Page 114 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

22

Frozen

Leah was trembling, almost unable to believe she was back in that dreadful room, unable to believe what had just happened, terrified at thinking that she could one day slip into her nightmares. But she was also ashamed and angry at Fel. Why had he humiliated her?

His father had been kind, though. For someone with such a dreadful reputation, he’d been incredibly helpful. And yet. Part of her wished she had stayed in Umbraar, wished Fel had asked her to stay. But that would be foolish. Yes, it would be her much-wanted escape, but what if Ironhold retaliated against Frostlake? Would she bear that blame? And she knew she could make an ally out of Venard, she knew it. And she could wait one day to go home.

More than ever, she was determined to talk to him and postpone their consummation. He was obviously as eager as she was to leave, so there was no point thinking of him as an adversary. It would all work out. Not for her heart, but that had been broken the moment she’d gotten that note from Isofel. Then broken again tonight. She had let Fel smash it then step on the pieces. And a bizarre part of her wished he had taken longer to realize it wasn’t a dream.

A look at the clock told her that a full hour hadn’t passed yet. She’d been so lucky.

After some time, Venard came in. “I’ll turn down the candles. Undress and wait for me.” There was something odd, clipped about his voice.

“Venard, no. Let’s give it some time. You’re my friend, you can wait. We’ll rule Frostlake together. We’ll have time. Let’s get to know each other first, it will be much better. We’ll do it when we’re away from your family, when there are no threats hanging upon us.”

He didn’t look at her. “Just close your eyes and relax, all right? It will be fine. Just lie down and relax.” There was fear in his voice. Strange.

Leah was immersed in darkness as he left, but she lit a candle right away. If he was more afraid than her, she could use it to her advantage. Venard was a coward, but wasn’t cruel. Unless his grandma stood right beside him threatening him, she doubted he’d do anything against her will.

After long minutes, the door opened again. She took a deep breath, trusting herself that she could still convince him, but it got caught in her chest when she saw who came in.

It wasn’t Venard, but his brother, Cassius.

* * *

Before the gathering,Azir had come to the Frostlake castle a couple times, just out of curiosity, a bizarre curiosity. Still, he didn’t know the castle well and didn’t know where the royal family would be in an occasion like this. Most castles had a safety vault for the king and queen, but he wasn’t sure if it was the case here, and if there had been any time for them to get there.

He tried to feel where Ursiana was, but it was like facing a wall. He decided to remember the gathering and go to the main ballroom. There were Frostlake guards fallen to the ground, but there was no sign of conflict or blood. They were not breathing, though—they were dead.

Who could have caused this? The fae again? His instinct told him that this had been Ironhold’s doing, now that they could take control of the kingdom after marrying the Frostlake heir. And if some of the guards they sent were ironbringers… But it still didn’t explain how these men had fallen dead without wounds. What Azir had to do now was find Ursiana. He recalled the guest wing and imagined the royal quarters would be near there.

Up in the hallways, he did find signs of battle. Guards and servants were slain with swords—or some other type of cutting object. His experience observing Fel and Naia had taught him that ironbringers could do a lot of damage from a distance. If it had been ironbringers. But he wasn’t here to figure out who was attacking the castle, but to get Ursiana to safety—if she was still alive. A heavy weight was settling in his chest as he realized that her odds of surviving this were very slim. Where was she? Faint shouts at a distance got his attention. Azir slipped into the darkness and found himself in a huge bedroom. A corner was covered with some kind of dark vines, which two men were trying to cut.

“Set it on fire,” one of them said. He was wearing dark pants and a shirt, and no guard uniform, so it was hard to know where he was from.

“They need her body,” the other replied.

“We’ll quench it before it burns her.”

Azir slipped in the hollow again, then past the vines, where Ursiana was fallen, unconscious.

Something exploded outside the vines, so he grabbed her in his arms and barely had time to slip away before any fire or heat reached them.

Searching for a pulse, he touched her neck, for a second fearing that she would be dead just like everyone in the throne room. Her heart was still beating, but she was so cold.

Then he looked around and realized his moment of panic had gotten him lost. He could usually see paths ahead of him, like roads on a clear field, but this time there was only darkness. And walls. He was surrounded by them on all sides except one, from where a faint light came. But a monstrous roar also came from that direction. This couldn’t be. Of all the times he could have gotten lost, of all the places he could have ended up in, why did this happen now, and why did he end up here?

* * *

20 years before

Leavingthe crew of the Death Sails was an odd experience, as River felt as if he was leaving friends behind. And yet they were humans, humans who were destroying Aluria, who wouldn’t mind seeing the Ancient City destroyed. And now he was in Fernick, a land he knew very little about, without any idea of where to find the dragon lords, dragons, or whatever they chose to call themselves.

He’d always wondered what had happened to the dragons in Aluria and even in Fernick, and now he got his answer and it made his stomach lurch a little. By dragons, he’d always imagined the legendary reptile-like flying creatures. And yet, from some talks with the crew, he learned that dragons were the dragon lords; humans. Magical humans, sure, but definitely not the dragons he would like to see. What a pretentious name, dragons. Couldn’t they have picked a humble, realistic name, like Ancients? In a way, it would make his quest easier knowing that he wouldn’t have to face gigantic fire-breathing creatures. But he still wished they existed.

Fernick was also the land of many types of fae and elves. He’d always wanted to see faeries with different skin colors, and wondered what it would be like to be blue or purple, or to have wings. The idea of flying sounded amazing, but having fragile wings would make it quite dangerous.

The continent was occupied by humans, like Aluria, but it was huge and had large forests where fae could live undisturbed. But he was here to find the dragons, not other fae.

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