I wake before the first bells.
I tossed and turned during the night but must have fallen asleep at some point because I didn’t hear Thoren creep back into the room.
He’s still fast asleep and I don’t wake him. He needs as much sleep as he can get or he’ll make mistakes with the coal today.
When the morning bell rings and he finally stirs, I say, “You should have told me where you were going last night.”
There’s a pause before he sits up with his back to me.
“Why, Erik?” he asks. “So you could report it to Malak?” He turns to pin me with a hard stare. “It’s better that you don’t know where I go or what I do.”
He isn’t wrong.
But we’ve never withheld information from each other before. It worries me that Thoren is willing to do that now.
“Thoren—”
He’s already heading to the small bathroom at the side of the room and I have no choice but to let him go.
When we reach the coal house that morning, Nero is waiting for us.
“Vandawolf! Thoren!” he bellows at me and my brother. “You’re hauling coal today.”
Nero gestures to two of the crates at the front of the room, where Braddock also waits. The crates are large enough that they’re like small carts, each one waist-height and on wheels with straps at the front.
“Vandawolf, you’re to take this crate to the Academy.” Nero points to the first crate before indicating the second one. “Thoren, this crate is to go to House Copperstream. Braddock will clear the path for you both and show you where to go.”
At a glance, I can see that my crate is full while Thoren’s is only filled to the half line.
I’m happy to carry the heavier load, but I’m unsettled that Thoren could be forced out of my sight today and especially if he has to attend House Copperstream, where Landon could be now that the first medallion-forging is finished.
I’m conscious that Cohen Copperstream is watching us from the far side of the room, his arms folded across his chest and his eyes sharp. A line of copper twines around his right arm, extending from a ring on his right thumb.
Braddock steps to my side, keeping his voice low. “Don’t worry about your brother,” he says to me. “We’ll go to the Academy together first and then I’ll go with your brother to House Copperstream. I won’t leave Thoren alone.”
I give Braddock a nod of acknowledgement before I take the straps attached to the crate and slip them over my shoulders.
All it takes is a single tug to know that the crate is fucking heavy.
Worse, the moment I take a step toward the door, the coal within the crate sparks violently.
The heat at my back is immediate.
My heart kicks in my chest.
Every step I take between here and the Academy will be fraught with the danger of catching fire.
I’m conscious of the way the other workers are watching me—and Thoren too.
Nobody wants a fire in here.
I grit my teeth and make it through the door without any mishaps, my muscles bunching.
Once we’re outside, Braddock give me a grimace.
He points to a burn scar partially visible up the back of his neck. “I can’t say I’m sorry it’s you and not me today. You’d think there’d be a safer way to haul this fucking stuff, but wrappingeach piece in soft material to try to stop the pieces knocking against each other only increases the chances of fire.”
He suddenly grins at me. “Apparently, the Blacksmiths once tried to encase a crate in metal so the sparks wouldn’t fly out during transport, but when they opened the metal box at the other end of its journey, it exploded in their fucking faces.”
