This time Alek doesn’t falter, but he finally looks at me, and his eyes are coolly assessing. In his gaze I can see that he’s remembering every interaction we’ve ever had.
Good.So am I.
Nora hops up from the hay bale again. “Me too,” she says, though her tone is more gleeful than threatening.
Little Sinna starts to sit up. “Me too!”
The queen sighs, then evaluates everyone in the barn. After the longest minute, she runs a hand down her face, and her shoulders droop. I barely know the queen beyond the time we spent together in Briarlock months ago, but her exhaustion is clear, and it’s obvious that Malin’s declaration has rattled her.
“We came here to rest and recover,” I say. “Maybe we should still do that.”
“And while we rest,” the queen says, “these Truthbringers and scravers ride toward my husband, intent on his death.” She looks at Tycho. “You said they may have a head start?”
He hesitates, then nods. “I don’t know that they would have set off for Ironroseimmediately, because they were injured, too— but I also don’t know how many scravers and soldiers they had at their disposal.” He pauses. “To say nothing of those weapons.”
She looks to Malin. “Can your soldier beat them there?”
Before he can answer, Igaa speaks from the corner. “A human on horseback will not beat a scraver in the sky.”
The queen grimaces. Her face nearly crumples.
Tycho takes a step toward her. “Lia Mara,” he says softly. “The king is not defenseless.”
“He barely survived the last time,” she says, and her voice breaks. “He needed your help.” She takes a gasping breath. “He neededmyhelp.” Another breath. “And now we’re stuckhere.”
Those words hang over the room. Because if Leo can’t make it back to Ironrose ahead of them, then this half- injured crew with too few horses definitely can’t.
“Could we summon the scravers and Truthbringershere?” I say. “Draw them away from the king?”
Lord Alek scoffs. “So they can killus?”
“Are you volunteering?” I say.
His eyes flare in surprise. Maybe he thought I’d still be the blacksmith who used to cower in front of a powerful lord, but that Jax is gone. Alek takes a threatening step toward me, and I stiffen— but Tycho steps out in front of him. He might be injured, but right this moment, he looks like he could take on an army barehanded.
“If you ever touch him again,” he says icily, “I will break every bone in your body.” I’ve never heard him sound so vicious, and it makes me shiver. Especially when he adds, “Then I’ll heal you so I can do ittwice.”
Alek inhales like he wants to retort, but the little princess gasps. “Tycho!” she cries. “Why would you be so mean?” And then she bursts into tears, clinging to her mother.
“Because he deserves it,” Tycho snaps.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness,” Alek says to the little girl. “He couldn’t hurt me if he tried.”
“Enough!” the queen snaps. “This fighting is useless.” She looks between Alek and Tycho. “And it willcease.”
Neither of them says a word. They’re simply glowering.
The queen sighs and looks at me. “We couldn’t outrun scravers either, Jax.”
Callyn looks back and forth between us. “But we have magichere.” She looks toward Igaa and Nakiis. “Could we summon them somehow?”
The scraver’s eyes gleam in the darkness. “If Nakiis shares his magic with Tycho, the others would know it immediately.” She pauses. “It would heal some of the damage from their wounds— and it would also strengthen their magic. It would be like a beacon in the sky, summoning them.”
For the first time, the queen looks thoughtful. “Do they have any weaknesses?” she says. “Could we lay a trap?”
But Alek says, “No. What kind of trap would you lay?” He sneers. “Lady Karyl has magic. Who knows what others have accepted it as well— or how many scravers this Xovaar has at his disposal. According to your story, you haveoneweapon that can stop them.”
As soon as he says it, I think of the rod of Iishellasan steel that pierced Tycho’s shoulder. Immediately, a solution snaps into place in my head. I’ve never believed in fate, but all of a sudden, taking shelter at the forge seems predestined.
