Page 23 of Heart of the Summer Queen

“After you froze them, what happened? The last I remember, they were still there when you flew Father and me back to the palace. But I’m not sure what became of them after that. I wastoo concerned with rescuing Father.” In a small voice, I add, “Did... did you shatter them?”

He quickly shakes his head. “I did not. They were already incapacitated and rendering them to tiny fragments would have been unnecessarily cruel.”

“Where are they? Are they still out there in the forest?”

“After I escorted you to your chambers, I took great care in returning them to the palace. They are also in the room you visited two nights ago, along with your sister and all the previous Summer Brides.”

When I break the king’s curse, I’ll be able to free them as well as my sister.

“You seem greatly concerned for their fate,” the king says, studying me.

“They only broke into the palace because they were ordered to do so,” I say, focusing on my hands so I don’t have to look at him. “And one of those guards, their captain, was someone dear to me. He was the man who taught me how to wield a sword.”

“I’m sorry, Adara,” he whispers. “I did not intend to take away someone else dear to you.”

“It’s fine,” I say, swallowing down the painful lump in the back of my throat. “I’ll break your curse and then everything will be put right.”

He says nothing but stares at me with that heavy look in his eyes, as if there are a thousand things he wishes to say but they’re all too tangled together.

I stand and pace over to the counter by the door where I left the parchment and ink. Then I return to the Winter King and hold them out. I realize now that in my haste, I forgot to bring something for him to write with.

“Do you have a quill?” I ask.

He conjures a translucent pen and dips it into the pot. “Why have you brought me parchment and ink?”

“Can you write ‘I am cursed?’”

The Winter King puts his pen to the parchment, and I watch intently as he begins to form the letters. He managesIandam, but as he goes to writecursed, his hand stops mid motion, thecpartway formed. He turns to me and raises a brow, as if to ask what else I expected.

I inspect the abandoned sentence. In all this time I’ve been in the palace, I’ve never seen the Winter King’s handwriting but it looks as elegant and regal as he does. I imagine plenty of scribes would be envious. I suppose three centuries is plenty of time to practice. “Can you really not continue?”

He turns back to the parchment and lowers his pen to the parchment again. This time the nib doesn’t even touch the surface, and his hand trembles as he tries to push it down. It’s as if an invisible force is fighting against him.

“Can you write the name of the witch who cursed you?”

“I cannot.”

“Can’t you try?”

He tries but doesn’t form even a single letter. If I had the witch’s first initial, it would help to narrow her down.

“Never mind,” I say. While this exercise has revealed no new clues, at least it confirms the fact he’s cursed and that the magic prevents him from revealing its existence. If that part of what I read is true, then every curse having a way to be broken must also be true.

Which means I can save my sister. I just need to figure out how.

I tighten my fists and start away. “I’ll keep searching.”

“Adara,” he calls after me, “I was hoping to discuss a certain matter with you.”

I stop. “What matter?”

“Our marriage.”

My shoulders turn rigid. “Our marriage,” I say slowly.

“I have had time over the past few days to consider everything.” His gaze drifts over to the balcony and stays there. “And after much consideration, I believe it would be best for our marriage to be annulled.”

Annulled.

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