A Kingdom of Iron & Wine : New Adult Fantasy Romance (The Ironworld Series Book 1)

by Candace Osmond

  I rifled back through my recent memories. “I remember everything being dark. The lights were blue and purple. Dark smoke covered the floor. Eerie music with a deep bass vibrated everywhere. Like some kind of creepy rave.” I shuddered.

  “Can you remember anything else?” Julie asked. “Details. Images. Names. Conversations. Did Vassia tell you anything?”

  I shook my head. “It happened so fast. This bouncer guy made me drink this purple liquor shot before I went in–”

  “You drank the purple liquid?” Moya asked, suddenly sizing me up curiously. “And you remembered everything the next morning?”

  I nodded as my thoughts came to a halt. “Yeah, and I even saw through Julie’s glamor. Why? Is that bad?”

  “I would think quite the opposite,” Moya replied and drank her wine. “But I suppose it depends on how you look at it. The club is called Umbra, and the purple liquid is bewitched. Harmless,” she added at my raised brows. “But if a human ever does somehow come by the club, the purple drink makes them forget all that had happened in the Club of Nightmares. But…” The sea maiden cocked her head to the side as she looked me up and down. “It appears to have no effect on you.”

  A layer of self-consciousness burned beneath my skin, and one look from Julie told me she knew how I felt. When I didn’t reply, Julie said, “What else can you tell us about the club? What did you see?”

  My throat tightened. “There were these guys.”

  My best friend’s body straightened and tensed. “Guys?”

  I nodded and sipped from my wine. “Yeah. Two of them. They… they were Fae, I think. They tried to blind me with this light–” My mind seared as I recalled the events that already felt like eons ago. I shook my head. “I don’t know. It was all so–” I gasped, my eyes wide. “There was a truck!”

  “A truck?” Moya asked and inched forward.

  “Yes.” I pressed my lips together. “A white truck, like a delivery kind. And there was a symbol on the side.”

  “What did it look like?” Moya tensed and crossed her arms as she held a breath.

  “I didn’t get a good look,” I said. “We were running, and I was trying to round up all the fairies… but it was some kind of animal.” I picked up a stick and drew it in the dirt. A canine head. “A dog or something.”

  They exchanged a glance, and Moya nodded. Julie rolled her eyes with a hefty sigh. “No, not a dog. It’s a wolf.”

  “A wolf?”

  She nodded. Her hands on her hips. “Therians. They basically rule the city. Heck, the country, even.” When she saw the confusion on my face, she added. “Werewolves.” I felt my expression pale, and Julie laughed. “Not like you think. They’re people, but also shapeshifters. You wouldn’t know a Therian from the next person in Ironworld.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  Moya smiled. “The myth is that they used to be able to change into anything they wanted. But, somewhere along the way, they enforced a Lycan form and now….” She shrugged the arm not holding a drink. “That’s just what they are.”

  “Also, some of the richest and most powerful beings in Ironworld,” Julie said with a hint of annoyance. I wondered just how much they dealt with Therians. She leaned back against the edge of a picnic table. “We’ve suspected them of kidnapping Solitary Fae for some time now. See, Faerie is the birthplace of mythical creatures, but Ironworld has its own beasts. Therian shapeshifters, for one. Although, they originally came from Faerie, hundreds of years ago.”

  I swallowed dryly. “And… vampires?”

  They both gave me a similar look. One that said, what?

  “How do you know about vampires?” Julie asked me.

  “Lattie mentioned it,” I replied and chewed at the corner of my lip.

  Neither of them spoke, leaving me in a comfortable silence as I processed my way through it all. My entire world was transforming at lightning speed, and I could barely keep up. But I wanted to. Deep down, part of me screamed to be heard. This is what you’ve always wanted!

  Finally, Julie had enough of the silence. She huffed a sigh, but when I glanced up at her, she smiled. “The world is not what you thought it was, Avery.”

  “I’m beginning to realize that.” And the very thought brought a grin to my face.

  Moya’s many bangles chimed in the air. “Can you show us where you entered the club?” she asked.

