Page 60 of A Bride for the Winter King
A forced chuckle quakes her breath. “Anicefairytale, I hope?”
“There’s no such thing,” I mumble, slowly peeling my palm away from the glass.
Daisy uncurls her hand from the knob, but the rim of the cloche glides along the marble base of the podium and bumps against the apple. Long shadows stretch from the barren maple trees, their trunks and branches casting tall, gnarled silhouettes toward the center of the clearing.
The weasels pause as a strong breeze beats my hair forward.
“Run.”
“Did you hear that?” I ask Daisy.
“Hear what?”
One weasel stands on its hind legs, its nose twitching with a series of rapid sniffs before it jumps back into the juniper hedgewith a loud squeak. The other critters quickly retreat into the protection of the forest.
I turn around just in time to see a naked, gangly ice giant, twice our size, ambling toward us. His long arms swing at his sides, nearly brushing the ground, and sharp claws extend from his hands.
The moon shines brightly behind him, and the shape of his heart is visible through his quasi-translucent body. The crooked organ displays the smooth, white face of a sad, tortured man.
Chapter 24
Apples, Mirrors, and Crowns
LORI
The eyes of the face-shaped heart bore into me, and my skin tingles all over. His mouth is curled downward, his brows drawn into a painful frown, while high cheekbones and an elegant jawline glare at me through the ice.
Tears blur my vision and freeze as soon as they touch my cheeks. I angle my jaw to the side, unable to endure the direct gaze of the giant’s heart.
The creature’s spiky white hair and pointy nose look sharp enough to spear through flesh, and his bite of power ripples across my skin. This creature is ancient. It was born long before any of the royal Fae we met this morning, and will live long after they’re gone.
Whatever it is…is permanent.
“I am Chenu.” The raspy tenor voice comes out rough and dry, like stone grounding on stone, and gives the impression it hasn’t been used in decades. “What would you offer me in exchange for your soul? An apple, a mirror, or a crown?”
I close my eyes for an instant. My mother’s voice echoes in my ears, and my mind drifts back to the yellow-painted walls ofmy childhood home. My fingertips tingle at the vivid memory of the textured illustrations glazing the pages of her old book full of bedtime stories.
“You were a man, once. A powerful oracle,” I blurt out, remembering the pretty patterns of my frosted bedroom window. “But you ate your brother to survive out in the cold.”
The Chenu gives a small incline of the head. “Men eat men in the cold embrace of hatred, ambition, or desperation. I was not the first nor the last.”
I run through the items lying under the glass cloche.
A mirror would reveal how far he’s fallen, how little of the man he once was remains. But it also serves as a doorway to other worlds—a means of escape. It’s too small to squeeze through, but it might represent freedom. I’m fairly certain that the crown of thorns wouldn’t fit over Chenu’s disheveled hair, but circles symbolize the cyclicality of life: birth, death, and rebirth. The apple, a symbol of knowledge, immortality, and temptation, also represents love, beauty, and wisdom.
It’s also entirely possible that the riddle forgoes another secret option I’m unaware of.
Chenu’s vibrant eyes fall to my side, his hardened irises sparkling in the night. “You’ve been a hair away from death.”
The spider bite throbs under his scrutiny. “I have.”
“What would you offer me in exchange for your soul? An apple, a mirror, or a crown?” he repeats patiently, a dreamy smile stretching his cracked blue lips.
I could try to kill him, but not without revealing my identity or risking a fight I might not win. Violence should be my last resort here.
“If we answer correctly, you will let us pass?” Daisy asks.
Chenu raises a long claw toward Daisy. “Why should Ilet youdo anything? You do not truly crave the price at stake and you…” He extends and flexes his hand in my direction. “Theimmortality you seek will not satisfy your hunger. A mortal man and a tree grow until they get old. An immortal festers in his own hubris, unaware of the one thing no one should take for granted.”
