Page 45 of The Winter Prince

The garden was quiet, but that was no surprise with no courtiers at the Winter Court. There was no one to wander the gardens but servants, and they rarely took advantage of that option. The fear of Revi, if something accidentally happened to his frostroses, was too strong.

The roses waited where they always were, cast in the soft morning sunlight. Enlo walked toward them slowly, trepidation filling his heart. If he did this, there would be no going back. He would kill Revi, or Revi would kill him.

The thought twisted in him like a knife to his heart. But he cut himself off from the sensation. Someone had to be willing to put the Court before their emotions.

Squaring his shoulders, Enlo lifted the axe and brought it down on the roses.

A pulse of magic shuddered through the air, much like the one from Kienna’s departure, except this one held an edge of wrongness to it. Of pain. Enlo pushed away the feeling and raised the axe again.

Chapter 29

Revi

WithKienna’sdeparture,Revi’slegs gave out. He slumped down onto the bed, digging his claws in.

He had known the cost of the magic, but knowing and actually experiencing it were two different things. He rested his head on his paws, waiting for the weakness to pass. Waiting for a semblance of strength to return to him. It was only a few minutes before he tried to rise again. He made it off the bed, but on his first step across the floor, he collapsed, a pulse of pain shooting through him. It wasn’t just the stabbing discomfort of moving while weakened. It was a lightning-hot agony that spread throughout his whole body.

A snarl escaped him. There was something deeply wrong about this pain. Dread rooted itself in his chest. What had he done? Had Kienna used more magic from such a distance despite his warning of the danger? He’d trusted her with his name, histruename. Perhaps she had already betrayed him. The thought tore through him, causing almost as much torment as the physical sensation. He had trusted a human with his name and… his heart. He desperately hoped this wasn’t him living to regret that.

He lay on his side, chest heaving, for an indeterminate amount of time. Every time he thought to move, another wave of agony staggered through him. It felt like the very life was being ripped from him, leaving him with nothing but deep, clawing emptiness.

Enlo. He had to find Enlo. If he didn’t, he was certain this rending inside him would tear him apart. He needed his cousin. He needed other magic to shore up his defenses until this passed and his strength returned. He dug his claws into the floor and forced himself to his feet. His vision clouded; he nearly blacked out when he tried to take a step forward.

He paused and waited until he was steady, and then he took another step, and another. Slowly, so slowly, making his way out toward the entrance hall of the castle. His head spun too much to try to process where he might find Enlo. But if he could just get out there, maybe he could at least find a servant who could fetch Enlo for him.

But he’d sent the healers away, and the skeleton crew of servants were probably off completing their morning duties, for he found no one. He started in the direction of the kitchens; that was his best hope, where he was most likely to find help.

He was leaning against the wall in the hallway just off the dining room when Enlo found him.

“Cousin,” Revi rasped. “My magic. I need—” Talking made his head spin even worse. He paused and gulped in a breath of air. Enlo hurried forward, an axe held loosely in his hand. Revi was too weak and disoriented to wonder about that.

He tried to straighten, swaying on his feet slightly as Enlo approached.

Enlo’s expression was twisted, grim. “I’m sorry, cousin.”

Revi started again, barely hearing Enlo’s words. He needed to explain so Enlo would know how to help him. “Something is wrong with my—”

He cut off sharply as Enlo sprang forward, swinging the axe at Revi’s head.

Chapter 30

Revi

AdrenalinesurgedthroughRevias the axe swung down, giving him the strength to throw himself out of its path. He staggered sideways and away from Enlo as his cousin straightened, drawing the weapon up to strike again.

“What summer-cursed madness has possessed you?” Revi snarled, backing away even as Enlo stalked forward.

“It has to be done, Revi,” Enlo said grimly.

Revi searched his face, looking for any sign that Enlo was not himself, that he was possessed or controlled in some way. But his eyes were clear, his expression twisted into one of tense determination and lined with grief.

Revi stumbled back from yet another axe swing. This one cut close. So close that Revi could feel the whoosh of it against his fur. “What are you talking about?”

Enlo adjusted his grip on the axe and kept coming. It was only Revi’s years of ingrained training and predator instincts that kept him out of Enlo’s reach. But he was fueled with adrenaline, and that could only do so much against the agony and weakness of his shredded magic. He stumbled as often as he leaped.

“One of us has to do what it takes to save our Court.” Sweat beaded on Enlo’s brow, and his swings were slowing. He was only a warrior by necessity; he’d never had Revi’s skills or stamina. “You have proven your loyalties are not strong enough to do what needs to be done. You sent away the Court’s only hope. Our last chance is that perhaps I can do better than you.”

“Do what better? Make Kienna fall in love with you?”

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