Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment, #2)(38)

She was moving toward danger.

Toward him.





{15}

Strike Bars E and R




“Do you think I should send it to Helena?” Iris asked the next morning. She and Attie were sitting at Lonnie Fielding’s kitchen table, waiting for breakfast to be served. Tobias was outside, cranking the roadster’s engine. He was about to leave for Oath, and Iris had spent most of the night preparing articles for the Inkridden Tribune.

Attie set the papers down. Her lips were pursed, her left brow cocked. Iris knew that meant she was deep in thought.

“I think you should, Iris,” Attie finally said, pouring herself a second cup of tea. Steam rose in the air, fragranced with bergamot and lavender. “At the very least, Helena will want to see it, even if she doesn’t publish it in the paper.”

Iris nodded, staring at her pages. It was nothing like the original myth Roman had once found and sent to her, but it was close enough. The doomed love story of Dacre and Enva. How he used his hounds and his eithrals to terrify mortals above until Enva had agreed to live below with him.

“The only thing I wonder…” Iris trailed off, grimacing. “Should I include the second half when Enva sang him to weep, then laugh, then sleep?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Attie asked.

“I don’t know. But I have this feeling.”

“What feeling?”

“A warning, maybe. Like this knowledge shouldn’t be broadcast in the paper.”

“That Enva’s music controlled him when she played underground?” Attie reached for the pitcher of milk. “But what if it was widely known? Maybe people’s opinions on music wouldn’t be so severe.”

“Or maybe they would only worsen,” Iris said. “Maybe people like the chancellor already know of this myth, and that is why he outlawed stringed instruments. That is why this story has been torn away from all the tomes about divinities and why it was never taught to us in school. Because it’s dangerous.”

Attie didn’t have a chance to reply. The back door opened and Tobias stepped into the kitchen, his trench coat beaded with mist.

“Are your articles ready?” he asked them.

“Good morning to you, too,” Attie said wryly. “Shouldn’t you eat breakfast before you depart?”

“No. A storm’s blowing in from the west. I need to outrun it.”

“Can we have Mr. Fielding pack you a lunch, at least?” Iris said. “He’s cooking right now.”

Tobias granted her a smile, a dimple marking his cheek. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be fine.”

Attie already had their articles packed in a folder, ready for transport. She slid it across the table; Tobias seamlessly picked it up.

“When will you be back?” she asked.

“Tomorrow evening,” he replied. “I need to have the roadster serviced in Oath, which will delay me. You both remember our agreement?”

Iris was quiet, but she recalled Tobias’s request from the other night. It was hard for her to think about something happening to him on the road when their surroundings felt so normal and familiar, as if the three of them had been here before. Indeed, Lonnie Fielding was whistling as he cooked in the adjacent kitchen. Bacon was sizzling in a pan and a kettle was hissing. The dining room was a cluttered space with a timber-beamed ceiling and books piled up in the corners. Iris felt safe here, but she knew Tobias was right. Things could escalate quickly, just like they had in the Bluff. Their group needed to be prepared for the worst.

She shuddered, pulling the sleeves of her jumpsuit over her hands as she crossed her arms.

“Don’t worry, Bexley.” Attie finally broke the silence. “We won’t wait on you if people begin evacuating.”

Tobias held her stare for a moment before nodding. Then he turned and was out the door before Iris could so much as blink. She realized her typed myth was still on the table, and in that split second, she decided she wanted to send it.

She followed Tobias out the door, running along the stone path through the garden to the road. He was just about to drive away, his hand on the gearstick, when Iris caught his attention.

“Wait! I have one more article,” she panted, holding up the papers.

Tobias didn’t seem shocked. He only snorted as he handed the folder to Iris.

“You’ll be careful?” she said as she hurried to tuck her papers inside.

“Of course,” he replied. “I’ll see you and Attie tomorrow night.”

Iris nodded and stepped back. The mist swirled as Tobias drove away, but Iris remained standing on the cobbled street, soaking in the morning.

She had never been to Bitteryne before, but it felt like Avalon Bluff and River Down. Cottages, winding streets, idyllic pasture views. When the war is over, she thought, I’d like to live in a place like this one.

The peace was broken when Iris felt a rumble beneath her feet. She stared at the cobblestones in disbelief before glancing up the road, wondering if a line of lorries was driving into town. But there were no signs of life on the streets.

The rumbling faded, although Iris could still feel an echo of it in her bones.

She remembered the night before—the clinking beneath the floor. Like axes hitting stone, deep in the earth. Swallowing, Iris turned and hurried back inside.