Page 92 of Fated to the Frost King

Bile coated my tongue as my mind conjured images of malevolent shadows and leathery wings and claws as they razed one village just to steal from another. They wanted to confuse, and scatter chaos. To stretch borders so thin the cracks could no longer hold.

And once that happened… they didn’t back down. They devoured.

A chill prickled beneath my skin, and it had nothing to do with the cold. The mention of Briarhollow had sunk into my bones. It was also too close to home.

Too close to Eisbarrow.

My father would likely be safely ensconced in one of his favorite whores, and not at home, so I was mostly certain hewould be fine. And Wynnie’s estate was far enough west that she wouldn’t be anywhere near it.

I still hadn’t heard from her.

I needed to write her again, to warn her about the frostbeasts hunting during the day.

I hated how it always came back to this—this feeling of perpetual threat. Like I was always standing in place, blindly waiting for the axe to fall.

The hallway stretched ahead, unnaturally silent. There was no soft padding of paws along the marble. No rhythmic breath of a giant wolf at my side.

It was strange how quickly I’d gotten used to Lumen’s presence, how much safer I felt when he was here, too.

“How will the wolves get back?” I asked, breaking the silence before it could smother me completely.

“They know the way,” he said quickly, his voice low and composed. “They’ll return by tomorrow.”

It was a surprisingly civil answer. Or maybe not. He had been distinctly milder since the mages.

Since he saw my scars.

So maybe that’s what we were now. Civil.

Somewhere between the lies and bloodshed, the answer felt distinctly wrong, but neither did I have an alternative that didn’t make life here even more miserable.

“And you?” I wasn’t sure why I cared, or why I thought he would tell me, so I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t respond.

We passed the guards and came to the circular foyer that contained doors to each of our rooms.

His mana hummed along my skin, and I hated the way my body warmed in response. Just because he had decided to be a monster on my behalf didn’t make him less of one. Right? Hadn’t he admitted as much himself?

More than anything, I despised that it was one more choice that was taken from me. Wynnie had been sold into marriage, but her body didn’t betray her at every turn.

Somehow, it felt even more grating, knowing that my mana hadn’t been denied by the Shard Mother. I wasn’t lacking on some fundamental level.

It, too, had been stolen.

He stopped outside my door, turning to me with an inscrutable expression.

“I don’t know yet when I’ll return.” his voice startled me from my thoughts, so it took me a moment to realize he was answering my question, after all.

“In the meantime, trust no one but Nevara and Mirelda. And Eryx, of course, but I doubt you’ll have dealings with him.”

Meantime.

What did that even mean for me now?

We still weren’t sure I would ever unlock my mana, and even if I did, it had never occurred to me that my marriage to Draven might actually be permanent. If not actually real.

That thought was likely to send me spiraling so I focused on the rest of his words.

I had known he didn’t trust easily, but three people in an entire court was…intense.

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