shadows to restrain the humans within his range, phasing up and down the theater and surrounding area with ease to round up the ones who slipped through his grasp. Each one alive but unconscious, and bound so securely they had no chance of escape when they woke.

And as usual, Malakai had ignored every instruction given.

“Did you really have to kill that many?” Aeris seethed, wiping away a streak of blood from across his chest plate. “The Ancient One will be furious. He wanted all the humans captured, not three out of nine.”

Malakai shrugged. There didn’t seem to be a plate of his armor that wasn’t dripping with blood. “He’s a big boy, I’m sure he’ll get over it.” He secured the chains around the last of the hostages’ wrists, then looked at Aeris. “Do me a favor, mate.”

Aeris took his arm with a growl, and the two of them disappeared with their hostages. Ikarus followed shortly after with the last human in tow.

They materialized on a rocky ledge that stuck out of the underground mountain ranges of upper Belvador. It was barely a hundred yards beneath the surface, high enough to hear the stalactites whistle when a light breeze swept across the cave ceiling.

Serone lay on the edge of the ridge, her tail swishing off the end while she chewed on a mess of metal that’d once been a familiar she must’ve caught while waiting for them, no doubt sent here to gather information. A badger, maybe? It was impossible to know for sure now.

Patting her chest, Ikarus climbed the chains to the saddle on her back.

Now safely beneath, Aeris and Malakai removed their helmets.

Ikarus did the same, the protective enchantments that sealed the metal to prevent any Vordellian air getting inside falling away with a soft hiss, and placed it on a hook on his hip.

Malakai smiled up at him, eyes narrowing slightly.

“What?”

“That’s cute,” Malakai said, pointing to the new thin chain looped at his side that connected his armor to a hidden lock inside his helmet. Chuckling, he nudged Aeris with an elbow. “Look at him. He gets his helmet ripped off once and he has the blacksmiths alter his armor to make sure it can’t happen again.”

“If you were smart, you’d do the same.”

Malakai waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah, the God Killer is extremely dangerous and we’re not to go near her—blah, blah, blah. I know.” Shaking his head, he laid his hostages near Serone’s front paws, straightening suddenly when she bared her fangs at him.

A daring little bugger, Malakai grinned and shuffled closer. He reached a hand toward her—trying his luck—but his tail promptly flew between his legs when her lips pulled back in a deep, menacing snarl.

Malakai jumped back, hands flying up in surrender, and slowly stepped away. “Ikarus, your dragon is growling at me!”

“What do you want her to do, bark?” Ikarus levitated the hostages onto Serone’s back, and waved a hand to command the chains behind the saddle to snake around their unconscious bodies, securing them to the spikes that lined her spine and base of her tail. He didn’t think they would wake up any time soon, but he wouldn’t risk it.

“Ikarus,” Aeris said suddenly. “I’ve been thinking about the girl. About how she got into your head.”

Intrigued, Ikarus folded his hands against the top of the saddle. “Go on.”

“How much do you know about the blood ritual the Ancient One used to bind her to you?”

“Only what he’s deemed necessary,” Ikarus admitted. “That it links her life to mine and should allow me greater access into her mind to make searching her memories easier.” Although the latter seemed like bullshit if his progress was anything to go by.

Aeris nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the new information. “Do you think it could link you in other ways? I’ve been going through some of the ledgers in the Ancient One’s vault, and I believe—”

Malakai let out an exasperated and over-the-top groan. “Aleena’s tits, are we talking about the human again? Every fucking day, human this, human that. It’s driving me up the wall.”