Page 25 of Of Ash and Iron (Flame Cursed Fae #3)

Chapter 25

Maddy

I want to go and see Sarra before I turn in for the night, find out how the etching of Thyrvi's face is going. If she's made good progress, I can take it to the forge with me tomorrow to fix it to the front of my shield.

When I get to Sarra's workshop, though, she's not there. It's unusual for her not to be there in the evenings, and I notice there are a few things out of place, too.

My skin starts to prickle. It's not like it was when somebody broke in before and trashed the place, but there are some specific things that aren't where I know Sarra keeps them. Her tools, always meticulously ordered on her bench, are scattered around the wooden surface, and I find her favorite scalpel on the floor, under her chair.

Worried, I make my way through the thrall quarters to the kitchens and track down one of the kitchen thralls that I have spoken to with Sarra numerous times before. She recognizes me straight away and hurries toward me.

"Do you know where Sarra is?" we ask at the same time.

The worry tightens in my gut.

"You don't know where she is?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "We haven't seen her all day."

I haven't seen her since the evening before. "Was she supposed to be anywhere today or yesterday?"

"Yes, she was supposed to deliver a repaired staff today. The thrall master's going to give her a hiding when he finds her." I didn't see a staff or any remnants of such in her workshop, so maybe she finished it and took it to whoever asked for it?

"Whose repair was it?"

"Selma's," she answers.

I move around the kitchens quickly, asking the other thralls if anyone has seen Sarra, and all of them say that she has been absent for at least two meals. I get mixed reports on the latest time she was seen the night before.

Worry is now eating at me. I go back to her workshop and grab the rag she uses all the time at her workbench. I've seen Thyrvi track prey before, and if this has Sarra's scent on it, maybe my bear can help me find my missing friend.

Kain finds me an hour later at the very edge of the Featherblade boundary, by the Silver Springs. I don't really know how I know it's the boundary, but every sense in me is screaming not to cross it, and it's taking most of my effort to stop Thyrvi charging out into the thick foliage beyond. It's taking the rest of my effort to stay calm.

I want to go and find her, as fast as possible. But I've seen the shrieks. If Thyrvi's nose is right and she's really out there… she's likely already dead.

"What are you doing near the boundary?" His rough voice is angry.

"My friend Sarra is out there somewhere," I say, turning to him, and the anger melts from his face when he sees mine.

"Why is she out there?"

"I don't know, but she's been missing since yesterday, and Thyrvi tracked her scent here."

"My tracking skills are far superior to any fae," she announces. "I must retrieve your ally." She moves again to step over a shallow line of thorny shrubs.

"Thyrvi, I told you to wait!" My voice is tense enough that she stops. I take a deep breath. "We're not being cowardly, we're being smart," I say. "We need to find a Valkyrie to help us."

Kain growls low in his throat. "You think they'll help you find a human?"

I glare at him. "Of course. As far as I know, she's alone and unarmed. She needs help."

"Princess, I know you don't want to hear this, but if she's been out there since yesterday?—"

I cut him off, unwilling to hear him voice my own fear. "Do you really believe the other Valkyrie won't help me?"

He nods tightly, and my decision is made.

Before Kain can stop me, I step over the shrubs.

"Princess," he growls, Skoll flaring to life next to him.

"Come on, Thyrvi. There are real predators out here—you must be careful," I say, ignoring Kain.

"Princess, I can't fucking watch you out there!" He sounds furious, and I try to throw him a reassuring smile as I move farther beyond his grasp.

"I have Thyrvi, I say, as the bear bounds over the shrubs and puts her huge nose to the ground. "I'll be fine."

"She's a loud, untrained, bloodthirsty fool!" he says, and Thyrvi snaps her head up to glare at him. "She'll get the attention of those birds in seconds!" He's keeping his voice down, but the venom is undeniable.

"I have found her scent," Thyrvi says tightly in my head, still glaring at Kain.

"Good. Let's go."

The bear finally drops her death stare from the fire-fae and sniffs along the leafy ground, parallel to the boundary. We are forced to pass around a small pool between us and the boundary, Kain visibly prowling along in tandem. When we reach the other side of the pool, Thyrvi lifts her head again.

"She re-entered Featherblade. The water must have blocked her scent on the other side."

Relief floods me. I hurry back to the line of thorny bushes and step back across.

