Page 85 of The Iron Hex

“Do you know how my visions work?” Maeve asked.

“Is that a rhetorical question?” Rhona countered. Obviously she didn’t know how the seer saw the future aside from brief mentions in passing, and Rhona hadn’t wanted to know. Part of her still didn’t.

“Fair,” Maeve laughed breathily. “It takes energy and focus. The visions don’t just come to me. I noticed there were some changes last time to some of the people I try to seer about, so I’ve just... spent a bit too much energy this week seering about the changes.”

“Is it normal for magic to drain you like that?” Rhona asked, interested and yet trying to fight the pit in her stomach that still hated everything about magic.

“It’s a balance. Using magic gives me energy to an extent, because of the Flow.” Maeve cocked an eyebrow as she gauged Rhona’s reaction to her using the term “Flow,” and Rhona couldn’t control her reaction of disgust. The lady smirked, though a sadness rested somewhere in her gaze. “You can’t just destroy the Flow by telling people it’s not real.”

“I know, it’s just difficult to erase years of training in an instant,” Rhona said, not apologizing, but understanding how her disgust could hurt Maeve for the first time.

“I know, but you must try because I can promise you, you’ll nee—” Maeve clamped her mouth shut, clearly stopping herself from divulging something about Rhona’s future. What else did the woman know? What was she hiding? Maeve carried on, bringing the conversation back to where it had been. “So, if I try to seer too much, the Flow starts to take from me and leaves me tired. I’m sure fighting is similar for you. The rush can be invigorating at first to help you fight more and then as you push harder and further, it starts to take from you. Everything in life is a give and take.”

“So a witch’s power isn’t unlimited?” Rhona asked as she tried to push the earlier comment out of her mind... Why would she need to get used to the term for Astra’s forbidden magic? Nevertheless, she hoped the answer to whether they had limited power was yes. If there were more hidden witches like Maeve, she at least hoped they had a threshold for their abilities.

“Never unlimited, but witches with more power can cast more and for longer. I’m just a seer. I can’t do much more than think about people I want to know about and see the visions given to me when I tap into the Flow.”

“Visions do not come to you?” Rhona asked.

“Very rarely, and generally only for people I often go looking for in visions—it’s as if the Flow learns who I wish to know about,” Maeve chuckled. “It’s quite annoying because it first showed me you in a vision about myself, and I had to figure out who you were.”

A pause filled the air. Rhona didn’t enjoy thinking about how Maeve had manipulated her way into their alliance... friendship now. Although she was grateful that the relationship existed, if only for the opportunity to get to know Maeve. Rhona didn’t know how she felt anymore. “I’m sorry for insinuating you looked bad,” Rhona said, twiddling her thumbs to push down her feeling of discomfort.

Maeve stood and walked over to Rhona’s settee and sat next to her, grabbing one of Rhona’s hands before embracing her.

Rhona couldn’t remember the last time she’d been hugged, felt the warm touch and comfort of another person. She felt tears prickling in her eyes, pain searing through them as she tried to hold the emotions back.

“You didn’t hurt my feelings,” Maeve whispered. “Thank you for coming and speaking to me, though. I know that this must have been challenging for you.”

“I’m just sorry if it hurt your feelings,” Rhona repeated, stiff and unsure of how to respond to the affection and kindness.

“Rhona,” Maeve said, reaching a hand out and gently tipping Rhona’s head up by the chin so Rhona would look at her, their faces mere inches from each other. “I enjoy your presence, and I appreciate that you cared enough to ask about my health amid your concerns about your friend.”

“Okay.” Rhona nodded, Maeve’s hand still on her chin, and a flush of heat ripped through Rhona. “I enjoy your presence too.”

Maeve smiled and put her head on Rhona’s shoulder as a single tear rolled down Rhona’s cheek.

42

Eira

Five and a half days later, they arrived at a small inn about five minutes outside of Luwha, just as the sun was starting to set. Though he had initially aimed to get them there as quickly as possible, Hugo had ultimately decided to take the three of them through less-used pathways to the city to avoid other people traveling to and from the city. Their run-in with the spies had shaken something in him, and keeping Eira safe had become even more of a priority than it already had been. While they had likely avoided the detection of prying eyes that might report back to the Iron Retinue, they also had had to trek through exceptionally deep snow for much of their journey, lengthening the trek in their bid to stay hidden.

Eira could see a fire crackling through the window of the tavern as they tied their horses in the stables for the night, and she yearned to feel that warmth. She handed Arthur a piece of dried apple from her bag as Hugo turned to head into the tavern, scratching the horse’s nose and telling him to have a nice night.

The Griffon’s Nest sat nestled at the base of a mountain, and as Eira, Hugo, and Evangeline stepped into the bar it was clearthat this was a popular spot. A bard sat on a stool on the stage in one corner, strumming a lute and singing. There was a group of boisterous miners playing cards in another corner, and the bar, of course, was packed. Eira supposed Luwha was similar to Cilirien; there wasn’t much to do outside of drink and try to be merry.

Eira followed Hugo as he wedged his way into a tiny empty section of the bar, grabbing her hand and waiting for the barkeep to say something to them. Evangeline scoffed as Eira took Hugo’s hand and then waved her own hand dismissively as she turned around to look for a table.

“Hi there! I’m Carth,” the young man behind the bar said to Hugo after watching them approach, turning a bright smile his way. “You looking for a room?”

Hugo smiled in response, his lip lifting higher on the side without a scar—it sent Eira’s heart fluttering. “You bet. We need two rooms,” Hugo said.

“I’ve got a few left for the night. Two next to each other okay?” Carth said, tossing the cleaning towel over his shoulder, a piece of his pulled-back hair falling into his glasses-covered eyes. Hugo nodded.

“Perfect,” Carth said as he handed them two keys and Hugo handed him the coins for the stay. “Rooms come with a round, what can I get you?”

“Three meads, one of them whatever is your sweetest. The other two... whatever is your strongest,” Hugo answered.