Page 78 of Horn of Winter

“Why am I not surprised?” I muttered, perhaps a little unwisely. There was no saying that Borrhás himself wasn’t amongst those ghostly figures I’d viewed in the tunnel or that even now he wasn’t standing beyond the cavern’s walls, listening to our conversation.

She arched a delicate eyebrow. “One should always expect the unexpected when it comes to the gods, be they old or new.”

“Something I’m definitely discovering. What else did he want?”

“He wants the wielder.”

To be locked in ice, as the queen who’d betrayed him had been. “I’m not sure our law enforcement will allow?—”

“Your laws do not apply here, and he will brook no argument on this. If you do not do as he wishes, he will punish the city in which you live.”

“What?”

“Your city—Deva. He will encase it in ice if you do not acquiesce to his wishes.”

“But—” I stopped and tried to come to grips with the casual cruelty of the threat. I had no doubt he could do it given one of his so-called names was the devouring one, but still... “Why punish the whole fucking city rather than me?”

“Because, as I have already mentioned, you are the queen of an ongoing game, and the gods would not be pleased if you fell so soon.”

I didn’t want to think about the implications ofthatstatement, especially given some of the dreams I’d had in the past involved the sacrifice of a figure with red hair—a figure that had no face but was obviously an Aodhán.

Instead, I asked, “I don’t suppose you know who my king is then, do you? Because that would be really handy knowledge right now.”

“That is a question only Fate can answer.”

“Sadly, she’s declined to talk to me.” I drew in a breath and released it slowly. It didn’t help the tension, the fear or the frustration. It never did. “Okay, I’ll try?—”

“Do not try. Do.”

Despite everything, I couldn’t help the slight smile. “That sounded like something Beira would say.”

“She is a wise woman. Cantankerous, but wise.”

“On that, we agree.” I pushed up from the seat. “If that’s all?—”

“It is not.”

I frowned at her, even as a deep sense of dread bloomed. “What else could there be?”

She smiled. It was not a pleasant thing to behold. “He not only wants the wielder, but the mastermindbehindthe abuse of his relic. He wants your aunt.”

Chapter

Eleven

“No, that’s not—”I stopped and gulped. “Damn it, she’s family. Whatever she’s done, whatever she might do, we share a bloodline, and I can’t forsake that connection completely.”

“I admire your willingness to risk all Deva for one who is unworthy of such consideration. But again, in this you have no choice.”

“Even so—” I stopped again and scraped a hand through my hair. “What happens if, for some reason beyond my control, she dies? Not at my hand, but someone else’s?”

“You bring us her body. Her spirit will not move on; she has touched the horn with ill intent, and her spirit will remain frozen in her flesh.”

I frowned. “How is something like that even possible?”

“She is an Aodhán, and both your line and the Tàileach were enhanced by the gods at the dawn of time. What the gods enhance, they can also alter. It is the way of such things.”

“Meaning if I piss off some god or goddess going forward—and I’ll have you know that seems to be a major talent of mine—I might find myself being altered in some way?”

---