Page 106 of A Shard of Ice

I pant hard, hunching a little over my middle as I suck in air, one lungful after another.

“Let’s try that again, shall we? This time, you will not lie to me, Kyrie. Is that clear?” the queen says softly but with a hint of tension lurking just below the surface. “Do you love Damon?”

“Yes.”

“Good, now we are getting somewhere. Come here. I want to see you better.” She points at the spot right in front of her. I’m sure this is the end of me, but I walk over to her, anyway. I stand directly in front of her, waiting.

“You’re a brave little thing, aren’t you? Damon must like that about you. Now…what have we here?” She leans in really close, sniffing me.

I want to flinch away, but I don’t. I stand my ground. Then she takes my cheeks in her hands. I somehow expect her hands to be cold, but they aren’t; they’re warm and toasty. She makes a humming noise, closing her eyes. It’s like she’s concentrating hard. Her brow gets creased, and I see her eyes moving beneath her lids. Then she lets me go, opening her eyes. She smiles. For just a moment.

“I very nearly get you, Kyrie. I can sense some magic in your veins. Not a lot, but it’s there. You have fae blood in your veins. Did you know that about yourself? Did you?” She lifts her brows.

“Me?” I cock my head in confusion and then shake it. “No, that can’t be.” I’m sure I’d know. My parents would have said something. Unless they didn’t know either.

“And yet it is true. I would say a little blood from both sides. I, too, have some fae in me. It’s commonplace.” She shrugs. “I thought it might be of interest to you.”

I’m not sure whether to believe her. It doesn’t matter either way.

“You would have made a suitable wife for Damon. You’re a little on the plain side, but…I can see what he sees in you. It’s a great pity that the two of you can never be together. Damon is destined for greater things. He is a noble, a royal, a king, and you, my dear, are a nobody.”

“That doesn’t make me a nobody.”

She laughs. “The first true thing you have said without having to be coerced into it. You can believe what you want.” She wrinkles her nose. “It doesn’t change things.”

I realize that she is threatened by me because she sees me as competition. I can hardly believe it. Queen Snow is threatened by me. I bask in that knowledge for a short while.

“How did you get into icefae territory?” She taps a finger against her chin.

I don’t say anything.

“I can torture it out of you.”

“You can try.”

She laughs. “You really mean that, silly girl. Your silence isn’t going to change anything. I will find Damon, and I will marry him.”

Damon hates you.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say it, but I don’t. All it will serve is to anger her, not just toward me but toward Damon, too. I can’t have that in case she does get her evil claws into him.

“Damon sees you as a sister,” I settle on instead. “Besides, I thought you loved his brother, Kyran.”

Her face morphs into a mask of sheer rage. “Do not speak his name!” she shouts.

I blanch because I am quite certain I heard two voices. Perhaps I am wrong.

“My apologies, Your Majesty.” I try hard to mean it.

“Let’s try again; how did you get into icefae territory?” She holds up a finger as a clear threat. I note that even her nail is perfectly manicured. “This time, if you lie to me, I will cut off your air supply until you faint, and I will revive you and do it again. I enjoyed watching your face go blue earlier. The color suits you and happens to be my favorite.” She giggles.

I push out a heavy breath. “Damon snuck me into the Ice Court through a secret entrance.”

She nods a few times. “Now we are getting somewhere. You will need to show me this secret entrance.”

I stay silent. I don’t plan on ever showing her. She can torture me as much as she likes.

“What are you going to do with me? Are you going to kill me? Or will you send me back to the salt mines?” I decide to change the subject. Besides, it would be nice to know my fate.

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