Page 148 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

29

Hanging

“Ido love you, just so you know.” River’s words kept repeating in Naia’s head. River, who, at least in theory, couldn’t lie. River, who had made her fall asleep.

But she had no idea where she was and her body hurt. Right. River’s people had made her sleep. Perhaps it was a fae thing.

Naia opened her eyes and realized she was hanging upside down, with her legs tied with strong rope. She could burn that rope easily, but the problem was that the ground was far below her, covered with wooden spikes. Along the wall, near the ceiling where she was hanging, there was a thick glass window, and beyond that, she saw the Fae king, the one who looked eerily like River, except that he was ugly and nasty.

Beside him was the young man. No sign of the princess who had tried to warn Naia. Awesome help. There were three other men with darker clothes, and some ten guards behind them. She could sense no metal, but she wasn’t sure if it was because they weren’t wearing any or if the wall blocked it. She tried to light flames in her hand, and they were normal, so at least her magic wasn’t completely blocked. Perhaps she could burn those spikes or something, she wasn’t sure yet.

The king watched her. “Finally awake.”

“You said you wouldn’t harm me!”

He shrugged. “You seem fine to me. And I never touched you or attacked you.”

Of course. Fae’s tricky words. He had specifically stated that he wouldn’t harm her, not that she wouldn’t be harmed. It made a ton of difference.

“I didn’t do anything. Why are you doing this?”

The king stared at her. “Why don’t you ask yourself what your kind did?”

“That was a long time ago. But you also attacked us and destroyed villages and even a city. I think we’re even.”

The king scoffed. “I’m not talking about humans, girl. Now, I can let you go. Unharmed. But you have to free us.”

Free them? “And how can I do that?”

“That’s not up to us to know, is it? And perhaps you can’t do it, but maybe someone from your kind can.”

“I have no idea how or why you’re even kept in this city, and I’d sure help you if I knew how. And what do you mean my kind? My family?”

“Dragons, girl. We need dragon magic to free us.”

Did she hear it right? Dragons? “I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, but I have no scales. Or wings. Or claws. I mean, it should be quite obvious—”

“Quiet. Dragon lords, dragons, dragon riders, it’s all the same. You look human, but you aren’t.”

That made more sense. And yet it didn’t. “I’m an ironbringer and I have fire magic. I’m not a dragon whatever.”

“Perhaps you’re not aware of it. We still need to be freed.”

“And how is keeping me here hanging going to help?”

“Someone from your kind will sense your distress. Hopefully. And they’ll come.”

Naia sighed. That meant she was going to hang in there forever—unless her magic could somehow set her free. Or she could convince them. “Seriously, I don’t know any dragon lords, and they don’t know me. This is not going to work. But if you let me leave, I could try to find them. Sounds more reasonable, doesn’t it?”

All the king did was look at one of the fae by him and nod. That was a signal, and probably bad news for Naia. The fae was wearing a hood covering most of his face. She wondered what he could do from such a distance and behind a glass wall, when she felt transported somewhere else.

She was in the garden by her house, and Fel was lying down, eyes wide with fear, blood spurting from his chest. No. Naia took a deep breath. This wasn’t real.

Naia then found herself by her father, lying on a bed, pale and sick.

“You left me. You betrayed me,” he told her in a weak voice.

She was about to apologize, but then again she had the presence of mind to realize it wasn’t real. They were trying to do something to her mind, as if trying to amplify her fears, and while it felt horrible, she tried not to be taken in with these visions, as horrific and realistic as they were.

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