“We don’t need to be,” she purred. “We are ironmages.”
Suns and moons, this was their game.This great game, Kier had said so long ago. A vile band who bartered in loss and stolen dreams. My heart was racing, my thoughts tumbling like pebbles down a hill.
Driftwood began to lift, began to spin in deadly blades.
“No,” I snapped. “You’re wrong!”
All heads swung my way.
“This wasnotthe agreement,” I said. “In the courtyard, when you tried to kill us all, you chosemeas payment.”
I raised my chin.
“You said you wanted me, not because of the chimeric but because of my blood,” I said, hands crackling with rune. “So, you can’t make bargains without me, the original broker, the first and best prize. No deals, no trades, no whispers in the dark.”
Her eyes flashed at me.
“Such a stubborn child,” she said. “You never listened. So willful. So wayward. So wretched and proud.”
Words. Words. How they became knives.
Chaser, come home.
“I am, Mother,” I said, my chin beginning to tremble, my lips quivering and tight. “I am willful and wayward, wretched and proud. But you made me this way, and for that, I’m grateful. You were ambitious and hard, and I know that’s how life moldedyou. You battled the world and fought for what you wanted. I can accept that it wasn’t my father or me. We were merely steps along your journey, nothing more.”
Her expression had changed from fury to shock, as this time, my words were the arrows, hitting home one by one. I stepped forward, so close I could feel her warmth cutting against my skin.
“Valor,” I said, using her given name. “You’re relentless, and you’ve made me relentless in turn. Relentless and bold and hungry and proud. You did your best to shape me, to cut through this hard, cold world, and I will map my own stars the way you did yours. I learned to run, and I learned to fight, and I’ve learned that those are not bad things. They’re not bad at all.”
I didn’t need to see him. I could feel Kier behind me, giving me strength by letting me lead.
And if I failed, he would catch me. Just like theTouchstone, he’d never let me fall.
“But I’ve learned that my stars aren’t made up solely of magik or pride or ambition or even duty. They include friendship and family and sacrifice and…”
My voice caught in my throat. I swallowed it back.
“And love. I’m no longer a wretched woman from a lost frigate, no longer a wayward girl run away from the Spits. I’m a runechaser, Mother. The vessel of GoddessLindurithain, Kirianae of the Tree.”
Her eyes were brimming with tears now. I wished I knew if they were real.
“And what I’ve learned in these last months is that theTouchstonechose me, not in spite of my imperfections but because of them. I’m a magebecauseI’m stubborn. I chased chimericbecauseI am proud.”
I could feel Echo’s eyes on me, beaming with pride and gentle joy.
There was silence on the Cloudgate as the island held its breath.
“You are the most powerful mages in Oversea,” I said finally, and I glanced at the three of them. “Magisters Tekamorian, Liskeel, and Valor Renn. But you are all wrong. Fear isnotthe best magik of all. You can’t be honored if you are without honor. You can’t be respected if you respect none. We need to repair the Dreadwall to give our helm a chance at peace…”
I swept my hand at Devanhan Fahr, the Stolen Prince of Oversea.
“To givethisman a chance to make the helms right when he takes the throne.”
He smiled at me. Foggin’Bryn’nyd.Friend and future king.
“Because hewillbe king, Mother. And you can trust me when I say, it won’t go well for you to have these men, orme, as enemies.”
My legs trembled, and I felt like melting into a puddle between the rocks. Then Kier stepped up behind me, his hand steady on my shoulder. I felt whole with him there. Stronger with him at my back.
