The Steele Wolf (Iron Butterfly #2)(72)

Kael glanced at the man only briefly before he searched for me in the crowd and caught my backward glance. “I was nearing my limit and needed to turn back instead of go forwards. So I tried to maneuver the skite back towards Skyfell.”

“But that was suicide. You should have tried to ride the wind out and attempt to land then you would have—” A different listener from the gathering crowd had spoken up and immediately quit speaking when he saw Kael’s dark look.

“It was falling like a rock; the wings were damaged so I tried to aim it towards Skyfell. Luckily the skite crashed into a crop of tanglewood vines and I was able to grab on before it fell to the ground.”

“Ahoy, those tanglewoods be the strongest vines in the world, they can only be harvested from underneath our city. You were lucky lad, very lucky.” A larger man that was chewing on what looked to be a piece of straw spoke up; from his dress he was definitely a farmer from Skydown.

“Well, they saved my life and I was able to anchor myself quite comfortably with them and wait out the night. But with morning I had yet to see anyone, so I had to get to a higher spot where someone could see me. So I started climbing.”

By now I had stopped walking completely and watched the crowd of people from Skydown and Skyfell gather around Kael in awe and barrel him with questions.

Kael looked uncomfortable with all of the attention he was getting. The crowds of people that surrounded him and pressed in to touch his arms, his clothes, making him nervous and I could see him sweat. All of it was harmless, but to a trained bodyguard and assassin who was used to looking for hidden knives and attack at every turn this was his worst nightmare. Something he couldn’t defend against, innocent and curious bystanders. I could only imagine that right now he wished that they were a mob of angry attackers. He knew how to ward off those.

Joss looked angry. He was the one who had saved Kael and yet Kael was getting all of the attention.

“Come on.” Joss grabbed my arm and blew on his flute to call Cecili. The dorabill who had been scratching in a hillside looking for rabbits, much like a chicken would look for bugs, looked up and flew over to Joss. Grabbing my arm, he swung me up behind him and took off into the air with Cecili.

“What about Kael?” I asked, worried that we had left him there in a mob of people. I wasn’t worried about Kael but about the bystanders who could get injured.

“He’ll be fine. He’s a SwordBrother. He can handle himself.” That was the only thing Joss said the entire flight to his home.





Chapter 29



It was good to be riding Faraway again. I really missed him and being away from him felt like I was missing a part of myself. Talking to Faraway made me feel less crazy. He was able to pull me out of the spiral of negative feelings and doubts that I could send myself down sometimes. And the trip from Skyfell to Haven was everything that my horse had promised it would be and then some.

We hadn’t stayed long in the Jesai home once Joss had brought us back. A day and a half later we were on the road to Haven. Kael had finally made it back as well but looked like a cat that had all of its fur rubbed the wrong way. He was definitely on edge and kept shooting daggers at Joss. A meeting was soon called. After an hour of discussion it was decided that the best thing to do was take Mona to the Adepts to have them interrogate her and then take an army to flush out the rest of the Septori and their leader.

“I would feel much better if you took more people with you,” Gloria spoke up from her chair in the main room. Now that she was no longer under Mona’s influence, she had regained her strength and was sitting in the same overstuffed chair with pillows that Hemi had designated as his favorite.

She kept apologizing to me every chance she could for the way she had treated me.

“You have to understand, I wasn’t me. I wasn’t really saying those things. I think you are adorable and would be honored to have you in our family.” Since our last encounter I had done my very best to avoid her at all costs. Well, except for this family meeting.

Nero was the one to counter Gloria’s worrying. “We’ve discussed this, darling.” He walked over to Gloria and gently put his hands on her shoulders. She raised her hand to grasp Nero’s.

“It’s just, I’m so worried for them. I don’t want anything to happen to my boy.” She looked over at Joss and he rolled his eyes. “You don’t understand how hard it was for me to know what she was doing to me and not be able to stop it. There were times where I blacked out and had no memories. But other times, I didn’t and it was horrible.” Her eyes widened in fear. “What if she is able to do it again to you?”

“I do understand. I know what it’s like and so does Kael. I think we will be extra careful because of it.” In reality, I didn’t want to be anywhere near Mona, and this whole idea of transporting her made me sick to my stomach.

Kael stepped forward and held up a pouch containing the seeds found in Mona’s room. “This is the seed that, when shaved and boiled, small doses, can be infused in drinks and teas to initiate mind control. Also, it can be concentrated and used to create paralysis. I will be the one administering this to Mona to keep her docile while we travel.”

A few more weak arguments came forward from Gloria but they were quickly set aside as a knock came on the door and Darren entered.

“We are ready,” He spoke to the room, giving Nero a nod and bowing to Gloria.