Free Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead Page B

question,” I pointed out. “Could it end the war? Peacefully?”
    He sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe. But as much as you fear me going out today … I’d worry more about you going after this trinket.”
    I caught hold of his hand. “You wouldn’t help?” I teased, though I still wasn’t buying any of it.
    His free hand cupped my face. “I would if I could. And maybe I could. If the legends are true, you pass through iron fields to get to it. Hardly any of the shining ones could do that. I might be able to, with my abilities…. I’d stand a better chance than most.”
    I didn’t like the tone of his voice. It sounded as though he was actually considering this. He might connect with the elements of the earth, but iron was still beyond him.
    “I could bring Volusian,” I said, wanting to distract him. “If something happens to him, no harm done, eh?”
    Dorian’s face stayed serious. “No, the legends are quite clear. The Iron Crown’s lair is blocked to the dead.”
    “Well, none of it matters,” I said. “The whole idea is ridiculous.”
    His face lightened, and he pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “Which is why I leave now.”
    My heart sank, knowing the inevitable had arrived. I hurriedly put on my jeans and shirt so that I could see him and the accompanying soldiers off. I knew the armies they would join were massive, but as he rode off toward the rising sun, his group seemed so frighteningly small. When he was out of my sight, I went to summon the rest of my own party. It was time for us to go home.
    Most had enjoyed their “night out,” but my mood that morning soon set the tone for our journey back. The one small comfort to my dark morning was that Jasmine hadn’t gotten impregnated. Shaya assured me that my sister had never left her sight throughout the night and that Jasmine hadn’t actually even tried anything sinister. She had simply been content to be away from my castle. Eyeing her tight iron cuffs and the chains that connected them, I felt a small pang of guilt. I quickly banished it. Those constraints had to stay.
    After that, it was time for another Tucson jump. I first summoned Volusian and sent him to Dorian’s side, both for backup and later reports. I knew Dorian wouldn’t welcome my minion, but his having a fighter that couldn’t be killed would certainly make me feel better. Once that and other household affairs were settled, I went back to join humanity.
    The scene at my house was nearly the same as yesterday. A quiet morning, with Tim cooking inthe kitchen. Only, today he was dolled up in full costume.
    “You’re Lakota,” I said, once he’d recovered from the shock of my abrupt arrival. “What happened to Tlingit?”
    He shrugged. “The Tlingit are cool, but your average stereotype-loving tourist expects this.” He wore tassled buckskin pants and a long feathered headdress. His bare tanned chest looked like it had been oiled, and it had beaded necklaces hanging on it. Studying him, I reconsidered. He wasn’t true Lakota either. Just some amalgamation of stereotypes, like he’d said.
    “Why are you dressed up so early? Morning commuters aren’t going to stop for poetry slams.”
    “It’s Saturday, Eug.”
    “Is it?” I asked, startled. My timing was all awry with my double life.
    “There’s a cultural fest out by the university, just begging to hear my beautiful insights on nature.” He flipped some sunny-side up eggs onto a plate with a flourish.
    “A cultural—?” I groaned. “Tim, the local tribes will be there. You know they’ll try to beat you up again.”
    He flashed me a grin. “Be a pal. Come protect me.”
    “Can’t. Too much stuff to do.”
    A knock at the back door astonished us both. We didn’t get a lot of visitors. Hoping it wasn’t a missionary, I opened the door and gaped at what I found. I couldn’t have been more surprised if Katrice had come calling. It was Lara. She smiledat my shock. I almost never saw her in the flesh. She