To Bear an Iron Key Read Online Free Page B

power or fear it, they are yours. Do not belittle them.”
    Bromwyn simmered.
    “And even among the sheep, there can be a wolf lurking,” her mother warned. “There are those even here who think that a witch is unnatural.”
    Bromwyn sniffed her derision. “That is ridiculous.”
    “It is also true. Those few small-minded villagers do not know any better, and they do not care to learn. They are to be pitied,” Jessamin said. “But even as you pity them, you must take precaution. For now, you are safe; not even the smallest-minded man or woman here in Loren would willingly harm a child, not when the penalty is the Village Justice’s axe. All they can do is look upon you with mistrust.”
    In her bridal gown, Bromwyn squirmed. Since she had become her grandmother’s apprentice, she had felt such gazes upon her almost every day.
    “But once you are seventeen and an adult, those same people might not think twice before they let you know just how unnatural they consider you to be. Witches can bleed like anyone else. You need protection. You need Brend’s strength.”
    “Then let him be my consort,” Bromwyn said, exasperated, “with no restrictions, no oaths that will bind us together for the rest of our lives!”
    “Bromwyn—”
    “Or let me choose my own consort, one whom I love!”
    Her mother’s face darkened. “You are to marry on your seventeenth birthday, and that is final.”
    “Then if I must marry, let me at least love the one sworn to my side! Or have you forgotten what love means?” Bromwyn clamped her mouth shut, hoping that her hasty words would not be enough to stir her grandmother’s curse to life once again.
    Jessamin whispered, “How dare you.”
    Bromwyn opened her mouth, then closed it when she saw the fury in her mother’s eyes.
    On her lap, Jessamin’s hands balled into fists, and she lowered her voice as her knuckles whitened. “Do you truly think I have forgotten love? Do you think I prefer to be without your father? Do you think my life has been better with him gone all these years?”
    Bromwyn’s mouth went dry. “Mother, I—”
    “Perhaps you have forgotten your father, Daughter, but I have not!” Jessamin’s shout echoed in the small room. “Do not presume to lecture me about love! It is no longer my Way, but I have not forgotten its touch!”
    Bromwyn swallowed thickly. Her mother never spoke of her lost Way of the Heart.
    Jessamin looked down at her hands, which shook more than usual. “You do not know how devastating love can be. When you love someone, you give up part of your soul.”
    “Forgive me,” Bromwyn whispered, “I did not mean—”
    “Of course you ‘did not mean,’” her mother spat, glaring at her daughter. “You never mean . You speak your mind before you think your words through. You stab with your tongue, and when you cause pain, you offer your apologies as you watch the blood flow. Well, I am done with this.”
    Jessamin stood, smoothing the wrinkles from her woolen dress. She lifted her chin high, and the numerous thin braids of her short black hair brushed her shoulders. Tall as Bromwyn was for her age, Jessamin was taller, and she stared down her nose at her daughter. “You think that being in love with the one you marry would make any difference? Life is cruel, Daughter. And fate is crueler still.”
    “I am sorry,” Bromwyn said, her voice small and full of sorrow.
    Jessamin took a shaky breath. “I know. In time, I will forgive you. But not now. Not yet.”
    Bromwyn bowed her head, forcing her tears to stay within her eyes. She would not cry. As much as she hated disappointing her grandmother, which seemed to be a daily occurrence, disappointing her mother was far worse. She loved her mother, and yet she lashed out at Jessamin more and more, for reasons she didn’t understand.
    Why am I full of such rage? Bromwyn swallowed, desperately trying to remain calm, impassive, in the way that was expected of witches. Why do I hurt someone