Page 20 of The Snow Queen

“Don’t think of it. Forget everything attached to him, if you can; even the name he gave you. I know, how about Eira? You’re so fond of elves, and it means Snow in their tongue.”

Eira. She kinda liked that.

Chapter Nine

Kai prided himself on having quite a quick mind, but he didn’t have a fucking clue what the hell was happening right now.

What he’d seen Eira do was impossible. Just impossible. Not difficult, unlikely, or weird.

He knew the theories of magic; users could bend and transform things that existed.

Eira hadn’t: she’d created ice.

Nothingwas created, first law of physics, defining and explaining everything in the entire universe.

“We need to gather everyone; keep your questions, they’ll last the night if we survive this.”

He snapped his mouth shut, agreeing with Fyn.

He counted heads and was disturbed at the number: three hundred and ninety-five.

Someone was missing.

“Gerda,” he cursed.

She was probably hunting.

“We can’t wait, Kai.”

He nodded; while he didn’t know what was coming, he had a pretty good idea – elves only had one enemy nowadays.

Before his birth, his father decided to form an alliance with the marquis of Carabas, the land adjunct to the forest where they’d lived at the time.

Kai wasn’t certain what had happened but their friendship ended up in betrayal, but not before the marquis had learnt their biggest weakness.

Marking an elf made them servants to those whose scene they wore – slaves. The gods had cursed them that way after they’d rebelled, refusing to fight for their amusement – it had taken away their choice.

Carabas was close to the mountain where they now resided, but he’d trusted the wards to keep them safe – until now.

What had happened to make them fail? How was Eira linked to all this?

More importantly yet: she was obviously powerful. Why wasn’t she helping them, here?

“The children on the sleigh,” he ordered.

There was only one, and the thirty three younglings didn’t fit. Where was Gerda? For once, he could have done with the help of her stubborn Bae.

“Kragen,” he called. “Come here.”

He took the child on his own shoulders and they were on their way, too slowly for their own good.

He could hear them now; Eira had been right, there were motor vehicles – a lot of them.

He was desperately coaxing everyone at the back to hurry the fuck up when they reached a place whichdefinitelydidn’t belong in this mountain.

Anytime now, he was going to wake up from this nightmare.

They were in a flower garden. Seriously, a garden, in a middle of the winter, onthismountain.

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