Page 86 of Horn of Winter

“And maybe tomorrow you’ll fall madly in love.”

He laughed. “Such perfection does not exist.”

“I thought you were looking for compatibility rather than perfection?”

“I am, but if we’re talking about love, then elven perfection is perhaps the only thing that could draw it from my cold, unemotional heart.”

I rolled my eyes. “How are we going to play this? Me waiting in the car is unlikely to work. He’ll be wary and will sense my presence the minute you open the door.”

“If you’re not in the front or the back seat, then he can’t possibly ‘see’ you through the open car door and has no reason to be suspicious.”

I stared at him for a second. “You want me to hide in the trunk?”

“Only for a few minutes.”

“Large pixies and car trunks are not compatible.” At least, they weren’t with this large pixie.

He patted my knee. “You’ll be fine. I’ve had larger bodies than you in there.”

I continued to stare at him, uncertain as to whether he was kidding or not. He merely raised his eyebrows, as if daring me to ask. I didn’t. As he’d noted before, there were some things I was better off not knowing.

Once we were close to our destination, Henrick pulled the car over. I retrieved my knives and phone from my purse, then climbed—grumbling all the way—into the trunk.

“It’ll take two minutes to get there. Henrick will release the catch three minutes after I head in,” Mathi said, not quite able to control his amusement. “That should give me enough time to ensure Tony is present and that his parents do have him under control.”

I didn’t reply, but I did glare. He laughed and slammed the trunk lid back down, enclosing me in darkness. A few seconds later, we were back underway. The following five minutes were probably the longest of my life. I wasn’t claustrophobic, but my heart was beating as loudly as any drum, and sweat trickled down the side of my face. Fear, no doubt due to watching too many movies where bad things happened to women stuck in trunks.

The hum of tires on bitumen was soon replaced by the crunch of gravel. A few seconds later, we stopped. I gripped the Eye in an attempt to remain distant from the wind, and wished, with everything I had, there was some way I could shield from the force that hunted around the car. That thought had no more crossed my mind when energy stirred across my fingers and the knives pulsed in response. A heartbeat later, a faint curtain of purplish light fell around my body. Surprise stirred; while the knives had always protected me from magic, I had no idea they could also form other sorts of shields. But then, untilthis moment, I’d never actuallywishedfor such a thing while gripping the Eye. Perhaps that was?—

I cut the rest of that thought off as the car door opened and Mathi stepped out. The rattling wind whipped inside; thick fingers of air slipped into the boot, sliding over the shield without seeming to recognize anything was there or that I hid underneath it. As the fingers pulled back, the fierce, suspicious pulse running through the air eased, though it didn’t entirely go away. Tony remained on edge, primed and ready to explode.

I’d have to move fast when I got out, because I had a really bad feeling Tony’s parents had overstated their ability to control their son.

Footsteps crunched across the gravel, then a door opened. After a brief conversation, they moved inside and the door closed. I waited, my heart beating so loudly it seemed to echo in the shadowed confines of the trunk. The seconds ticked by slowly, and just as I was ready to scream for Henrick to open the damn thing, he did so. I released the Eye, letting the soft shield fade as I pushed upright and swung my feet over the edge.

In that instant, the wind roared back to life. It swept underneath the car, lifted it with dizzying speed high into the air, then flung it violently away. I yelped and braced, but before I could even think, let alone retaliate, the wind whipped in, wrapped violent arms around my body, and ripped me free.

Then, with all the fury of an unsound mind, it flung me with deadly force back toward the ground.

Chapter

Twelve

The speedat which I was now traveling meant I only had seconds, if that, to save myself. With fear thick in my throat and my heart racing as fast as I was falling, I reached for the wind, only to hit a thick bubble of violent air.Hisair, his shield, stopping me from reaching the forces that might save me. If I had time, I might be able to break his barrier, but I didn’t, and the ground was approaching fast, and if I didn’t do something soon, I’d fucking die.

Panic surged but I did my best to shove it away. Did my best tothink.

Thunder rumbled overhead, a sound that seemed to echo my desperation. I might not be able to call the wind, but could I call the lightning?

Dare I?

Dare Inot?

The knives slapped into my hands without me really ordering it. I quickly raised one and called to the incandescent fury that lurked within the storm. I wasn’t anchored so this was dangerous, but no more so than hitting the ground at my current velocity.

Lightning flashed around and then through me, making me one with the storm, a being without flesh and substance. I pointed the second knife toward the cottage, directing all that fierceness at the section thatdidn’thold the source of the furious whirlwind surrounding me. Bright light flashed out from the blade’s tip, three fierce forks that hit the building sequentially. As deadly missiles of bricks, slate, and wood flew in all directions, the whirlwind surrounding me fell apart. I immediately caught the wind, ordering one thick finger after the car to cushion its tumbling fall and another to halt my speed.

And not a moment too soon.

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