Page 34 of A Bride for the Winter King
“I don’t know what I saw. It was pitch-black outside.”
I’m not supposed to see well in the dark, and I can’t risk it all—gamble Ayaan’s life—on a hunch. If I really saw Morrigan enter the castle, then Sarafina must be in on it. The same logic dictates that she’d know if an ice monster lurked around the Winter King’s gardens. She must be pretending not to know because of the cameras.
Seth runs out of the dorms, the door left hanging open behind him as he takes the stairs two at a time. “Lori! I’m here.” He wades through the thick snow separating us, sinking deeper with each step, his unzipped coat flapping in the waning breeze.
Paul steps out behind him and leans over the parapet. “Ah, the woman in question!” A flock of eyeballs buzzes in Paul’s wake as he climbs down the stairs and clasps his hands. “So good to see you in one piece, Lori. You topped the public votes, but a little longer, and we would have had to leave without you. The horses and sleighs will arrive in ten minutes.”
Is that what this was all about? If I hadn’t been a trained Shadow huntress, I would never have found my way back in this storm, and I’d be dead or lost—eliminated from the Yule pageant.
“Aster is dead,” I repeat. The trivial way they treat the news boils my blood.
“What rotten business, but the show must go on, as they say.” He takes a glimpse inside his leather planner. “Rose can take her place.”
“Is that all you have to say?” I croak.
Seth presses his lips together and wraps an arm around my shoulders, guiding me forward and away from the insensitive host. “Careful,” he whispers in my ear. “Accidentshappen every year. We won’t get closer to the truth by throwing a fit in front of the cameras.” He clears his throat and speaks louder for everyone to hear. “Come along, my flowers. We have to get ready.”
Sarafina walks past us to the entrance of the labyrinth. “The storm put us behind schedule. Get her warm and hydrated, and I’ll meet you out front.” She tucks her hands inside her muffs and throws me a glance over her shoulder. “We should arrive in Snowhaven after sundown, right in time for the challenge.”
The dubious smile on her lips doesn’t bode well for me. I almost follow her back into the maze, starving for answers, but I hang on to Seth instead. The scoundrel owes me an explanation.
I use him as a crutch and let him guide me toward the dorms, my lips inches from his pointy ear. “Remember when you told me I shouldn’t mind your reasons for this charade? Well, it’s time to fess up, Seth. Either you tell me exactly why you enlisted me to do this, or I’m out. Why are you hunting Morrigan? Why do you need her alive?”
His lips thin, and the clench of his jaw erases all traces of cockiness or immaturity from his handsome face. He manhandles me inside the dorms, past the dressing room and into the narrow corridor leading to his private quarters. “Morrigan took my baby brother. He’s been missing for two years now.”
A thin sheen of sweat gathers above his brows. We exchange a heavy glance, my earlier bravado knotted in my throat as he hands me a fresh towel and pushes me toward the bathroom.
“We’re the same, you and I. We’re both here to save someone we love. And no matter who dies, we can’t afford to fuck up.”
Chapter 14
Carnival
LORI
Theswish,swish,swishof the sleigh’s runners lull me into a soft, warm slumber. We’ve been divided into four groups of five, so I huddle under a heavy blanket of fur with the four remaining Spring brides. The lavish winter coats we’ve been given have a thick hood that acts as a pillow. They’re more comfy than the cloaks from before, the fabric snug and stretchy.
“I can’t believe Aster died,” Rose says with a sniffle.
Her friend, a quiet bride called Flora, clasps her hand.
“We were warned about the dangers of winter.” Daisy shakes her head. “She shouldn’t have gone out into that storm.”
Poppy scoffs, her eyes narrowing at her comrade. “So she brought it on herself? Is that it?”
“Yes. Contestants die every year, and we might be next.”
I zone out the girl’s argument and catch up on the sleep I missed because of the vivid dream-vision—and the dark figure lurking in the maze. Seth’s revelation still buzzes in my ears, and I can’t wait for us to be alone to untangle that knot of secrets.
The sunset casts pink, orange, and purple hues over the white plains by the time Snowhaven, the capital of the province of the same name, appears on the horizon. The fortified city towers in the distance, protected from the winds of the plains by a tall, circular stone wall.
The white horse pulling our sleigh slows down, and the little bells around his harness jingle at the change of pace, the thumps of his hooves on the snow spaced out and irregular. I stifle a yawn and shake out the pins and needles in my muscles.
“Look. The doors are opening,” Rose whispers.
The sleighs stop in front of the city as we wait for the thick wooden doors to crack open. The sponsors are sharing a sleigh with Paul, but Elio is nowhere to be found. Uneven winds blast against the city walls, while networks of ropes and pulleys prevent the stone doors from opening too quickly or catching in the draft.
“What are those ramparts for?” Daisy asks. “Winter peeps can’t bethatmotivated to keep freezing winds out.”
