Page 48 of The Winter Prince

It seeped into Revi, but without proper guidance, Enlo could feel it draining out just as quickly as it entered.

He pushed more in futile hope, but when that did the same as before, he stopped. Wasting the magic wouldn’t help anyone. If only Enlo hadn’t destroyed Revi’s roses—

His head snapped up.

The frostrose bush. He had destroyed the roses, yes, but the bush itself was still there.

He was on his feet in moments. He heaved Revi up over his shoulders, gripping one leg and one arm in front of him. He grunted as he took a step. Even as a man, Revi was massive. Enlo gritted his teeth and took another step.

Too slowly, keenly aware of the fading heartbeat against his shoulder blades, Enlo carried Revi to the eastern garden. To the frostrose bush, mangled as it was. Shame burned Enlo as he looked at it. Tears stung his eyes. He pushed the emotions away and carefully laid Revi down on the snow beside the bush. He looped one of Revi’s arms up and over a stunted branch, and he curled his own fingers around Revi’s to grip the plant.

He stretched out his senses toward Revi, trying to gauge if the bush was having any effect on him. The magic of the bush swirled around Revi, some even sinking into him, but his magical presence did not grow stronger. Enlo tightened his fingers over his cousin’s, pressed his forehead to Revi’s chest, and let silent, wracking sobs overtake him.

Chapter 32

Kienna

Kiennarodehardthroughthe forests and mountains to reach the Winter Court.

She ignored her father’s urges to slow for the sake of the horses. She’d allowed brief respites, but only as long as it took for her horse’s sides to stop heaving before she pushed him back into speed.

There was a horrible, aching, hollow feeling in her, and she was terrified of what it meant. The cold burned her eyes, and the whip of wind against her skin rubbed it raw, but still she did not stop.

After far too long, though it had only been a day or two of travel, they arrived.

Kienna almost didn’t recognize it at first. There had been a different feeling in the air, a delicious cold zing, ever since the forest grew thick with evergreens half a day back.

But she had been waiting for evergreens dying under the heat of summer—and then suddenly they reached a wall. A familiar wall, for she had spent weeks staring at the other side of it.

Except that this wall was capped in snow, icicles hanging on any outcropping. Everything glistened in the brief winter sun that had peeked out, bright but weak compared to the summer sun she had grown accustomed to while living here.

They paused at the gates. One sat off its hinge at a crooked angle, as if broken down from the outside, and Kienna’s breath left her as everything inside squeezed in alarm.

The sight set Papa and his men on high alert. She could hear the murmurs and the whisper of steel as it left the scabbards.

She turned and put a hand up. “You can’t go in. It would break the bargain.”

“I will not let my daughter walk knowingly into danger. Your prince may not harm you, but whatever did that”—Papa gestured with his sword toward the broken gate— “certainly will.”

“Papa,” she started to argue, but his gaze was steel.

“If this forfeits my life, then so be it.” He raised his voice. “I go through. Know that any man who goes with me might be walking into death, and no one is dishonored if they choose to stay behind.” He stared her down as he nudged his horse through the open gate.

Kienna squeezed her legs into the side of her own horse, followed by the slowclop, clop, clopof the rest of the men after a few moments.

She gasped as she took in the sheer beauty of the space before her. It was almost exactly like the winter wonderland her prince had shown her in her dream. Snow covered everything in a jeweled blanket. There were a few odd mounds that she didn’t remember strewn across the ground, but as one of her father’s men dismounted and dislodged some snow from the side of one of the mounds, she shuddered and looked away.

“I think we found the threat,” she said quietly, counting them. A dozen. A dozen mounds lay scattered across the grounds.

A dozen of those monstrous beasts that her prince had saved her from once before.

Worry returned in full force. A dozen of them. Revi had taken on three to protect her and Enlo, but could he take on adozen?

She had to find him. She pushed her horse forward to the bottom of the stairs leading up into the castle and jumped down, taking the steps two at a time.

Snow crunched under her feet. She couldn’t help but marvel at that fact. Whatever curse had befallen the Winter Court, clearly it was gone. But at what cost? Was Revi even here anymore to greet her? Had she returned too late? She shoved open the front door; the slam of it echoed down the castle halls.

“Hello?” she cried. “Is anyone here? Zoya? Revi? Hello?” She was halfway across the room when Zoya appeared, her hair disheveled, her breath huffing.

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