Chapter 93
Chapter 93
:
MATRON YARA IRONSONG (IRONSONG MANSION)
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Yara rubbed grit from her eyes and forced herself back to the stack of reports. Her armor still smelled of pitch and smoke from the night watch. The first wave had been heavier than the last cycle, more bodies at the walls, more pressure at the south gate, and two breaches in the market barricade before the ballista crews could clear the lanes. No deaths on their side, but plenty of torn hands, cracked ribs, and a dozen men who’d wake shaking for a week.
Requests piled up on her desk: arrow shafts, spearheads, replacement shields, fresh cord for the torsion arms, oil, bandages, clean water. Quartermasters demanded signatures, healers wanted runners, captains pressed for answers. She hadn’t slept since yesterday, and the pounding behind her eyes made it harder to think straight.
A sharp knock rattled the door. Before she could answer, it swung open.
“Matron, forgive my disrespect,” Maningo said, dropping to one knee. His head was bowed. “I received news.”
“Speak,” Yara replied, hiding her exhaustion.
“Lord Cassian and Lady Atasha were not spotted at the northern outpost.”
Yara frowned. “What do you mean?” She knew that Lord Cassian and the Lady left for the Northern Outpost just the other day. Their goal is to reach the outpost before the red moon starts.
“I’ve had word from our lookouts. Lord Cassian did not arrive with Mendez and the others. And the Lady was not with them either. The carriage reached the outpost, but it was broken, as if attacked. None of the men who arrived were wounded.”
Yara pushed back from the desk. “Cassian often leaves the outpost when the red moon rises. He fights outside.”
“Yes, Matron,” Maningo said carefully. “But they say he never came in with the column at all. Neither did the Lady.”
Her jaw set. “Saddle my horse.”
She didn’t waste another word. Minutes later she was in the yard, swinging into the saddle. The center was still in triage, runners pounding along the lanes, smithies hammering, healers dragging cots, but she threaded through it at a hard canter and took the east road without slowing.
The Morrow household guard moved to announce her. She didn’t give them time. She pushed through the doors and strode straight to Halden Morrow’s study.
“Don’t treat my mansion as your own,” Halden said without looking up.
Yara crossed to his sideboard, uncorked a bottle, and poured herself a short glass. It burned on the way down, which helped.
She poured herself a second glass and met his eyes. “Have you heard the news?”
Chapter 93
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Yara dropped into the chair near the fireplace, the stem of the glass pinched between her fingers. The red liquid caught the lamplight, dark as blood.
“The Lady and the Lord were not spotted at the northern outpost,” she said.
That pulled Halden’s attention up from his desk. His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
She swirled the wine, watching the surface tilt. “I mean, Lord Cassian did not arrive in the North.”
Halden’s frown deepened. His jaw twitched. “The Lord- ”
“I know Halden, you don’t have to say it. For years, the Lord would always fight outside of the outpost. But why would he bring the Lady with him? Fighting with a wolfless woman would be… suicide. The fact that she did not arrive with him does not make any sense.”
Yara could see Halden processing what he just said. “Did you see him leave?” she asked.
“What?”
“Did you see him leave the gates of the north? Him… Lord Cassian himself walked out of that gate.”
Halden’s expression hardened, lines cutting deep across his face. He didn’t answer right away.
“I knew about what happened with Reina,” Yara said. “Everyone knew. So I’ll ask again, did you see Lord Cassian leave?”
It wasn’t something she could ignore. Halden’s daughter had been punished by Atasha herself, and the matter hadn’t been forgotten. What made it worse was that the lieutenants hadn’t hesitated to carry out Atasha’s orders. That single act had been enough to stir suspicion and unease among the rest of the council members.
How could someone who had only just arrived in the North hold such authority over Cassian’s lieutenants, men who didn’t even respect the council’s power? Cassian commanded many lieutenants, and any one of them would carry out his order without hesitation, even if it meant ending the life of a council member. And now, out of nowhere, those same dangerous men were obeying a wolfless woman? It was absurd.
His mouth pressed thin before he muttered, “No. But Lady Atasha-”
Yara cut him off with a snort. “So Lady Atasha said something, and you just believed her without proof?”
Halden straightened, anger flashing in his eyes. “Are you doubting Lady Atasha? How could you doubt someone so weak?”
Yara leaned back, lips curling into something close to disdain. “Weak or not, words are cheap. You put your faith in them, that makes you naive.”
“You’re exhausted, Matron,” Halden snapped. “You should get yourself some rest before your tongue sharpens itself any further.”
Yara’s laugh was short and dry. “Exhausted, yes. Blind, no. And if you keep treating every claim as gospel, you’ll wake up one day with a knife in your ribs.”
12:02 Mon, Sep 15
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Chapter 93
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Yara tipped the glass back and drained what was left. The burn steadied her. Setting it down with a sharp clink, she stood, smoothing her cloak across her shoulders.
“I’ll be seeing you tonight,” she said. Without waiting for his reply, she turned on her heel and left the study.
The door closed, and silence settled over the room. Halden stayed seated, his eyes fixed on the fire in the hearth. The flames snapped and shifted, the shadows crawling across the walls.
His family, like the Ironsongs, had served the North for generations. That service had never been in question. And in all those centuries, the line had been clear. Cassian’s lieutenants answered to the head of the North, and no one else. That balance was what kept the council from being swallowed whole.
If those men were now listening to a wolfless woman… then something had already shifted.
The thought gnawed at him as the door slammed open.
“Father!” Reina swept in, skirts brushing the floor as she stormed into the study.
Halden looked up, his jaw tightening. “What now?”
She didn’t hesitate. “I want to go to the northern outpost.”
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