Page 32 of Of Ash and Iron (Flame Cursed Fae #3)

Chapter 32

Maddy

N obody here should know about the Helm of Embers.

An uneasy feeling rolls through me. Sarra knows. Could she have gone through his room and taken the helm before she went off into the forest?

But why in the name of Odin's arse would Sarra want the helm?

"When did you notice it was gone?" I ask.

"This morning."

I let out a breath. It wasn’t Sarra; she's been in the healing rooms for three days now. "And you've told nobody?"

He gives me a look. "Who the fuck would I tell? You're the only person here who speaks to me."

"Has anyone been following you? Or been in your rooms?"

My stomach twists unpleasantly at the thought of somebody in his room with him, before reality sets it straight. He burns anyone he touches. It's not like he's secretly sleeping with someone else. Plus he's right—everyone else here is too terrified to speak to him.

"No. This is far more likely to have come from your carelessness than mine."

I glare at him. "You're the only one following me. And if you missed someone else doing it, then that's on you."

We face each other for an awkward few beats before I give in to my stream of questions.

"Do you think whoever it is knows about the vault?"

He looks uneasy. "I don't know."

"If they do, can they get the ship names before us?"

He frowns as he shakes his head. "I doubt it. Without your gallery, it would take a long time to find them."

I bite my lip. With my gallery, it's going to take a long time to find them.

And now, there may be more urgency than I thought.

The next week feels like the longest seven days I've ever experienced.

I'm worried about Sarra constantly, and despite my frequently pestering him, Erik refuses to let me see her.

All the rooks who were starting to relax around me now seem nervous again. None of them are readily approaching me, except Garda when she finally gets control of her bear and I show her around the Bear Wing, and Henrik, who's his usual affable self.

Thankfully Eldith is no different, and as she was the only one who already knew I had a human friend here, I tell her over dinner one evening why I volunteered for the Oskorela .

"That's admirable," she tells me with a sincere squeeze of the shoulder. "She's lucky to have you as a friend."

I gave her a vague version of the story, not one that included the fact that I gave Sarra Aldrich's staff in the first place and am probably responsible for her condition, but I thank Eldith anyway.

"How is it going with Lauf?"

She looks down at the green wolf by her side. She looks relaxed at first glance, but there's a tension in her powerful haunches, and her sharp eyes are watching everything.

"Amazing. It's like everything I've known has been inside me my whole life but haven't quite been able to reach is suddenly right here."

Lauf glances up at her, and Eldith smiles. They've bonded quickly, Eldith gaining full control in just a few days. I'm not really surprised.

"And lessons with Valdis?"

She wrinkles her nose. "Odd. Valdis gets superior speed from her wolf by absorbing its power. I don't get that, but Lauf can reach a foe in half the time I can. Valdis is learning as much as we are, to be honest."

I nod. I've only done one session with Harald in the training room in the Bear Wing, and it was much the same. Watching Thyrvi swinging full force at the Valkyrie was terrifying at first, but when Harald absorbs the power of his huge creature, he physically swells and his face morphs. He gave as good as Thyrvi could throw at him, even in fae form. Wings help.

"Do you think we have it better than them? Or would you like to embody our animal's powers?" I wonder aloud.

Would I want to turn into a berserker myself, able to wield as much strength as Thyrvi? Or would I rather have her by my side, communicating with me?

I know immediately that I wouldn't give that up. In fact, the more I think about it, the more certain I am that I wouldn't change a thing about me and Thyrvi. I don't think Kain would change anything about him and Skoll, though, either.

"There's double the power this way," Eldith answers. "I can use my magic, while Lauf can go full-on wolf." She stares at the wolf a minute, eyes bright. "She's looking forward to battle," she says quietly.

"Thyrvi is always ready for battle too," I say. As casually as I can, I ask, "Are you getting much in the way of… bloodlust urges?"

She looks at me. "I want to fight. I want to win. But nothing more violent than I expected when coming to Featherblade to train to be a Valkyrie." I nod, and she cocks her head. "Are you?"

"Definitely more thoughts about fighting, but no desire to eviscerate just yet." I smile.

With almost all the rooks now with val-tivars , it becomes increasingly hard to concentrate on any teachings that are indoors. Birds of all sizes and speeds fly and squawk under beams, wolves snarl and snap at each other, and intricately scaled snakes slither across tabletops.

