Page 4 of Fated to the Frost King

He eyed her dispassionately. The wrath that had tainted the atmosphere was replaced by something heavier now.

“Do you deny it?” he demanded.

She raised her chin, inhaling through her tears while she met the King’s empty eyes.

“I do not.”

He nodded once, a sharp dip of his chin that was the only warning of the ice that spread through her body. Everything about the first female’s death had been intentional, a show for his captive audience, whereas this one was far more perfunctory.

I averted my gaze from the statue, noting idly that he ordered her body carried out rather than shattering it on the white marble floor.

How many more of these would we have to endure? Would the prophetess find some hidden sin from everyone here, eliminating them one by one until the last female standing was the new Winter Queen, coronated in a pool of ice and blood?

As it turned out, I didn’t have to worry about that. The next time the Visionary walked the room, she didn’t walk far.

I tried not to react, even as she stopped in front of me, tilted her head, and stared with milky eyes that swirled like a storm in the winter sky.

Hadn’t I known this was coming? That I never should have been here to begin with? That one way or another, I would pay for this day with my life?

My knees were weak, but I thought about the girl before me, the way she had raised her chin. I would not give the king the satisfaction of seeing me cower.

I supposed it was a relief, after all, that they had made our escorts wait outside. At least my sister wouldn’t have to watch me die.

Still, the blood rushed in my ears, nearly drowning out the word I saw formed on the Visionary’s dark lips, even as I felt it echo in my soul, clanging within my bones like death knells.

“Three.”

Chapter 2

Everly

Three.

The word moved through me like the slow crack of ice.

I was frozen in place, couldn’t swallow or breathe as she stared into my soul like she could see every last one of my secrets, and had already condemned me for them.

I fisted my trembling hands at my side, the sharp tips of my nails threatening to break through the skin of my palms.

“Approach the throne,” the king demanded.

A panicked laugh bubbled past my lips in response. He wanted me to approach the throne? To walk willingly to my death?

No.

If death wanted me so badly, it would have to come for me.

It wasn’t until a gasp echoed through the room that I realized I had spoken the denial aloud.

I wasn’t sure why they were so shocked. Icy chunks of heiress were still scattered on the floor in front of his throne, and they expected me to offer myself to the same fate?

I shook my head at the thought. If I was dead either way, the Frost King could withstand the minor inconvenience of crossingthe room. Or his power could, anyway, since he was more than capable of freezing me at a distance.

When I still didn’t move, a muscle ticked in the king’s jaw, ice and wind angrily whipping through the Great Hall once again.

“Visionary,” the word was a low growl that carried through the cavernous room. “Are you certain you aren’t mistaken?”

The petite fae nodded, her face still an eerie mask of calm, but for the barest twist of her lips. From disgust? Amusement? The expression disappeared before I could decide.

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