“Ladies,” Emrys called to us with his grin on his face.
“Are you guys becoming the best of friends yet? Male bonding over sharp weapons?” I put on a mask of contentment, not ready to reveal what I’d learned. Rune’s look was comical. He clearly thought I was crazy for bringing these two here.
A human, a werewolf, a librarian, and a spider walk into an Iron City. Sounded like the makings of another joke, if it wasn’t real life and dangerous as hell.
“What do we have?” Instead of chuckling like I wanted to, my focus was on the bag of weapons and armor Emrys had managed to swipe before our departure.
Four swords, two smaller sized bows and full quivers, four daggers, and three hatchets.
“I can’t believe you actually found the diamond armor.” Dris gasped at the thin material, which looked like a white shirt but shimmered in the sunlight.
“He stole it from the locked and guarded room in the bottom of the palace,” Rune grumbled, not happy that this goat Fae was able to break into something that he wasn’t supposed to.
“All for a good cause. I get the hatchets; you guys can divvy up the rest.” I reached to grab the little axes and touched the armor on my way. It felt soft and light in my hands, despite the diamonds Dris said were weaved in it.
“It’s as hard as diamonds and will stop a bullet.” Dris answered the question inside my head. The queen most likely made it for her warriors for past battles.
“You and Dris will wear them. I only could get two before more guards came.” Emrys reached down to grab the two tunics and gave them to us. The material was smooth as silk, and I managed to put it on with ease. The sleeves stopped at my shoulders, so it only covered the torso, protecting the most important organs.
“Will you guys be OK?” I didn’t like using this armor while leaving them exposed, but both of the men ignored me.
“If anyone needs to take a piss, or whatever, we’re leaving in five minutes.” Rune commanded us and I raised my eyebrow at him. This was my mission and he was already taking over being general.
While the others were talking about weapons and figuring out how their skill would be most useful, I walked over to Desmire. My heart ached for him. The princess’s memory barreled into my thoughts again. She had said like mother like daughter, both destined to marry one brother but fell in love with the other brother instead. Tor was no Verin, though. He was gentle, kind, and dependable.
Desmire’s head shifted slightly at my approach, but he didn’t move. The water and sky were beautiful. Our world was vast and unique, yet damaged in many ways . . . ways I hoped we could build on and make beautiful again.
The smell of the salty air calmed me and reminded me of the silence in a forest before the storm. “I’ve never seen the ocean before.” I rested a comforting hand on the side of the dragon. “Tor and Mariam would tell me stories about this great body of water, untamed and free. It’s every bit as beautiful as I imagined it would be.”
He didn’t move, but I understood the agreement in his energy. We stared at the water for a silent minute before I said, “I’m sorry you’ve lost so much. I’m going to help you get it all back and defeat him.” Another vow, another job for me to do once Tor and Nyx were free. His smoky eyes filled with sadness. He saw into my soul, my very being. He knew I meant what I’d said.
“You ready for this?” I asked, while bumping my shoulder into his just as my crew walked up to the cliff’s edge. Everyone took in the sight of the sun above the deep blue water of the ocean, the sound of the crashing waves, and the smell of the salty air like it was the last time they might ever see it.
I hoped and prayed to whatever higher beings who watched over us that we would see this sight again and we would all come back together.
Desmire released a mighty roar that shook the Earth.
“We’re coming, Tor. We’re coming,” I whispered just as a callused, strong hand wrapped around mine.
Chapter Fifty
“My ass hurts. We need a saddle for that dragon next time we go on a big adventure.” Emrys rubbed his backside and I knew Rune was annoyed with the spider. Those two hadn’t warmed up to each other during our trip to the Iron City.
Desmire had kept us high in the clouds, staying out of sight in case any Dramens happened to look up. Dris had fallen asleep against Rune’s back while Emrys used his arms to cage her in from falling off the flying dragon. Despite knowing I shouldn’t, I rested my body against Rune’s chest while I read about the Iron City from a Fae’s escape. I memorized every word.
“Sundown is soon.” Rune’s voice sounded pained.
“Do you need to go?”
“No.” His clenched his teeth.
There was no time to not trust him. He had been dealing with this all his life. If he said he would be fine, then he would be.
“I can’t believe they built all that without power.” Dris was wide awake now as we stayed low on top of an old skyscraper.
The Iron City had been built next to what had been a big metropolitan city before the apocalypse. They’d taken over every crevice of the place, using up its resources, and reusing materials found in buildings to make their own. The top of the iron palace gleamed in the setting sun. There were no places to hide out here . . . no trees or mountains . . . just the husks of skyscrapers.
It was once called Tornado Alley. It was barren and flat and in the middle of the continent where all four corners of the Dramen territories came together. The city was a terror to look upon even from here. I really didn’t want to go there. Flashbacks of the Dramen’s attack on my community made my hands tremble. I was afraid I was going to freeze or be taken by them. The fear tried to beat me down, and I couldn’t let it. I rose to my feet and quickly strolled to the pacing general.
