Page 103 of A Lord of Snow and Greed

The night before, the search parties had discovered a paltry three rebels. And that was only because the rebels had been trying to recover the bodies of their dead.

“Prince Vale,” a voice called out.

I turned and squinted through the veil of falling snow to find a young female soldier dressed in a royal blue uniform running our way. She wasn’t in my search party, though I recognized her as a soldier who often worked in the city.

“Yes?” I asked when she skidded on the ice to a stop before me.

“Soldier Barisia, my prince.” She bowed. “We have a rebel building surrounded and think you should come.”

My spine straightened, and I waved for my squad’s attention. “Everyone, follow her.”

We ran through the city and soon enough, the buildings changed. They became more run-down. Dirtier. The fae watching us as we carved through the street wore thin clothing.

Rall Row. I’d been here only a few days ago. With Neve.

The look on my wife’s face when she’d seen the poverty still sent chills through me. Though she hadn’t said as much, for the first time in the city, Neve had seen fae who had lived somewhat like she had in the Blood Court. And she hadn’t liked it.

Neither had I.

And somehow, even though the area had been bad for some time, lately it seemed worse. More destitute.

I caught the eye of a young male dwarf as we passed, sadness heavy in the lines of his face. I might have saved many fae in the villages from orcs, goblins, ogres, trolls and other monsters. But these people? I’d failed them.

“It’s right there.” Soldier Barisia took a sharp turn and pointed.

In the distance, the House of Wisdom towered above the shanties, but Soldier Barisia was drawing my attention to something much closer.

Bleeding skies, it can’t be.

But it was—the same run-down building Neve had asked about the other day. The one with the sign of the rebels loyal to House Falk.

“How are they still there?” Flabbergasted, I stared at the red hawk drawn across the boarded-up door. “It’s beensealed off and?—”

“They must have built a tunnel that we missed when we searched the place before because you’re right,” Soldier Barisia interjected, interrupting a prince, a testament to how excited she was to share the news. “There’s no door or window that isn’t boarded up. It was done so well that they felt safe sleeping in there.”

A tunnel. That they’d dug a tunnel was astonishing. Even if they had earth and fire fae at their disposal, the ground here was often frozen solid. It might have taken many moons to form a tunnel that fae could squeeze through.

“If you didn’t enter, how do you know it’s them in there?”

“The boards have small cracks, so while we can’t get them off easily, we can see through. One of us snuck up and did so, and no one inside caught us. Their guard must have fallen asleep or something, but there are about a dozen fae in there. One closest to the wall had a rebel insignia on their armband. We haven’t moved in to wake them because we know the king wants you to be here.” Her tone soured. “We’ve stayed quiet and kept our distance.”

“Your party will be with me when we root them out,” I assured them, wanting them to share in the glory they’d earned.

The line of her jaw softened a touch. “Thank you, my prince.”

“Who has what magics?” I asked the band of soldiers who had found the rebels.

They rattled off their powers, or lack thereof, as wascommon with fae affected by the blight. Quickly, a plan formed. Soldier Barisia had water magic, another soldier had air magic, and I possessed winter magic that manifested in the ability to produce powerful, icy gales. Between the three of us, we would force the rebels from the building. Soldier Barisia would use the frozen water in the ground to flood the area, effectively rendering the tunnels—if they existed—useless. Simultaneously, another soldier and I would work to blow down the shanty. Two other soldiers would make sure the street was clear of civilians. The rest would wait to capture those who ran by any means necessary.

“Ready?” I prompted the two fae helping me with the initial assault.

They nodded, and I gave Barisia the signal to go. Though I couldn’t see her magic, I recognized the strain on her face as she melted ground frost, snow, and ice, turning it to water to flood any tunnel inside the shack.

Her assurance that she could manage a feat such as this one indicated she was powerful. Still, it took Soldier Barisia a good ten minutes before she let out a long breath. “There was a single tunnel. It’s flat in places but now those should be flooded. They’ll think twice about using it to escape.”

“Keep it up for as long as you can,” I said.

She couldn’t hold the water stagnant. Eventually, it would move downward. Her priority was to continue flooding the tunnel with water to deter rebels from using that means of escape.

---