THE BOND OF IRON CONTD.
466 Words
Later that night, Kai stood on the battlements, alone. The moon hung low and fat over the Sunder. He turned the ring over in his fingers.
He heard a soft footstep behind him.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said without turning.
“And you shouldn’t be holding that ring.” Nova stepped up beside him. “It’s dangerous.”
“Your mother gave it to me.”
“My mother is dangerous too.” Nova looked at the ring. “Witch magic is unpredictable. It could bind you to me forever,or it could burn your finger off.”
Kai smiled. “Which do you prefer?”
“I don’t know you well enough to prefer anything.”
“Then let’s fix that.” He turned to face her. “Tell me one thing about yourself that isn’t about killing.”
Nova was silent for a long moment. Then she said, “I like the rain. When I was a child, I used to stand in the courtyard of Duskhollow and let it soak me. My father would come out with an umbrella and yell at me to come inside.” Her voice softened. “He died a century ago. The creature took him.”
Kai’s smile faded. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I barely remember his face.” She looked at the ring. “But I remember the rain.”
They stood in silence. The wind carried the scent of the Sunder-cold water and old stone.
“I like pie,” Kai said. “Obviously.”
Nova laughed, a real laugh, short and surprised. “You burned a pie.”
“I burn every pie. It’s my specialty.”
“Then you’re a terrible cook.”
“I’m an Alpha. I don’t need to cook.”
“Alphas need to eat.”
“That’s what servants are for.”
Nova shook her head. “You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
She looked at the ring again. “Put it on.”
Kai raised an eyebrow. “Now?”
“Now. Let’s see if the magic works.” She held out her hand. “If it does, we talk more. If it doesn’t, we go back to hating each other.”
Kai stared at her hand. Then at the ring.
He slipped it onto his finger.
The ring grew warm. The runes flared and then went dark.
Nothing happened.
Nova pulled her hand back. “It didn’t work.”
“No.”
“Good.” She turned away. “Then we have nothing to talk about.”
She walked back into the shadows.
Kai looked at the ring. It was cold again. But for a moment, just a moment,he had felt something. A pulse. A thread.
He didn’t tell her.
- Writer
