Page 166 of Of Iron and Moonlight

They gathered low behind a thicket of icy bramble.

Elara turned to Kalaetzu. “Anything else you recall? Anything that might help us?”

Kalaetzu’s brow creased. “I was kept primarily in the laboratory, not entrusted with more. The rest of the facility is as unknown to me as it is to you.”

“Njall?”

Njall rubbed at his jaw, violet eyes narrowing. “I’ve been inside only once, and briefly.” He gestured toward the distant blur of the island. “The oraivane storage room is the best way in. Guard rotations there are less rigid. And it leads straight to the laboratory.”

“That’s the plan.” Elara drew in a breath that trembled somewhere between resolve and dread. “We board the next ship. We wait for the right moment, then slip off to the warehouse.” She glanced toward the empty satchel at Kalaetzu’s hip. “We must restock. Then…” Her eyes moved from face to face. “We divide and search for Lorrain.”

She forced a humorless smile. “What could possibly go wrong?”

Kalaetzu lifted his shoulders wearily. “At least there are no wards. The water here is cold enough to maim anyone who falls in. No one wastes magic defending what nature already guards. No one expects an escape.”

“And no one expects anyone foolish enough to return,” Gavriel added, his stomach turning at the thought of willingly stepping inside another prison. “The last place they would search for us.”

“There’s a chance word hasn’t reached them yet,” Kalaetzu offered gently.

“Perhaps,” Njall said suddenly, as if the thought had been lodged in him for some time and he could no longer contain it, “I should go in alone.”

They turned toward him in unison. Three different expressions. The same disbelief.

“Absolutely not,” Elara said.

Njall shook his head. “Kalaetzu is too recognizable. Gavriel is still recovering from…” He glanced at Gavriel, then returned to Elara. “And you are human. You should not be wandering through a fortress full of fae loyal to Oorlon. Without any way to defend yourself.”

“And you are not recognizable?” Elara’s eyes flashed. “I will not remain here while Lorrain is inside those walls.” Her voice was uneven, but her resolve did not weaken. She swept a hand toward the others. “I won’t speak for them. But you won’t dissuade me. I am going whether you approve or not.”

“We have come too far to turn back now, child,” Kalaetzu said, laying a calm hand on her shoulder. “If I retreat at this point, I will carry that shame the rest of my life. And besides,” he added with a faint, crooked smile, “I have already broken more rules than are written in the Tsuchitsan Code. One more will not ruin me.”

Njall’s frustration turned into a low, restrained growl. He looked ready to press the argument further, perhaps even hold them back by force if necessary. His eyes met Elara’s, and for several taut heartbeats neither yielded. Her eyes narrowed. His mouth opened, but no sound came. A silent exchange passed between them.

“Might I suggest this,” Gavriel ventured carefully, as though easing himself between lightning and dry brush. “When we separate inside, we do so in pairs. That gives us twice the chance of finding Lorrain, and none of us walks alone.”

Elara nodded at once. “Njall and I know what Lorrain looks like. So we should not be paired.”

Gavriel turned to Kalaetzu. “You go with Njall. As a last resort, you can glamour both of you. It needn’t be perfect, just enough to conceal your recognizable features.”

“I may be able to manage something if pressed,” Kalaetzu agreed.

“Elara and I, meanwhile, can pass for human captives,” Gavriel said. “Confused. Frightened.” He lifted his palms. “I assure you that part will require very little performance.” He exhaled. “And if something goes wrong… I may not be back to full strength, but I can at least wave a blade around with sufficient enthusiasm.”

The strain in Njall’s shoulders did not vanish, but he let out a reluctant grunt of agreement.

“That’s settled,” Elara said. “Once we reach the island, we have three hours. That is our window before the last ship returns to the mainland.” A guard call sounded somewhere in the distance. She swallowed. “If we miss it, we remain there until dawn. So we do not miss it.”

On that cheerful note, they left the ditch for the docks, moving from brush to shadow as the sea air sharpened around them. The vessel they had chosen was a smaller cargo transport. Norrelian sailors shouted final instructions while the tide tugged impatiently at the hull.

Gavriel felt his pulse hammer against his breath as they slipped into the ship’s hold. Barrels and sacks crowded the dim interior, stacked into uneven walls that turned the ship’s belly into a dark maze with a bitter, metallic undercurrent of oraivane soaked deep into the timber.

Njall and Elara crouched behind two tall crates. Kalaetzu wedged himself into a gap between supplies. Gavriel positioned himself a few feet away near mounds of grain sacks, where he could see the thinnest blade of sunlight falling from the stairwell.

The ship lurched once. Then again, as the tide seized it.

The hull creaked in long, ragged notes.

Suddenly the hold seemed to close in on him.