Iron Seas 03 - Riveted

to anger.
    Annika didn’t know what to tell him—and then she lost the opportunity. Her mouth closed as di Fiore fell into step beside David.
    “Where is my father, Källa?”
    “In his laboratory.” She glanced over her shoulder. “He has been testing the suit since last night. I finally got him to sleep a few hours this morning.”
    She led them down steps made from steel grating, much like the stairs in the whale’s hold. They entered a tunnel made from snow bricks that arched over their heads in a smooth curve. The passageway opened into a hearth chamber with a wooden floor, and walls made from blocks of blue glacial ice. Steel struts supported a peaked tin ceiling that must have been strong enough to bear the weight of the snow Annika had seen from above. Despite being surrounded by ice and snow, the chamber was cool, not cold. A pullover like the boy’s would keep anyone inside warm and comfortable.
    A wooden table claimed the center of the chamber. A cast-iron stove stood away from the ice walls, a ventilation pipe rising throughthe ceiling. The opposite end of the chamber opened to another snow tunnel.
    Di Fiore started toward it. “I’ll take Kentewess to meet my father while you and your sister reacquaint yourselves.”
    Annika glanced up at David. With a gentle squeeze of his fingers, he let her go and followed di Fiore. Heart thumping, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by the sense that this must all be a terrible dream, Annika watched him disappear into the tunnel.
    “All of these living quarters are linked—and there’s another system of living chambers and tunnels for the laborers.” Källa sat Olaf on the table and took the chair in front of him, rubbing her face into his belly before starting a game of clapping his hands. She spoke over his giggles. “Why are you here, Annika?”
    “Lorenzo forced David to come. I was with him, so I came, too.”
    “And why are you with him? Has something happened at home?” Worry tightened her face. “Are our mothers all right? And by Brunhild’s bloody hands, Annika, sit . You look ready to bolt. But you must know I would never let anything hurt you here.”
    Annika knew that Källa would try to protect her; she just didn’t know if Källa could . Still, she took the chair beside her. “Our mothers are fine. They’ve made up.”
    Källa paused in the middle of a clap, glanced over. “No.”
    “Yes. They share the same home now.”
    Joy suffused her expression. With a laugh, she kissed her son. “Oh, that is very good news. And Lisbet?”
    “She’s fine. She misses you.”
    “I miss her.” With a wistful sigh, she skimmed her forefinger down Olaf’s nose. “Is that man yours? You held his hand.”
    Hers. “Yes. And he is also Inga’s son.”
    “Inga? My mother’s Inga?”
    “Yes. He came to bury her beads.”
    Worry creased her brow again. “He found Hannasvik?”
    “No. I met him on an airship.”
    “And why were you on an airship?” Humor and frustration laced her voice now.
    “Looking for you. When I found out you took the blame for my fire, I told the elders. They revoked your exile.”
    Källa closed her eyes. “Annika, I did that for you.”
    She already knew that. “But I didn’t ask you to sacrifice yourself for me.”
    “So I should let my sister be punished for a silly mistake? Annika the Rabbit, who hides the moment trouble comes?”
    That stung. “I only hide to protect everyone. I’ve never run from my responsibilities.”
    “Not with your legs, Rabbit. Here.” She pointed to her head. “Always running off to somewhere safe. You’re only brave when you’re inside a troll, Annika. If you’d been sent out of Hannasvik and into the New World, you’d have found the nearest hole and never climbed out.”
    But Annika wouldn’t have been exiled as she had been—only after Källa’s temper had erupted had she been sent away. That didn’t matter now. Obviously, Källa thought that she’d saved Annika from exile.
    And even if that were true, Annika wouldn’t have found the nearest hole. Phatéon had been a safe haven of sorts, yes—but she’d left it often to visit the port cities. She’d been planning to leave the airship permanently for a more dangerous route.
    A route that Källa wouldn’t have been anywhere near. Annika had never expected to find her here in Iceland. Four years of searching, and she’d been a few days’ journey from home. Annika didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
    Cry, most