Forging Silver into Stars

There’s an arrow through my shoulder, but I’ve managed to get to my knees. I feel like I’m going to be sick in the leaves. The queen is alive, off to my left, helping little Nora, whose injuries are more pressing. I think I’ve heard the king’s voice, so I know he’s still alive.

We’re surrounded by bodies. I haven’t seen Jax.

I put my good hand against the leaves, then move to shove myself to my feet.

Before I can, one of the scravers stops in front of me. I barely have time to recognize Nakiis before he wrenches the arrow right out of my shoulder.

It’s so unexpected and so painful that I go to my knees again. This time I do vomit in the leaves.

Stars flare in my blood, but they’re slower than before, sluggish to heal the injury from the Iishellasan steel. I’m coughing and trying to stop when a cold wind sweeps through the clearing, Nakiis lending his magic to mine. The scraver says, “Come now. Even your king did not do that when I pulled his arrow.”

“Oh, that makes me feel better,” I say huskily. “Thank you.” The air is ice cold and full of the scravers’ magic, and I inhale deeply. I can barely think past everything that’s happened, but I need to find Jax.

A gauntleted hand appears in my line of vision. “That doesn’t mean I didn’t want to,” says Grey.

I hesitate, then take his hand to pull myself to my feet. “Grey. Grey, I need to find—”

But then I stop short, because Jax is right there beside him. There are blisters on his hands and blood on his cheeks and his silky hair is a tangled mess, but that’s all I notice before I ignore the pain in my shoulder to throw my arms around his neck.

“You’re alive,” I say, and I feel a bit breathless. “You’re alive.”

“I’m alive,” he says, and his voice wavers as if he’s surprised to hear it, too.

I only hold him for a moment before I pull back to examine him more closely. “Where are you hurt? Tell me.”

“I’m not.” He shakes his head fiercely as if he has to convince himself. “I’m not hurt.”

“No one got close,” says the king. He nods down at Ander’s body, which I now see has an arrow protruding from his neck. “He even took out that one, Tycho.”

My eyes widen, and I wrap my arms around Jax’s neck again. “I knew you were a good shot.”

He laughs breathlessly against my shoulder, but there’s no humor to it. “I’m sure it’ll do me a lot of good when I’m locked up for treason.”

I go still. Despite everything, I forgot Jax’s role here. He and Callyn might have helped, but they’re not innocent.

I look up and find Grey’s eyes. As usual, I can read nothing in his expression.

But after everything, he can’t be lenient. Not now. Not about this. I swallow and wonder if I’m going to end up in a cell right beside Jax, because there’s no way I’m going to let Grey lock him up.

But after a moment, the king reaches out and claps Jax on the shoulder. “You risked your life to protect the king,” he says. “Surely that’s worth discussing a pardon, don’t you think?”

As injuries are assessed and words of gratitude are shared, the scravers begin to withdraw. Wings beat hard against the air, and they leap into the trees. Nakiis is among them.

“Wait!” I call to him. “Where are you going?”

“I’ll find you when I need you,” he calls back. “Remember our bargain, young magesmith.”

Jax is by my side, and he looks over. “ ‘Young magesmith’?” he echoes.

“That’s going to take a bit of explaining.”

The king’s eyes are on me, and I know his focus is on the other half of that statement. Remember our bargain.

I wait for him to ask me again.

He doesn’t.

“We’ll have to secure this lane,” he says. “And wait for Rhen’s forces to get here. There’s no telling what’s waiting for us at the palace. They surely had a plan beyond this.”

The queen rises from where she was kneeling with Nora, and she looks at the sky, at the retreating scravers. “I will take the girls to the bakery,” she says. “Callyn says we can see the road from there. We’d have plenty of warning.” Without waiting for an answer, she moves away to do exactly that.

I look around the stretch of forest, at the aftermath of the battle. We’ll have much to do before Rhen’s forces get here. I shake out my aching shoulder and sigh.

“I’ll help you back to the forge,” I say to Jax, and he nods.

“Tycho,” says the king, and I stop. His gaze is intense, unyielding. “Whatever it is,” he says, “does it put you in danger?”

I’m not sure how to answer that—because I truly have no idea. So I give him an unyielding look right back. “No more than what I do for you.”