The driver and two Spartans jumped out. One of them—a mage with kinetic talent—pressed his palms to the engine housing and pushed his magic into the Stormglass cells, trying to jumpstart the arcane fuel. The Stormglass accepted the charge. The Coldiron inside it swallowed it. The mage tried again, harder, sweat breaking across his forehead. The metal ate that, too. He stepped back, shaking his head in frustration.
“It’s never had an issue before,” the driver cursed. “What the hell?”
All the heirs stared at me. Drakken slowed the vehicle.
“You made your point, cadet,” Drakken said. “Restart the bus.”
“Sorry.” I bit my lip. “I’m spent after the battle on the train. I’ll need more energy to turn it back on. I can persuade the drop of Coldiron to reactivate the Stormglass after a couple of hours’ rest.”
“You need to train to have better stamina, cadet!” Drakken barked.
“The Spartans can walk to the outpost,” Caspian said. “They aren’t pussies.”
Aelindor gave him a look. “Language in front of Max, please, Caspian.”
“Spartans!” Drakken barked out the window. “On foot to the outpost. Leave the bus.”
The Spartans filed out without complaint and started walking.
Drakken hit the gas. Our jeep sped ahead.
The dragon prince stared at the road. Aelindor and Caspian looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue telling them about Coldiron. I’d kill for a sip of water before dragging on and revealing more of my secrets. My throat was parched, but only a fool would demand water from the heirs when their aides were either in another jeep or already gone with the train.
“I’d wager you acquired that batch of Stormglass from the black market, sirs.” I licked my dry lips. “For the last decade, roughly half of Crimson Ridge’s Stormglass production has been tainted with Coldiron. The witches and overseers never detected it. They don’t even know this sentient metal exists. The Coldiron shipped out remains dormant, so engines, devices, and any facilitiespowered by tainted Stormglass in every kingdom are running. Business as usual. But,” I lifted a finger, “they’re disasters waiting to happen. Like your military bus.”
The heirs stared at me, jaws slack, still processing the significance of the truth bomb I’d just dropped.
“Coldiron stays invisible. Inert. Waiting.” I glanced at the heirs in turn. “Until I call it in. Once I activate it, every engine running on that compromised Stormglass collapses. Lights die. Batteries drain. The infrastructure of any kingdom that bought from Crimson Ridge will be crippled from the inside. Voilà.”
Shit. I sounded like a villain.
The silence in the jeep was total. They hadn’t expected this scale of dark truth.
“What else have you been holding back, Cadet Private?” Drakken suddenly remembered to growl.
Tell him about me, Max.The creature chuckled.I’m your darkest secret, aren’t I?
“The limelight you blasted in my face during the interrogation?” I said, ignoring my inner demon. “It’s also powered by Stormglass laced with a drop of Coldiron. I recognized my work. You bought that batch on the black market because your mines don’t produce enough. In fact, roughly a third of your fortress runs on the same compromised stock.”
I paused, a smirk at my lips. “My metal sits within your walls. I was this close to doing it, Highness. Plunging your entire fortress into the dark ages. Right there in that interrogation room.” I met his cold, sharp gaze in the mirror without flinching. “If PrinceAelindor hadn’t returned and stopped your little marathon, I would have.”
“You would have committed an act of war against the Zodiac Covenant?” Drakken’s voice was ice and smoke.
“No, sir. Againstyou,” I offered coolly. “My loyalty lies with the Zodiac Covenant, with Prince Aelindor, Prince Caspian, and Prince Nikolai. They’ve never wronged or mistreated me. They’ve given me shelter.”
“Now I know why we get along so well, Max,” Caspian said with a wide grin.
“I’m the fourth corner of the alliance,” Drakken snapped. “And you, cadet, are a vicious, petty woman who likes to hold a grudge forever. If you’d proceeded in sabotaging the fortress, I’d have put you in the ground myself.”
“Drakken!” Aelindor warned, rubbing his temples. “We talked about this.”
“Fine. It’s a miracle it didn’t come to that.” Drakken’s words were probably his version of an apology. The dragon prince was a hard-ass through and through, and I didn’t fucking care about his sparkling personality.
“Shit.” Caspian whistled. “This changes everything.”
“It does.” Aelindor’s blue eyes glinted with a faint smile and dangerous hope.
“With Coldiron safeguarding my secret tunnel and serving as a natural ward,” I continued, “I was able to dig an escape route behind the barbed-wire fences and the White Witch’s military base. My parents’ only dream was for me to break the chains and see sunlight instead of being wasted in the bowels of the deep mines. First, Idug the tunnel to honor them. Then Missy, my adopted six-and-a-half-year-old sister, came along. And everything I’ve done since has been for her.”