Page 106 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

Like him, they just wanted the war to end, just wanted their lives to go back to normal. Most people probably wanted the same. And then, if fae and human all wanted the war to end, why was it still raging?

Well, Mount Prime was still being destroyed, and humans gave no sign that they’d ever leave it, despite all the Ancients’ pleas. It was humans’ greed, destroying everything in their path. And yet humans were also like Keller and Antonio, who just wanted to love and be loved.

“Also,” Antonio then added, “I’ve heard some things. It’s… a rumor, but makes sense. The Umbraar king could find that hidden city of the white fae.”

River stiffened. The Ancient City was getting overcrowded, as they were receiving Ancients from all over Aluria, and they were not warriors, but regular men, women, and even some children. But Umbraar royals had what they called deathbringer magic, allowing them to move through time and space, to walk through the hollow. They could eventually find even a hidden fae city.

“What would that accomplish?” River’s voice came out harsher than intended.

Antonio shrugged. “Then they can’t hide.”

“That makes no sense.” River tried to sound calmer and not that invested in the subject, but wasn’t sure he managed it. “If you think they’re dangerous, wouldn’t you want them to remain hidden?”

“Not if they’re coming and attacking us.” He showed the palms of his hands. “I mean, it’s a supposition, and it’s just a way to get an upper hand. It doesn’t mean anyone’s going to attack their city, but it could mean the end of the war.”

“Sure.” River nodded. Perhaps these men were not that different from him, but they still stood on opposite sides, and he had to remember that.

Most of all, he had to hurry and find that staff. Their sanctuary, where he thought everyone was safe, was no sanctuary after all.

* * *

Leah managedto keep her head down, her mouth shut, and her anger under control for a day and a half. Considering she’d been wearing the equivalent of a collar, that had been an impressive display of self-control. What had kept her calm was knowing that in one day she would be back home. Just one more day.

At least when it was time to get ready, Leah was left alone with three servants and Lady Celia. No Cassius. The gold dress was beautiful, with delicate embroidery and pearls. One day Leah had dreamed of a beautiful wedding, a lovely dress with a huge skirt, and an unforgettable party. Now it was all a doorway to a prison.

She almost didn’t recognize the beautiful young woman staring back at her in the mirror. Well, she wasn’t the same person anymore, she wasn’t the same person who had left her home just a few days before. So much bitterness and anger inside her, something dark growing there, waiting, biding its time.

With that external semblance of calm she followed Lady Celia to take a carriage out of the castle to Cinaria, the city closest to it. More than fifty soldiers on horses accompanied them, perhaps some ironbringers among them. In the carriage was Lady Celia and Silas, the other prince. At least it wasn’t Cassius. The king and queen still weren’t back from their travels through Aluria.

“We’ll be at the heart of the kingdom,” Celia said, after a long time of silence. “And you’ll want to behave.” She raised an eyebrow and gave Leah a pointed look.

“I will.” She had gotten great at not showing any reaction.

They rode until they reached the town, but it was empty, as if it was a ghost town, like a place from nightmares. It felt unreal like a bad dream. She got off the carriage behind a tall building, eight guards trailing her, and four more opening large doors. When she crossed them, she found herself on a platform, a thick glass wall separating it from a plaza where hundreds of commoners stood. So that was where the people were. Why would they be interested in that wedding? Why did they care?

Leah walked to the middle of the platform and stood by Venard, her back to the crowd beyond the glass. Daydreaming about returning to her kingdom, she barely heard the Master’s words about union and love and family and whatever nonsense. At the end of it, Venard held her hand and raised it, to tremendous applause. This was a spectacle.

After that, she and Venard paraded on a tall glass carriage. She stood and waved, hopefully in a way that didn’t displease lady Celia. But then, she figured that if she did something they didn’t like, her necklace would get hot or something.

So many faces, so many people, some of them in ragged clothes. There were even children and parents with babies. Why did they even care? She was never going to be their queen. And then, perhaps all they wanted was to see her pretty dress, to see a prince and a princess from up close, as if they were gods who could bless them. But they were not gods, they were just monsters, unlikely to care about any of the people there. She even wondered if she would care. In Frostlake, her father helped even the poor when they needed a necromancer. She’d been in the village and in some distant farms, and the faces were not so hollow, did not seem to be in so much suffering, in hunger even. And yet Leah could barely fend for herself in this place, in this horrible kingdom. How could she help anyone? And then, wasn’t that Venard’s excuse? That he didn’t have a choice?

Those thoughts followed her back to the castle, as she considered that soon she would be able to warn her parents and other kingdoms about their ironbringer army. But then, the Ironholds were awful, but it didn’t mean they were planning on attacking anyone. Perhaps it was all to defeat the fae. And then, perhaps the other kingdoms should know about it—just in case.

Venard was also probably eager to escape his family’s influence, eager for more independence, so he was probably looking forward to leaving Ironhold too.

Two servants helped Leah undress, under Celia’s supervision, then they brought her a chicken soup, which she devoured. When she was left alone, in the silence of her solitude, she noticed that her heart was jumping in her chest. The night. The consummation. She couldn’t come up with a way to avoid that. If anything, she needed Venard’s trust. She sighed and closed her eyes, a bitter feeling in her mouth.

Right as she was thinking it, he came in. “You did well today.”

“It wasn’t hard.”

“We’ll be going to Frostlake soon. I…” He looked down. “It’s just… My parents are there now, and they have a good retinue. Quite a few soldiers.”

Probably with some ironbringers, making them a lot more deadly than they seemed.

He stared in her eyes. “Please don’t try anything foolish.”

“I wasn’t going to—” the meaning of his words hit her. “Are you threatening my parents?”

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