Page 14 of A Touch of Iron
I snorted. “Well, you both bettergetcomfortable, because I’m your only lifeline to Violet. And right now, you’re going to need it.”
Ansel gripped my arm and hauled me toward him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
I sighed. “The King … sent her to do a trial.”
Ansel stumbled back, his eyes wide in horror. He knew the ramifications of a trial and what it meant for not just Violet, but all of us.
Tessa shot up from the sofa, her forgotten utensils clanging on the glass table as she glanced between us. “What does that mean? What happened to Violet?”
“He sent her to do ahumantrial?” Ansel clarified.
I shook my head. “Sending her back to the human realm was pointless. She’s doing it in the Fae realm. Specifically, Air Village.”
“How can he do this? Why? I did everything he asked of me!” Ansel shouted.
“Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?” Tessa screamed, her voice rising to hysterical levels.
Exhausted, I turned to Violet’s mother. “The King is trying to tame Violet, which is why you are here. Because you wouldn’t reveal who her father is, he found a loophole to keep her under his thumb, which was to tell her she doesn’t belong to a fae family and as such, shouldn’t receive the honors or protection such a distinction would provide.”
“A fae family? He’s saying she has to endure a trial all because she doesn’t have a family name?” Ansel asked. I nodded. “That’s ridiculous!” he sputtered. “We don’t even use them anymore!”
“That’s what I said, but he’s reaching for any excuse he can, and this is it.” I shook my head and snorted. “And, well, you know Violet. She threatened the King and told him she’d make her own name, which is how the idea of a trial came about. She had no clue what she was getting herself into, but she agreed anyway. She left yesterday.”
“And you’re justnowtelling me?” Ansel exclaimed.
“There was no time, brother. And they made a special point to dictate that we can’t interfere.”
“Bullshit.” Ansel pushed past me and stormed towards the door.
I grabbed him before he could get that far. “Ansel, listen to me! If you interfere, you’ll mess everything up! If there’s even a whisper that it was biased, her trial will become null and void and she will have endured it for nothing.”
He ripped his arm out of my grip with a snarl. “I can’t just sit around and do nothing, Alec.”
I tried to soothe his fragile ego. “Youaredoing something. You’re watching over her mother. She’s doing this so the King won’t be able to keep her under his thumb. Keep her mother safe so everything she’s doing will be worth it.”
Ansel lowered his head and bit his bottom lip. “Love is a suffering,” he mumbled.
He voiced my worry. Love was a suffering the King could force her to endure. He could place someone in her path, only to rip them away. My feelings for Vi were conflicted, to say the least, but Ansel actually had a relationship with her.
“Have faith, little brother … have faith,” I whispered. I needed to take my own advice.
8
VIOLET
Calypso and I sat on the grass in my front yard, facing one another and practicing breathing techniques. I’d woken up a week ago without my memories and all she’d taught me how to do was breathe. I fought to keep my frustration at bay. I wanted to learn how to use my air elemental powers, not how to meditate.
I groaned loudly. “Ugh! I’m so tired of this!” I shouted into the quiet of the forest. “I’m ready for the real stuff!” I opened my eyes and watched as Calypso slowly opened hers.
“Patience, Aurora. You’re not going to learn air in a week,” she said as she breathed out, her chest rising and falling evenly. “There is still much to learn.”
I flung myself back onto the grass in a huff, flailing my arms and legs wide. “This just seems pointless.”
“It might seem so now, but I promise you that controlling your breaths will make you a great air elemental,” she declared. “And what I want is not for you to simply learn how to use air, I want you to master it. Become better than anyone else. Even better than me.”
I sat up quickly. “Better than you?” I gasped. “No way! You’re the leader of the air elementals. No one’s better than you.”
She shrugged. “You could be.”