Kain is there in an instant.

"She came back," I tell him, refusing to make eye contact.

"You are impulsive and?—"

"And my curiosity will get me killed," I finish for him in a parody of my sister's voice. "Save it, Kain."

I daren't look at him after delivering the attitude-filled retort, and he doesn't speak. I can still feel him seething beside me, though.

"She went this way," Thyrvi says, and picks up her pace, moving toward the glade on the west side of the main spring.

We've only hunted for another ten minutes before I hear crying.

"Sarra!"

She's hiding under a small berry bush. Her skin is scratched, her face is covered in dirt, and her clothes are torn. She's clutching a simple black feather in both hands, and her red-rimmed eyes are fixed on it.

She squeaks in shock when she sees Thyrvi, and I drop to the ground beside her, gathering her to me.

"Sarra, what in Odin's name happened?"

"I-I-I—" she hiccups, then leans into me, beathing hard.

"It's okay," I tell her.

"I'm Sarra," she says eventually.

I try not to tense at her unexpected statement. "Yes," I say slowly. "Do you know who I am?" I move, putting her at arm's length. We're still under the bush and the light is filtered, but I don't want Kain or Thyrvi to freak her out, so I stay put and try to look into her eyes in the gloom. They have a strange green tinge to them.

She nods. "You're Maddy. This is Featherblade."

A tendril of relief flows through me.

"But I forgot I was Sarra."

The relief dissipates.

"What do you mean, you forgot?"

"I… I woke up under this bush, a few hours ago. I hurt, and I was scared of something, and…" She holds up the feather so I can see it. "And I think I wanted this. A lot."

I squeeze her arm gently as I try to work out what to say.

"We should go and see Erik," I decide eventually.

It takes a little while to get Sarra to the healing rooms, and Kain melts away once I enter the Snake Wing.

Erik is there, and contrary to Kain's prediction, he's careful and kind with Sarra, promising me he'll do whatever he can for her. "I'll keep her in overnight and run some tests. Return first thing in the morning to take her back to the thrall quarters."

"Thank you, hersir ," I tell him.

Thyrvi and I take our time walking back to the Bear Wing. I'm shaken up over Sarra, my body still tight with worry, and when I see Kain leaning against the temple side, I'm relieved.

"Erik's only helping the human because he's curious," he says when I reach him. The anger from earlier is gone. I guess because I'm out of danger now.

I roll my eyes at him and turn down the path to the flower garden.

Kain follows me, and sighs as he watches my massive bear turn in slow circles, sniffing everything she's destroying. "Thor give me strength," he mutters.

"It doesn't matter what Erik's motivation is," I say quietly. "I just want Sarra to be okay."

Kain looks back to me. "Motivation always matters, princess. That's a good rule to learn."

"You ready to tell me yours?" I challenge. After all, he brought it up.

He's silent a while, and I sit next to Thyrvi, who is lying on the grass on her back, trying to catch delicate dandelion burdocks with her massive paws and failing.

"You were right."

I snap my attention to him. "What?"

"You were right. I don't know who set me up."

I swallow, trying to keep a neutral expression on my face. Did whatever wall he broke down in my head have an equivalent in his? Is he going to let me in?

"So… how are you going to get your revenge if you don't know who deserves it?"

"I know that the Valkyrie here betrayed me. They chose the words of liars over centuries of battle-forged trust." His hard voice makes my heart ache. His friends betrayed him. That would make most people bitter.

"They must have had compelling evidence," I say tentatively.

"Very."

Time for the big question. I eye a daisy nonchalantly. "Evidence of what?"

"Nice try, princess." I look back at him with a sigh. He brushes his hand through his hair, his flaming eyes boring into mine. "But you'll have to do better than that if you want all my secrets."

I almost start undressing there and then. Odin's raven , I have barely any control around him.

"I'll trade you."

His lips quirk in a half-smile. "I'm listening."

But I have nothing to offer. He has all my secrets. I've agreed to help him get his helm.

My eyes stray south, and he pushes himself off the wall.

"Oh no, princess. That is given freely and with no conditions, or not at all."

"Are you offering?"

Sparks fly in his eyes. Heat floods me. "I'd fight Odin himself to lay my hands on you," he says quietly. "But it can't be."

Before I can argue, he strolls from the garden.