A Reign of Steel by Morgan Rice Page A

would become of him, of the four of them. Would they just
rot and die here in this cave? Eventually they would have to leave it. And her
brother’s men, she knew, were relentless. He would not stop until he’d killed
them all—especially after Reece had killed her father.
    Stara
knew she should feel some remorse at her father being dead—and yet she felt
none at all. She hated the man, and always had. If anything, she felt relieved,
even grateful to Reece for killing him. He had been a lying, honorless warrior
and king his entire life, and no father to her at all.
    Stara
glanced at these three warriors, all sitting there looking distraught. They’d
been silent for hours, and she wondered if any them had a plan. Srog was badly
wounded, and Matus and Reece had been wounded as well, though their injuries
were minor. They all looked frozen to the bone, beaten down by the weather of
this place, by the odds against them.
    “So
are we all going to sit in this cave forever, and die here?” Stara asked,
breaking the thick silence, no longer able to stand the monotony or the gloom.
    Slowly,
Srog and Matus looked over at her. But Reece still would not look up and meet
her eyes.
    “And
where would you have us go?” Srog asked, defensive. “The entire island is
crawling with your brother’s men. What chance do we hold against them?
Especially with them enraged at our escape and your father’s death.”
    “You
got us into a pickle, my cousin,” Matus said, smiling, putting a hand on Reece’s
shoulder. “That was a bold act of yours. Possibly the boldest act I’ve seen in
my life.”
    Reece
shrugged.
    “He
stole my bride. He deserved to die.”
    Stara
bristled at the word bride . It broke her heart. His choice of that word
told her everything—clearly, Reece was still in love with Selese. He would not
even meet Stara’s eyes. She felt like crying.
    “Do
not worry, cousin,” Matus said. “I rejoice my father is dead, and I am glad
that you are the one who killed him. I do not blame you. I admire you. Even if
you nearly got us all killed in the process.”
    Reece
nodded, clearly appreciating Matus’s words.
    “But
no one answered me,” Stara said. “What is the plan? For us all to die here?”
    “What
is your plan?” Reece shot back at her.
    “I
have none,” she said. “I did my part. I rescued us all from that place.”
    “Yes,
you did,” Reece admitted, still looking into the flames rather than at her. “I
owe you my life.”
    Stara
felt a glimmer of hope at Reece’s words, even if he would still not meet her
eyes. She wondered if maybe he did not hate her after all.
    “And
you saved mine,” she replied. “From the edge of the cliff. We are even.”
    Reece
still stared into to the flames.
    She
waited for him to say something back, to say that he loved her, to say
anything. But he said nothing. Stara found herself reddening.
    “Is
that it then?” she said. “Have we nothing else to say to each other? Is our
business done?”
    Reece
raised his head, meeting her eyes for the first time with a puzzled expression.
    Stara
could stand it no more. She jumped to her feet and stormed away from the
others, standing at the edge of the cave, her back to all of them. She looked
out at the night, the rain, the wind, and she wondered: was everything over
between her and Reece? If it was, she felt no reason to go on living.
    “We
can escape to the ships,” Reece finally said, after an interminable silence, his
terse words cutting through the night.
    Stara
turned and looked at him.
    “Escape
to the ships?” she asked.
    Reece
nodded.
    “Our
men are down there, in the harbor below. We must go to them. It is the last MacGil
territory left in this place.”
    Stara
shook her head.
    “A
reckless plan,” she said. “The ships will be surrounded, if they have not
already been destroyed. We’d have to get through all of my brother’s men to get
there. Better to hide out somewhere else on the island.”
    Reece
shook