AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oh, why had this memory intruded in this moment?
Naia pushed him. “I’m still upset at all the secrets you kept, and for enchanting me. But I know we’ll fix this. Together. Stay.”
He kissed her cheek and smiled. “I’ll be right back. You doubled my motivation, Naia. Let me just figure out what’s going on.”
Naia wishedshecould make him sleep, wished she could keep him from risking his life, which was a horrible way to understand his dreadful actions. And yet, she watched quietly as he disappeared. She’d need to ask him how he did that, how he traveled so seamlessly to and from anywhere, without the need of faerie rings.
No, she’d need to find a way to convince him never to set foot in Ironhold again—before it was too late.
* * *
River slipped easilyinto the hollow, leaving Naia behind him, aware that he was able to contradict one of her direct requests for the first time—and hating it. Hating this entire situation. After all he had done to her, all he had hidden, she still asked for him to stay, despite all her anger.
He paused and shut his eyes tight. Of course he wanted to stay with Naia. Working with Ironhold was always a risk, and bound to get riskier the less that kingdom relied on his services. Aluria already believed in a new “white fae” invasion and while River’s illusions could help keep up the charade, Ironhold could decide to use force just as well. What kept him somewhat assured was his deal with the king. Breaking a deal with an Ancient incurred a high price, and the humans still knew it.
The price would cause the destruction of Ironhold, and River could almost be happy about it, except that he had someone to come back to, a city to protect, and so much more to juggle than he had ever dreamed. And yet more than ever he had to find out what kind of magic they were using, how they were circumventing Aluria’s laws. Not only that, they were also breaking magic rules and so far no dragon had come to see if anything was amiss, no dragon since Formosa had been destroyed.
It felt as if they had vanished—leaving his city isolated, forgotten. A lot of his anger towards the dragons had lessened once he realized Naia was one of them. It was still hard to believe it, hard to be sure, but if Isofel had turned into a dragon, it had to be true.
Still, that only opened questions: who was her father? Why had he left? Or had he been killed? But if that had been the case, shouldn’t it have drawn the ire of the dragons? Unless something had happened to them. In this case, it was still possible that Ironhold had one or more dragon hearts. If not that, then the metal kingdom had something else—and he had to find it.
2
Back to Ironhold
The world was an explosion of smells and sounds. Fel had no idea he could feel and sense so much, but then he had no idea he had access to this other form, so strong that even the thunderous hail couldn’t hurt him. Here he was, on this tiny island surrounded by a gray and furious ocean. Beneath him, Leah sat, suddenly scared, so tiny and human. Close and apart.
Her fear, though, that was something else, and it wasn’t just the storm and all that they’d been through. He sent a thought to Leah, even if he wasn’t sure she’d realize he was trying to communicate with her. “What’s wrong?”
“Something’s after you,” she said, her voice low. “Don’t tell anyone about your magic. Your human magic. I… I have to go. I’ll find you. But I have to go.”
Fel didn’t even have the time to askwhyorwherebefore she disappeared. No time to try to ask her to stay, to tell her that they would solve it all together. Now he had no idea where she was, no idea how to keep her safe.
All he had was a hole in his heart as he lay down on the wet ground on that lonely island, away from his sister, his kingdom, his father. And yet, how much could he do when he had no control over his form, no idea about any of his dragon magic?
The rain quieted down and a path of clear sky appeared over the horizon, as if Leah had taken the storm with her. But where? They had taken so long to be together, only for her to disappear like that.
He stared at the clearing sky up ahead. Would he be able to make it to Fernick? Would he even find other dragons? Or should he come back, at least for now, and help his sister, his father, his kingdom? But how much could he do while in this form? There was only uncertainty and too many things that needed to be fixed, and yet he had no idea how to start.
* * *
River was back in Frostlake.He’d spent so long trying to fool Ironhold, pretending he was their ally, and yet, right after they had taken a kingdom, in a decisive moment, he had left. Of course he would do it all over again—to save Naia. Hopefully King Harold hadn’t noticed his absence.
That was foolish and nonsensical hope. Of course the king knew he’d been away, even if it hadn’t been that long. Two hours at most, but still. The question was what the king was going to do with this information.
River approached his station, his hair tied back, his Ironhold uniform looking neat and tidy, glamour hiding the red in his eyes, his horns, and the shape of his ears. The general who’d been questioning castle workers was gone, and only two Ironhold soldiers remained. Like many of the invading forces, they were convinced that their kingdom was being heroic and saving Frostlake.
They both got up when they saw River.
“General Waters,” one of them said, as a form of greeting. That was a stupid name, but since Ancients didn’t do well with lies, at least it was close enough not to cause much discomfort.
“Is the questioning over?”
The soldiers looked at each other, then one of them said, “There’s a message for you to see the king.”
“Certainly.”
River was about to go into the castle, when a soldier added, “Back in Ironhold.”