  “Go back?” My insides twirled.

  “You’d be perfectly safe, I assure you,” she replied with a lazy smile. “I just need to see the entrance.” Those ancient eyes flashed at me. “You’d be doing a good thing, Avery. If you’re correct, you could help save a lot more lives.”

  It felt good to help save those fairies from the nightclub. And the rush of it lasted for hours afterward. I’d gone home to bed, where I laid wide awake for hours, vibrating with the aftershock of what happened. I wanted to feel that rush again. I wanted to have a purpose, to help in a way that was bigger than myself.

  My chest rose with a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

  ***

  I followed Julie and Moya away from the lovely sounds and smells of The Sanctuary. We stood at the edge of the glamor that protected it, and I watched in continual awe as they stepped over the threshold. We emerged on the other side–the Ironworld side–and the sharp, blaring noises of the city clawed at my ears.

  The late-night hour cast a dense, dark blanket over the jagged lines of historic rooftops and business centers. The black pavement beneath my feet gleamed wetly, reflecting the white moonlight that filtered down through the clouds. The city was like a dark jewel, but it was nothing compared to the magnificence of my fairy companions.

  I turned around as Julie and Moya’s human glamors fell into place. Julie’s snow-white features melted away, replaced by the familiar appearance of my best friend. Moya still wore her olive-green dress and golden accessories, and she still looked like… her, mostly. Striking and otherworldly. But gone were the pointed ears, those deep-sea eyes dulled to a lovely gray, and her cotton candy hair no longer fell to her waist. The pink had dimmed to a mundane strawberry blonde. And was now cropped short at a sharp angle that sliced along her jawline.

  She caught me ogling, and I said, “How… if I have The Sight, why can’t I see through your glamors now?”

  Moya lifted her bare arm and turned it in the moonlight. “You can. You just don’t know how to remove it. Your eyes are lazy, and your mind doesn’t know how to use The Sight yet.” She stepped into a sliver of lamplight. “Focus on me. Open your mind. Train your eye.”

  “Which one?” I asked, confused.

  Moya chuckled. “Your mind’s eye. Try to open it. Search with your mind and find the block, the closed window.”

  I glanced at Julie, and she gave me an encouraging look. I inhaled slowly and closed my eyes as my thoughts wandered. I walked around the great expanse of my mind, searching for some sort of window or door. But there was nothing. It was like wading through mud. But there, beneath the walls and layers that blocked me from my own mind… I sensed something. A pulsing.

  I let out the breath I’d been holding in and opened my eyes. “I can’t.” Julie tipped her head with concern. “It’s there. I can feel it. But it’s too hard to grasp.”

  Moya smiled knowingly. “In time then.” She turned and looked on toward the bustling city before us. “For now, just lead me to this nightclub.”

  We walked the streets, up and down sidewalks, until the three of us scaled along the giant brick exterior of the building that contained the multilevel mundane nightclub Julie and I had gone to weeks ago. I brought them to the alleyway between it and the next building, and we slunk into the shadows as we headed right to the back, where a pile of soggy boxes and a heap of overfilled black garbage bags sat.

  “This is it,” I told them and pointed at the bare back wall. “I saw this… sliver of blue light right there and touched it. The doorway opened, and the bouncer appeared.”

&
nbsp; Moya pressed her palms against it and ran her hands along the brick, her ear tipped toward it. I stepped back and stood next to Julie. She gave me a cautious look, and I realized then just how quiet she’d been this whole time. Was she nervous? Did she want me so immersed in her secret world? Or was she just observing me, watching how I reacted to everything?

  “I can’t find it,” Moya finally said and stepped away from the wall, carefully avoiding the piles of garbage. “It’s gone.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “How can they just move an entire club like that?”

  “The door is gone, but the club is still here,” she explained. “I can feel it thrumming with magic. Some things, such as this nightclub and The Sanctuary, exist in a shadow realm. Not Ironworld, but also not Faerie. But some kind of in-between. Like a closet. A pocket of… nothingness.” We all walked to the mouth of the alley. “See, portals and doors can be ripped in the fabric, but they can also be moved. The dark energy of Umbra, I can tell it’s there, just heavily guarded now.”

