A Reign of Steel by Morgan Rice

rain.
    Reece
suddenly let go of the tree so he could reach out and grab her wrists with both
hands; at the same time, he wrapped his legs around the tree, holding himself
from behind. He yanked her to him with all his might, his legs the only thing keeping
them both from going over.
    With
one final move, he groaned and cried and managed to yank her out of the
current, to the side, and sent her rolling over to the cave with the others.
Reece tumbled with her as she went, rolling out of the current himself, and helping
her as she crawled.
    When
they reached the safety of the cave Stara collapsed, exhausted, lying face-first
in the mud, and so grateful to be alive.
    As
she lay there, breathing hard, dripping wet, she wondered not about how close
she’d come to death, but rather about one thing: did Reece still love her? She
realized she cared more about that than even whether or not she lived.
    *
    Stara
sat huddled around the small fire inside the cave, the others close by, finally
starting to dry off. She looked around and realized the four of them looked
like survivors of a war, cheeks sunken, all staring into the flames, holding up
their hands and rubbing them, trying to shelter themselves from the ceaseless wet
and cold. They listened to the wind and rain, the ever-present elements of the Upper
Isles, thrashing outside. It felt like it would never end.
    It
was night now, and they had waited all day to light this fire, for fear of
being seen. Finally, they had all been so cold and tired and miserable, they
had risked it. Stara felt enough time had passed from their escape—and besides,
there was no way those men would dare to venture all the way down to these
cliffs. It was too steep and wet, and if they did, they would die trying.
    Still,
the four of them were trapped in here, like prisoners. If they stepped foot
outside the cave, eventually an army of Upper Islanders would find them, and
kill them all. Her brother would have no mercy on her, either. It was hopeless.
    She
sat near a distant, brooding Reece, and pondered the events. She had saved Reece’s
life back in the fort, but he had saved hers on the cliff. Did he still care
for her the way he once did? The way that she still cared for him? Or was he still
bitter over what had happened to Selese? Did he blame her? Would he ever
forgive her?
    Stara
could not imagine the pain he was going through as he sat there, head in his
hands, staring into the fire like a man who was lost. She wondered what was
racing through his mind. He looked like a man with nothing left to lose, like a
man who had been to the edge of suffering and had not quite returned. A man wracked
by guilt. He did not look like the man she had once known, the man so full of
love and joy, so quick to smile, who’d showered her with love and affection. Now,
instead, he looked as if something had died inside of him.
    Stara
looked up, afraid to meet Reece’s eyes, yet needing to see his face. She hoped
secretly that he would be staring at her, thinking of her. Yet when she saw
him, her heart broke to see that he was not looking at her at all. Instead, he
just stared into the flames, the loneliest look on his face that she had ever
seen.
    Stara
could not help wondering for the millionth time if whatever had existed between
them was over, ruined by Selese’s death. For the millionth time, she cursed her
brothers—and her father—for putting into action such a devious plot. She had
always wanted Reece to herself, of course; but she would never have condoned
the subterfuge that had led to her demise. She had never wanted Selese to die,
or even to be hurt. She had hoped that Reece would break the news to her in a
gentle way, and that while upset, she would understand—and certainly not take
her own life. Or destroy Reece’s.
    Now
all of Stara’s plans, her entire future, had crumbled before her eyes, thanks
to her awful family. Matus was the only rational one left of her bloodline. Yet
Stara wondered what