Page 27 of The Alien's Vicious Starflash Manor

If only I could tell if there’s truly a man under the mask at all—or if it’s nothing but mask, all the way down.

Suddenly I realize he’s called up the same number of ice horses he used to bring us here.

“Who’s not coming back with us?” I ask suspiciously.

“You and your sister will share.”

“Great. Very thoughtful.” Despite my sarcastic tone, it’s not as if I care, I tell myself—not really.

But part of me was hoping he planned to leave one of the footmen behind, because that would mean one less guard to worry about.

Then maybe I could take my sister and escape.

As Khrint and Tenyt equip the horses with saddles and reins, Ivrael moves over to us and boosts me onto the horse’s back, and then turns to Izzy, who’s frowning at the ice creature.

“That’s not real,” she says.

“Real enough,” the duke responds.

“It won’t hurt you,” I say, accepting that we’ll never get away while Ivrael is watching. “And there’s no way back to the market. Not now.” I stare into her eyes, hoping she’ll realize compliance is the only way to get through this, and thatnot nowactually meansnot yet.

Ivrael puts his hands on her waist, and Izzy shrugs him off. “Yuck. Don’t touch me.” Placing both palms flat on the horse’s back, she lifts herself up, gymnast-style, and swings one leg over until she’s sitting behind me. She’s always been a lot more athletic than I am.

Then she wraps her arms around my waist and snuggles close to my back, her chin on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Sissy,” she whispers into my ear. “Whatever is going on here, I promise I’ll get you out of here. I’ll save you.”

Tears spring to my eyes.

I’m supposed to be saving her.

We ride through what remains of the day—at least, that’s what I think we’re doing. My sense of time is completely thrown off.

Eventually, though, night falls and the two moons rise above us, hanging in the sky, frozen crescents smiling down on us. I fall into a stupor, slumped down into my saddle of ice. By all rights, my legs and butt should be completely numb, but they’re not. I assume it’s another form of Caix magic.

Izzy falls completely asleep, leaning into me with her face mashed against my back.

Hours ago, I pressed her arms to my midsection where she held onto me, just to be sure she didn’t lose her grip and slide off the horse. I was grateful for her body heat, too, especially after I insisted she wrap my cloak around her and then pulled it as far around both of us as I could, tying the ends together to hold it on. It’s an inadequate blanket, but better than nothing.

The trip goes smoothly enough, and except for the occasional glimpses of the ground beneath us, I would think we were simply riding our horses through the forest.

But the closer we get to Starfrost Manor, the more I find myself obsessing over the fact that I’m delivering my sister into the same beautiful hell I’ve been trying to escape.

And now that there are two of us, getting away is likely to be twice as difficult.

CHAPTER 8

IVRAEL

No matter how hard I try, I can’t help watching Lara out of the corner of my eye as we ride from the starport gate back to Starfrost Manor.

When she confronted me about my plans the night of the ballroom fire, power practically radiated from her, shining from every pore.

Now, I see none of that power.

Has her anger faded, taking with it the outer expression of the magic that is her birthright—her bloodright? Has it simply retreated inside her?

And if so, what will it take to bring it to the surface again?

My jaw clenches. The last thing I want is to kill a ballroom full of people every time I need to evoke a magical reaction from Lara.

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