Page 22 of This Frozen Heart

Cautiously, I peel my blanket off. No sooner do my feet touch the ground, though, than the door creaks open, cold air blustering in along with my enemy.

Kay’s normally too-analyzing gaze slides right past me as he closes the door behind him. However, I saw enough from the moment it was opened to know the blizzard is gone. The snow is a foot higher than when we stumbled in, but we’re free to go. Well,he’sfree; I’m still his prisoner.

For the moment. I won’t stop fighting until I’m free, too. No matter the cost.

“The blizzard is over,” Kay says like that isn’t obvious. He keeps his gaze averted as he stacks freshly chopped logs in a pile by the corner.

Did he do that? Is there an ax outside I can use against him?

“I didn’t see any sign of our generous hostess,” Kay adds, his back still to me. “But I hope she— or he, if it’s not the Snow Queen at all— will appreciate this firewood in exchange for the soup we consumed and the blanket we sullied.”

I wrinkle my nose at how scandalous that sounds and quickly pull on my woolen undershirt before grabbing my tights. “It’s not a question ofifthis is the Snow Queen. And she won’t be appeased by firewood— she might even be offended.”

“Obviously, she makes use of it, or else why would she have a hearth?”

“To lure in desperate travelers.” I pull on layer after layer, glad to feel how warm my clothing is after drying by the fire.

“Then we should probably leave before she demands our hearts.” Kay’s voice is so deadpan I can’t tell if he’s serious or mocking me. “We’re a lot higher than I expected us to be, but I found an excellent piece of bark we could use as a sled to help us get back on track.”

Back on track to my captivity? I think not. But for us to be so high so soon . . . This was definitely a magical trap. I need to leave before I am captured by someone new.

I reach for my boots, but at that moment, I see the cuffs still hanging from the top shelf Kay put them on. Except, his belt with the weapons is gone, and the cuff itself is hanging off the side.

Well, if the Snow Queen is going to demand a heart, it might as well be the one of the man demanding my freedom.

Grasping the chain, I pull it down as quietly as possible. Which, given its material, isn’t silent at all.

Kay turns in surprise. “What—”

I lunge at him, leaping over the side of the hearth. It’s at that moment that I remember I don’t have the key.

Changing strategies, I wave the chain at him like a whip. “Put my knife on the ground and walk away.”

He lifts his hands and studies the chain warily as he slowly backs away. “Gerta, it doesn’t have to be like this.”

“What? Us both walking away? Do you not want that?” I wave the chain as a warning.

“No, us chained together again. Don’t you trust me not to hurt you?”

I scoff. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? It’s myfreedomI’m concerned about,dummkopf.”

He winces at the childish insult. “Yes, well, I still need to accomplish my mission, and you are that mission.” With that, Kay darts toward me.

It’s not what I was expecting, and before I can react, he grabs the end of the cuff. Then he uses it to pull me closer to him and grab my wrist, holding the cuff.

The sudden proximity has me remembering how long we cuddled under a blanket. That is the last thing I need to ponder, though— especially since he’s trying to cuffme again.

However, since he’s distracted by that, it gives me the perfect opportunity to slip my knife off him and hold it to his neck.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I hiss before glancing down at my now fully cuffed wrist. “Well, maybe I do a little. But I still think we can both walk away from this.”

“We will,” Kay assures me, like I’m terrified we won’t and not the one threatening his life.

Then he dives backward, knocking my feet out from under me in the process.

I grab at his hand that locked my cuff, taking him down with me.

My impact against the ground knocks the breath out of me. Then Kay lands on me, and I’m not sure I’ll ever breathe again. My knife embeds itself into his shoulder without my meaning it to, and Kay winces.

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