  I grimaced. “Because of me.”

  Julie finally spoke. “I’m sure they would have moved the door eventually, Av’. If they’re smart, they’d re-ward the entrances regularly.”

  We stood on the empty sidewalk, and I leaned against the cold stone exterior of the building. Being out so late at night, I could see only a few people walking the quiet streets.

  “So, what do we do now?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” Moya replied. “We do nothing but wait for the next lead. Something’s taking the Solitary Fae from Ironworld, and now we know for sure that the Therians clearly have a hand in it. I’ll start there.” She smiled at us. “For now, go home and rest. I’ll be in touch when I know more.”

  And just like that, she was gone. A light dusting of iridescence glittered to the ground in her wake. My eyes bulged at the empty space left behind.

  “What… where did she go?”

  Julie laughed. “It’s called wisping. She can travel the fabric of the world.”

  I considered it for a moment. “That’s… convenient.” Julie just chuckled. “Can you do that?”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m afraid my magic is limited to animating beverages and covering blemishes.” She smiled nervously but masked it with an exaggerated sigh as she slung an arm over my shoulders. “So, have you decided if you forgive me for lying to you yet?”

  The day had been a rollercoaster of events. But I wouldn’t change it. Not for the world. I spent most of my simple life in the country, dreaming of something more. A life, adventure, exploring what it meant to live. And… the universe delivered. How could I turn my back on it now? I smiled at Julie and tugged her arm tighter over my shoulder. “Come on, let’s go home.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I never begged for death before. But I’d almost welcome it as I fought off another yawn from my desk. My stomach rolled, protesting at the lack of food in it. But I couldn’t even think of eating after my alarm went off, and I’d only managed a couple hours of sleep. In one weekend, my entire world turned upside down. Fairies, werewolves, vampires, hidden sanctuaries, and missing Fae. It all felt like a twisted dream, but I knew it was real. All of it.

  After the weekend I’d had, walking into class this morning felt odd. Plain. Mundane. Almost… almost as if this were the world that wasn’t real. Everyone just went about their business. The prof spewed off today’s lesson from the front while I fought off the coma that threatened to crash down on me. I was thankful I sat near the back.

  But it came with its annoyances.

  To my right, I could feel Max glaring at me as I failed to stifle a massive yawn. I gave her a quick glance through watery eyes.

  “What?”

  Class ended, and she rolled her heavily shadowed eyes as she slapped her books and papers in a pile. “It’s a wonder you’ve even noticed me sitting here,” she replied and guffawed with distaste. “Why would you even bother coming to class if you’re just going to sleep the whole time?” She slid her stuff into her bag and stood up as she glared down at me. “It’s making me look bad. Sitting next to someone like that.”

  Maybe it was the sleep deprivation. Or perhaps I’d just had enough of Max’s high and mighty attitude. I clumsily grabbed my stuff and stood to face her, matching the look she was still drilling into me. “It’s not all rainbows and sunshine sitting next to someone like you, either, y’know.”

  Max leaned back; her expression twisted with revulsion. “Someone like me?”

  I groaned and headed for the door with everyone else.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she called after me. I just kept walking. “Quinn!”

  ***

  My energy was to the dregs by the time I walked into Celadine’s office that evening. But we had so much to go over for the big showcase. I didn’t have the heart to postpone in favor of sleep. I rubbed my eyes, but the surrounding skin was tight and dry. Celadine cocked her head to the side as she examined me, and I took a seat in the leather chair across from her desk and gave a tired smile.

  “Long night?” she asked with a grin, her tattooed fingers tipped with deep purple–almost the same as her eyes–splayed out on her desk.

  “Something like that,” I replied and tried to ignore the croak in my voice.

  Celadine frowned. “Are these late nights not working for you?”

