A Promise of Iron by Brandon McCoy (the reading list .txt) 📕

answered. “It couldn’t have taken them more than a few minutes to seal the wall.”

“You sure?” Quill asked.

Crylwin nodded. “I’m sure.”

Quill closed his eyes, stretched his arms out wide, then slammed his hands together. There was a crack, like the sound of a whip, then a rush of wind that exited the tunnel.

“Seal it quickly,” Quill said. “No guarantee how much air will remain in there.”

Penir grabbed a handful of bricks and began stacking them in place over the opening. Crylwin set down his cane and worked liquid stone over the newly laid bricks. Moments later, the wall was finished, and save for the freshness of the mortar, was otherwise unremarkable. I took stock of my surroundings. We were in a wheelhouse in the sewer works. I heard the Woad’s flowing water, which told me we must have been near the exit.

“I take it they were not part of the plan?”

Penir nodded slowly.

“My father’s men,” Crylwin said.

“And that makes us?”

Crylwin shared a look with Quill. “Something else”

Penir grabbed the bucket of liquid stone and the tools. “We need to get moving. Shift change should be coming soon.”

We followed the hallway until we emerged from a low hill. The banks of the Woad were before us. Several stone grates sat on either side, pouring the city’s bowels into the river below. On the banks, a man waited with a horse. The horse was laden with heavy packs, enough provisions for a long journey. The horse was as black as night, with one brown eye and one pale.

“Did you get everything, Richard?” Crylwin asked as we approached the man.

“I believe so, my lord,” Richard said, turning to the bags. “Rations for three weeks, clothes, blanket, flint…”

“Yes, yes, that’s fine. What about the—”

“Yes, right here.” Richard pulled out a package wrapped in cloth that had been tucked in between the bags. “It was not easy to get. Thankfully, Elder Quill left me with access to his storeroom before we left.” He turned to Quill. “I believe you said a pinch of vale powder; I used three.”

“He will wake up with a headache tomorrow,” Quill mused.

“With questions,” Penir added.

“I will deal with my father,” Crylwin said. “Right now, let’s stay focused.” He took Steven’s reins and walked him over to where I stood. I couldn’t help but notice there were no other horses with packs laden for a long journey.

He handed me the reins. “You have to leave.”

“Naturally,” I said, taking the reins. “Camping on the river bank is a bit obvious, don’t you think?”

He didn’t smile. “You should travel through the north pass and make for Sevel. The Golmere may be stirred up, but you’ll still have more luck crossing the Marches there than trying to make through the gap south; it will be a war zone within a few days. There is a letter in your bags introducing you to one of my contacts. They will take you in and help you where they can.”

“What?” I asked. “No, I’m not just going to—”

“Faerin, you need to listen. There is nowhere in the Empire that is safe for you or safe for those that know you’re still alive.”

“Sevel is the other side of the world, Crylwin!”

He said nothing.

“How long?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “It could be cycles, it could be years. Things will need to quiet down here first. And we can’t risk someone recognizing you, not with the work we have left to accomplish.”

“So hide me,” I said. “Stick me in a hole or leave me in the forest.”

He shook his head. “They will be looking for that, Fae. If someone followed us then—”

“Then it would be your ass and not just mine?”

Crylwin clenched his jaw.

“What about Lira?” I asked. “I could take her with me; there is nothing for her here at least then—”

His eyes darkened. “Running, hiding, surviving. What kind of life is that for her?”

My chest grew heavy. I forced myself to breathe. “A letter then, something to tell her that I am alright.”

Crylwin shook his head. “She can’t know. No one can know outside of this circle.”

I stepped next to him, dropping the reins. “She should make that decision… not you.”

“It will only bring her pain, Faerin,” he said. “If we tell her you’re alive, she will not stop. She would follow you to the edge of the world. Is that what you want? Is that what you want for her?” He grabbed the reins and extended them once more. “If you love her, you must forget her, so that she can be allowed to forget you.

Richard stepped forward and handed me the item he carried. It felt almost weightless in my hands. I unwrapped the cloth, then attached the belt around my waist. As I rested my hand on Nahdril’s lord stone, I expected to feel something, a connection, a voice. I felt only silence.

“I am surprised you didn’t keep it, Crylwin,” I said. “You’ve taken everything else from me.”

Crylwin swung, punching me square in the mouth. I staggered to the ground.

“How dare you!” he yelled. “I have sacrificed EVERYTHING for you. What more can I give? You have your life back, you fucking ungrateful…”

“Say it!” I said, climbing to my feet. “Say it!”

He looked away. “You’re a brother to me, Faerin.”

“You’re no blood of mine,” I said as I spat upon the sand. I climbed onto Steven’s back, looked at each of them, burning their faces into my mind. I said nothing more, then turned Steven to the west.

Chapter Fifty and Five

Summer 1272, Cyllian Imperial Count

I let Steven carry me at his will for the better part of a day. I am not ashamed to say I cried along the way. As fields became trees and trees became hills, I was aimless no more. It was upon a hill overlooking a dilapidated vineyard that I realized he had taken me all the way to Alerhold. My heart stopped as I looked down.

Sam was tending to his old vines, hoping to coax a little life