Page 68 of A Shard of Ice

They give each other this look that is plain sickening and wonderful. It makes my heart ache to see them so in love. Despite our current predicament, they look happy.

“Did the two of you kiss and make up?” Xander asks.

“We’re still friends,” I say, giving Damon a quick glance.

His expression is unreadable.

“And you’re okay with Damon being king of the icefae?” Xander asks, brows raised. He looks amused.

I frown. “There’s nothing to be not okay with.” I shrug. “It is what it is. I understand why Damon didn’t tell me about it. It’s all good. I’m fine.”

“And you’re friends again,” Thesha says; her mouth twitches like she wants to laugh.

“Yes.” I nod.

“We’re good,” Damon says. “Ready to head out. Oh! I forgot to mention that Xander is the bloodfae king. That would make Thesha the queen.”

“Oh!” Kakara give me the strength to deal with all of this. “Okay…nothing much is surprising to me anymore.” I blink a few times in quick succession.

“Wait a minute.” Thesha is frowning heavily. “Am I the queen? I never thought of it like that.” Her eyes go big.

Xander laughs. He cups her face and kisses her gently. “That’s why I love you so much. Titles don’t mean a thing to you. We stood before a holy man in a church of the gods and spoke our vows. That means that you are the queen of the bloodfae. A mighty warrior woman…my woman. I’m a lucky male, indeed.”

They kiss, wrapping around one another. It’s so intimate that my face burns. I turn away, bumping into Damon, who has turned away at the same time.

We exchange a smile before going to our saddlebag. He offers me a drink from the skin, which I accept. He takes a drink, too. It’s awkward between us. It’s never been awkward before. I don’t know that I like it much. It was far less complicated when we were just plain old friends. When he was a lowly human.

“It’s time to go,” Xander says.

When I look back, Thesha is fixing her braid.

“It will be nightfall soon enough,” Thesha adds. “We have a whole realm to save and an evil queen to topple.”

“You make it sound easy, love,” Xander says.

Thesha laughs. “If only.”

We head out, walking for a time in silence. The pace is fast, and I have to work to keep up. It’s really cold, and the movement helps me stay warm. There are a few dark clouds, and I pray it doesn’t rain. It’s the last thing we need right now. We keep pushing. I note how the others keep vigil, often looking behindus. We are still vulnerable, but at least we’re not in the open and easy to spot. Those fae would have a hard time finding us out here, I’m sure.

“We might have a few allies among the fae,” Damon says, stepping over a log. He offers me his hand, and I take it. “General Belen of the shadowfae might be one of them. He was supposed to be orchestrating our escape when the bloodfae attacked. He was going to make it look like we’d escaped on our own steam. He swore his allegiance to us. To the lost kings. He said that the fae are not happy under Snow’s rule but that her reach is far.”

It’s the first I’m hearing of it.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about it.” He squeezes my hand. “Belen swore me to secrecy.”

“I understand,” I tell him.

“That is good to hear. I can say the same of the Blood Court.” Xander scratches his neck. “We had help escaping, or we would never have gotten away. I have allies there, too. Powerful ones. Our people want nothing more than to be free of her. She’s vile and corrupt. She’s like a parasite. A tick living off our very essence.”

“What does she want?” I ask.

“What does anyone want?” Xander says.

“Power.” Damon looks at me, his blue eyes boring into mine. “All of the power. She is sucking this realm dry. Taking the lifeblood from the very soil.” Everything around us attests to that. It’s all rot, death, and decay.

“How is she doing it?” I ask.

Damon shrugs. “I’m not sure. I didn’t have long with Belen. He used his powers to shield us from her but knew she would grow suspicious if it went on for too long. He couldn’t give me all the answers to my questions.”

---