  I sat at the edge of my chair, my hand out toward her as I shook my head. “No, no. I swear. I’m… totally fine with the hours.” I sighed and relaxed back in the chair, gripping my accordion folder in my other hand. “I just had a crazy weekend.”

  She eyed me for a moment and then stood from her black wingback chair. I watched as she walked to the quaint butler’s bar nestled in the wall. An electric kettle blew steam into the air, and Celadine grabbed it and poured us two cups of hot water.

  “Thanks,” I said to her back. She glanced over her shoulder in question. “For talking to me about my friend this weekend. And for not thinking I was insane for barging in on your home like that.”

  She spun around and leaned against the counter. “Nonsense. You’re welcome any time.”

  I just nodded in thanks.

  Celadine adjusted her cat-eye glasses, fetched two tea bags from a tin, and plopped them into the cups. “So, you’ve had no trouble securing everything you need for the showcase?” she asked and stirred around the tea bags with a spoon.

  “No, not at all.” I mindlessly picked at the chipping maroon nail polish I wore and admired my boss.

  She neatly arranged her heap and tangle of hair in a giant beehive of braids. My boss was someone unlike anyone I’d ever known or even seen before. The silken one-pieces, the never-ending swath of braids and dreads, sprinkled with chunky beads of silver and wood. The intricate tattoos seemed to cover every inch of her, save for her face and parts of her neck. I could stare at her for days. She was a visual wonder. An eclectic, gothic beauty. And I knew…

  I had to paint her someday. If I could ever drum up the nerve to capture it on canvas.

  Celadine grabbed a jar of honey from the floating shelf above the little countertop as I opened my folder of paperwork and receipts. The first one I saw was for the printer, and I groaned inwardly.

  “Actually, I nearly missed the cut-off time for the custom printer order,” I admitted. “But I found a ride at the last minute.”

  Her dark brows rose as she came toward me with two steaming mugs. “A friend?”

  I quickly grabbed two wooden coasters from a stack she kept on her desk and set them out. “No. I mean, yes. Kind of. I don’t really know him. But I’ve… seen him around.”

  She took her seat. “Be careful out there. The city is a beauty, but she can also be a beast.”

  I laughed to myself. “Don’t worry. He totally ditched me. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, he was gone.”

  She almost looked relieved. “His loss.”

  I stared down into my tea and inhaled the scente
d steam. French vanilla. I’d mentioned it a few weeks ago, how it was my favorite. In fact–Celadine had been bringing snacks and beverages and books to share with me almost every time we’d met. As if she’d been making a note each time I mentioned something I liked. I smiled at her from the rim of my cup. She was quickly becoming more than just my boss or my mentor even. Celadine was… most definitely my friend. Someone outside of the crazy mythical world I’d recently uncovered.

  I set my cup down on its coaster and began organizing my paperwork on the desk between us. Ready to go over all the details. But Julie’s reminder before I’d left the apartment sprang into my mind.

  “Oh, before we start,” I said, and Celadine raised her brows in wait. “Tomorrow night. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind rescheduling our apprenticeship lesson.”

  “Oh?” she replied and shoved her tea aside to drag my paperwork toward her. “Everything alright?”

  “Yeah, there’s just this concert–”

  “Say no more,” Celadine cut in and shuffled all the papers together in a neat pile.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, of course,” she assured me. “I sometimes forget you’re still so young. A college student.” I didn’t dare say how she was clearly only a few years older than me. “You shouldn’t miss out on these moments. Besides,” she held out her hand for the rest of my folder, and I placed it in her grip. “Gives me time to go over everything.”

  My stomach wrung with guilt. “You don’t want to discuss it all now? While I’m here?”

  A coy grin tugged at her mouth, and she adjusted one of the many chunky rings she wore. “No, I’m sure it’s all fine. You’ve been following the instructions I gave you?” I nodded dutifully. “Excellent. Then I’ll review everything and just let you know if I have questions.” Those violet eyes flashed with amusement. “Now, go home and get some sleep before you pass out in my office.”

  My cheeks warmed. “It’s that noticeable?”

  “I’ve seen dead bodies look more alive.”