navy severely hobbled by the Battle of Archeon.
In the following weeks, the Ardent Mare Barrow returned to Montfort while her adoptive country, the Scarlet Guard, and the shattered Norta attempted to rebuild.
* * *
Below are my attempts at the flags of the new alliance. The Nortan States, the Scarlet Guard, and Montfort.
* * *
* * *
And the flags of our direct adversaries—Piedmont, the Silver Secession of Norta, and the Lakelands.
* * *
IRON HEART
ONE
Evangeline
Despite the autumn chill, the sun is bright overhead, and I squint behind my shaded glasses. The garden is empty, albeit still green and thriving. The mountain cold holds no sway over Carmadon’s domain. There are flowers, a vegetable patch, fruit trees, even a meticulous square of corn growing in half a dozen rows. The premier’s husband tends to this corner of the city estate like a pet, visiting every morning and every evening. He’s a greenwarden, and he doesn’t need much time to take care of it, but he lingers anyway. Still, he can’t spend all day here, and that leaves the afternoon blissfully quiet.
It’s a good place to hide.
Not that I’ll ever admit to doing such a thing.
I pluck another mint leaf and crush it into my drink, spinning the cubes of ice with a rattle. The sharp bite of sweet whiskey and sugar floods me with warmth. I lie back in the sunlight, content to be still on the blanket I took from our suite of rooms upstairs. It’s soft wool, not meant for grass or dirt, but that’s what servants are for.
It should only be another hour or two. I could sleep the minutes away if I wanted. But that feels like something a coward would do. Remove herself from the equation entirely. And I still have some pride left. Not much, but some.
Elane is busy. By design. She knows I want to spend this afternoon alone, without an audience. I might revel in her attention most days, but not right now. No one else needs to see Evangeline Samos running from her duty one more time.
I reach the bottom of my glass too quickly, draining the last drops of alcohol. If I didn’t want to be found, I might call for a servant and order another. I settle for turning the glass over in my hand instead, holding it up to the sky. The sun sparkles on the many facets of the crystal cup, reminding me of the way Elane can make light dance and split. She fits here better than I do. Not perfectly, of course. The Free Republic of Montfort is as different from our home as can be possible. Silvers, Reds, and newbloods, living together as equals. Beneath a democracy, of all things. It’s still a shock. I should get used to it, though. This is my place now, and Montfort is what the Nortan States are going to become, if all goes to plan.
I don’t put much faith in plans these days, not when I know firsthand how easily they can change.
Another reason I like the garden—there isn’t much metal here. I don’t have to feel anything I don’t bring with me. And these days, I bring very little. In my old life, I used to wear dresses formed from sheets of chrome, or pants laced with steel. Iron-toed boots. Armored jackets. Platinum crowns. Even my most beautiful gowns were bulletproof. My clothes were a message as much as an artistry, displaying the strength and power we Silvers held so dear in Norta. And everything I wore came in varying shades of black and silver, the colors of House Samos. A family that no longer exists, or at least is of no importance anymore.
Cousins of iron, kings of steel. The refrain rings in my head, an echo and a ghost. I would forget those words if I could, and the ill-fated ambitions that birthed them.
Though I have no cause to fear attack in Montfort, I’m not an idiot, and I don’t go anywhere without some metal. It’s just jewelry today. A necklace, a bracelet, several rings, all winking around the edges of my soft sweater. Enough to defend myself if needed, but easy to forget it’s even there. I wonder if this is what everyone else feels. Nothing but themselves. The cold breeze, the scratch of drying grass, the sun dipping steadily toward the distant mountains. I like the emptiness, vulnerable as it leaves me. I sit back, enjoying the sensation, and look upward. I can see the peaks