Read Online Iron Kin: A Novel of the Half-Light City by M.J. Scott - Free Book Online Page B

without causing pain to the Fae. Which was why, if Master Aquinas truly did think my efforts were promising, it made no sense that he would deny me the opportunity to gain an introduction to the Fae smiths and prove myself worthy of being taught by them.
    “Yet.”
    I was torn. Part of me liked the compliment being paid to my skills, but mostly I felt the net of convention and obligation tightening around me from yet another angle. Yes, I wanted to help, but to do so by hiding away and denying my own desires didn’t exactly sit easy. “You still need iron workers to be in the delegation.”
    “Yes, and that’s why I chose Master DeLuca. The rest of you will stay here.”
    His tone made it clear that there would be no disputing the point. His argument was logical. Master DeLuca would work well on the delegation. He wasn’t one of the more powerful iron workers but he was intelligent and diligent. So he’d do a good job whilst being expendable—not that any loss of a mage was acceptable. Despite the logic, I still wasn’t entirely convinced that my brothers hadn’t planted the hells damned notion in Master Aquinas’ head. It seemed suspiciously convenient that this particular negotiation period was deemed unsafe for metalmages who worked iron when usually they had a strong role to play in negotiating the human iron ration. Not that I was officially a metalmage yet. No, I was still just a prentice and therefore bound by the will of the man before me.
    I tried one last objection. “You picked Rebecca from the third-years,” I said. “She’s a silver worker. Won’t the silver supply be affected too?”
    “There are three times as many silver workers as iron workers. You know that. It’s not the same thing.”
    He leaned a little closer, his expression softening. “I know this is disappointing, Saskia, but if you accept this, then your patience may be rewarded.”
    Oh yes? After everything had gone to hell in a handbasket, then I was going to get some special treatment? “How exactly?”
    “Something good will come of it.”
    I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do I get to choose what that something might be?”
    He smiled. “I take it you have something in mind?”
    “I want to go to the Veiled Court,” I said bluntly. “I want a chance to work with the Fae smiths.”
    Serious eyes studied me for a long moment, then nodded. “All right. I will see what can be done. In time,” he added. “Your work has proved your skills.” He stood, smoothing down his tunic absently. “Now, I have much to do and you must be missing classes.”
    Dismissed. Without a firm agreement that I would get what I had asked for. Anger rose within me again and I clamped down before it could strengthen. Master Aquinas would see the power sparking if I didn’t. Then I would be in for a lecture about lack of control.
    “Thank you, Guild Master,” I forced myself to nod politely, stand, and dip a curtsy. I even managed to walk out of the room in a controlled manner and not slam the door. I maintained my sense of composure until I was through the building and halfway down the path that led to my workroom.
    At which point I let myself break into a run, heading for the safe haven of my own space, where I could lock myself away—Master Aquinas having been mistaken about my class schedule today—and indulge my anger to my heart’s content.
    The workroom door—reinforced with heavy brass banding—slammed satisfyingly, shaking the various implements and piles of glassware around the room into a furious jangle of noise. I felt a moment’s guilt, hoping that Silvio, who had the workroom that shared a wall with mine, hadn’t been in the middle of a delicate process, then took the lack of shouted protest to be a sign that he hadn’t.
    I stomped across the room, yanked my heaviest leather apron off its peg, and dropped it over my head, heedless of the fact that I still wore my best tunic. It wasn’t as though I was going to need it for the