Page 149 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

Naia then was on the bed in River’s house, kissing him. The feel of his lips, his hands sliding under her skirt, it felt so real, so pleasant. But it wasn’t real, it wasn’t… He moved on top of her, and it was scary and exhilarating. It was so odd to both fear and desire something at the same time, but it felt good to get lost in the soft feel of his kisses and caresses, to forget whatever it was that had been nagging her on the bottom of her mind. There was something, something, something she had to remember, but this felt so good.

He took off his shirt, and there he was, like when she’d first seen him, so magnificent, except that he wasn’t cold this time, but warm, so warm. His skin felt soft against her hands, and he kissed her again, then stopped and moved back, his hands against his throat, as if being strangled. Not again. She wanted to save him, wanted to undo that kiss, undo the harm she’d done. “River! River!”

And yet her yell made her open her eyes. She sighed in relief when she realized she was still a prisoner hanging upside down and it had been just a vision. It meant River was not dying. It also meant that she was in trouble and probably would die in this place, but at that moment, it was a relief.

The king chuckled. “So the shameful River is mixed up with a dragon. Why doesn’t it surprise me?”

“But he’s your son, isn’t he?” It was a guess, but it was what made most sense.

The man’s features hardened. “River’s no son of mine anymore.”

That was why River had no last name. He hadn’t been lying. But it was unfair. “I think he’s trying to help you.”

“As he should. All of this is his fault. We should have won the war, we should have Aluria to ourselves. And yet, here we are, trapped, dying.”

“Let me go. I’ll talk to him.”

“I want us to be free.”

“I’ll try to free you. I can even try to find those dragons.”

“Trying is not good enough.”

Naia was tired of that, and sent a burst of flames to the wall. Nothing happened—of course. Before the weird fae sent her any more creepy visions, she burned the spikes below her, then burned the rope tying her and jumped down. While she managed to land on her feet, she fell right away, her butt hitting the floor hard, having to hear the king laughing from that window.

At least she wasn’t in that ridiculous hanging position anymore. But the bottom of that room and the walls were just stone, stone that she couldn’t burn. And yet, there had to be something. If she had been brought in then tied, the room had to have some kind of door, passage. This time she would burn any fae standing in her way. If she found the exit, of course.

She moved carefully between spikes then touched the wall beneath the window. It meant that the king and his retinue couldn’t see her anymore, and hopefully couldn’t send her that weird magic. She still needed to find a way to escape, because she wasn’t delusional like the fae and knew that no dragon lord would come looking for her. Not even River could come here, not that she expected him to do anything.

The king then yelled from the window above her, “Eventually you will starve.”

“Maybe we’ll all starve together. And you’re imprisoning the one person who wanted to help you. At least it will be deserved.”

Well, no. She thought about some of the faces she’d seen on her way to the castle. They had nothing to do with this. But it was true that she could die here. All because River had never told her anything, because she had to go and look for her own answers while he kept his secrets from her.

Perhaps all of this was because she had decided to follow a tricky fae instead of staying with her family. She wanted to regret it, and then she heard it again, “I do love you, just so you know.” But what kind of love was that, keeping her in the dark, keeping her unconscious? And yet she felt something too, and it was more than just enjoying his kisses or being entranced by his looks. But none of that mattered now.

Then pain shot through her body, as if it were burning. So much pain.

* * *

River wantedto get back home soon. His magic had been needed at night, but it was morning now and he wanted to get back to Naia, even if she wasn’t likely to care whether he was there or not. He closed his eyes. This wouldn’t last long, it was just until everything was settled.

Then he heard it, “River! River!” She was calling him, and he had no choice but to obey her call right away.

An Ironhold and a Frostlake soldier stood by him. Poor Frostlake guys, so convinced it had been the evil fae attacking them. At this point, he doubted any different accounts would be taken seriously.

“I have to go,” he said, just to be polite. Then, without even telling anyone else, he slipped in the hollow and walked back to his house.

He rushed up the stairs to his bedroom—and found it empty. He looked out the window at the barrier separating him from his city. She was there, calling him, and yet there was strong magic forbidding him to enter.

Trying to go inside could get him lost in the in-between for years again. Still, he had to try it. No, instead of trying to counter the magic keeping him out, he had to listen to the magic tying him to Naia—and hope it would be strong enough.

* * *

20 years before

River was stillwithin the Ancient’s parallel realm, but in an isolated place. Perhaps he could hide here, if the rest of Aluria became too dangerous. He kicked a rock. No. He should be doing something. He wanted to avenge Ciara, wanted to kill everyone in Ironhold, innocents included.

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