Small skirmishes break out in almost all sessions where we are supposed to be quiet, and for the first time in my life, I'm not the most disruptive force in the room.

On Wednesday, Erik tells us all that there will only be healing teachings now, and all other training will be combat-, magic-, or val-tivar- related.

I'm excited by the news. It means more time with Thyrvi and more time spent getting stronger, physically training. It does also mean I have to move my forging time to the evenings, but with Erik still not allowing me to see Sarra, it gives me something to do.

It only takes me three or four hours to get most of the frame of a bow made, and when I'm back in Thyrvi's nest, I teach myself to braid the fine thread to make it strong enough for the string.

I also spend hours every night trying to find the other ship names.

On Thursday, I find the Shadow Court ship name in an especially boring history lesson both my sister and I sat in on when we were young. Saebroga . At first, I'm elated, but when I think about telling Kain, my joy falters.

His accusation and the resulting row rings in my mind.

I really shouldn't trust him. And taking his piece of the helm actually would have been the smart thing for me to do.

The thing is, somebody else has it now. Maybe the other half is safer in the vault, exactly where it been all this time, likely for good reason?

Indecision plagues me, but I keep searching. Having the ship names is different to actually using them. At least this way I'm keeping my options open. After all, who knows what else might be in there? Featherblade wants me to get inside the vault, of that I'm still sure.

It takes me the rest of the week to find the Gold Court ship name, in an unlikely place.

One of the times my sister and I snuck out to visit the alehouse in the nearest village, there was a bard singing lively songs about his travels through the courts. His song about the Gold Court was mostly memorable for his vivid depiction of a beautiful gold-fae female standing before so much gold that he and his friends were temporarily blinded. The female then helped him wreak complete havoc in the abundantly wealthy court. Buried in the bawdy lyrics of his song, amongst the roars of encouragement from the drinkers, was the ship name I was looking for. At the end of the tale, the beautiful fae helped them escape the Gold Court on the royal ship itself. Baruormr .

Try as I might, though, no matter how many memories I trawl through, I can't find the name of the Earth Court ship.

On Saturday morning, it is announced that neither Selma nor Ulrika have returned from the Oskorela .

A somber mood descends over the feasting hall, and I abandon the rest of my breakfast. I'm not the only one to leave on hearing the awful news. When I round the corner of the Wolf Wing, I see Henrik locked in a fierce embrace with Garda.

Thyrvi, who was waiting in the water outside the Wolf Wing for me, bounds up onto the path, breaking yet more railings, and shakes her fur enthusiastically.

Garda leaps back from Henrik as the droplets cover her.

"Shit, Thyrvi! I thought shaking was for dogs and lesser bears?" I wipe water from my face.

"I am without hay."

I turn to Garda. "Sorry."

Her pale skin is flushed as she shrugs. "She can do whatever the fuck she likes," she says, staring at Thyrvi.

"That is what I have been trying to tell you. I can do anything I like," my bear says.

I try not to roll my eyes at her.

"We were just, you know… taking comfort," Henrik says awkwardly.

I hold my hands up. "Nothing to do with me," I say. "I'm happy for you both."

"Just didn't want you to think death turns us on or anything."

I shake my head. "No, that's not what I was thinking. I was thinking that you were in the 'we should live our lives for the moment' place."

Henrik smiles at me. "Exactly. I lost someone I loved once." He glances at Garda and adds hurriedly, "Not a lover. A leader. I traveled the whole of Yggdrasil with him, and he will never be replaced. But he lived life for every opportunity he could, and faced everything fearlessly, kindly, and with a smile."

Something sparks in my mind as Garda smiles at Henrik warmly.

"He was a noble?" I ask him.

"Yes, though he didn't often act like one."

"Did he have his own ship?"

"Of course."

"So you never traveled on the Earth Court royal ship?"

Henrik shrugs. "We traveled in fleet with it more than once."

Excitement surges through me. "What's it called?"

"Huh?"

"The Earth Court royal ship—what is it called?"

" Hlunnbjorn ," he says, looking at me like I'm crazy as I clap my hands together and bite back a shout of delight.

That's it. I have all the ship names.