Page 57 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

And yet she had always known it would come to this—and always dreaded it. Except when she thought it would have been with Fel. Those silly thoughts.

She also wished she had been to the emergency meeting. They could have blamed her father for the attack, and here she was, unable to do a thing. True that she wouldn’t have done much there either—but she wished she were supporting her father. She wished she knew what they were deciding for the future of Aluria. Fel had probably gone to the meeting. Or maybe Naia. The people she should stop thinking about.

Her mother then came in with rushed steps. “There you are! Let’s go to your room. Oh, you’ll look so pretty!”

Leah got up and followed her mother. “What is it?”

“Your dress. We need to make sure it’s all set.”

“What dress?”

“You’ll marry in your second ball dress, since you’re not using it, and there’s no time to get a new one.”

That made no sense. “What do you mean no time?”

“You think anyone can get a new dress ready for this afternoon?”

Leah still had no idea what her mother was talking about. “What’s happening this afternoon?”

Her mother stopped and frowned, as if Leah had asked a stupid question. “You’re getting married.”

Leah felt as if she were falling into a bottomless pit. A pit of despair. And she didn’t know how to get out of it.

* * *

Naia staredat the dark forest surrounding the cottage, stunned that River expected her to be confined to this small clearing, this small house. The truth was that she’d expected that coming to the underworld would widen her horizons, not narrow them.

The sun was now high in the sky, which was something else she hadn’t expected. Somehow she’d thought that the underworld would be literally, well, under the world—or ground. Instead it had a regular sky above it. But perhaps this was not the underworld, but some place in Aluria. There was no way for her to know.

The hurt in her brother’s eyes came to her mind. Right when he needed her the most, she’d left him. And for what? Naia sighed. For a cute little house and a good-looking future husband. For a chance to learn more. For hope. Maybe she was just annoyed that River had left, but then it meant she missed him. It was all very complicated, and even more so because she didn’t know exactly what she was getting into, and didn’t know River’s motivations.

A sound of steps caught her by surprise. They were heavy steps, definitely not River’s. Even before she turned to look, she heard:

“Naia!” Her father’s voice. Furious. She turned and saw more fury in his eyes, his face, his posture, his clenched fists. Hopefully he wouldn’t murder her by accident—or on purpose—with his death glare.

“Hi, dad.” She smiled. What was she supposed to do? Cower? No way.

“We’re going home.” He wrapped a hand around her wrist and pulled it.

At once, she remembered all the times he had made decisions for her, all the times he had thought he knew what was best for her, without ever bothering to ask her, listen to her. And now here he was again, not the least interested in understanding her, not even making the least effort to try to convince her, as if she had no say in her life.

“No!” She pulled her hand and stepped back. “No,” she repeated. The word sounded strange coming from her mouth.

He grimaced. “What do you mean, no?”

“It means I’m a person, I have choices. I’m not an object for you to carry around, to control.”

“An object?” He looked disgusted. “Since when? I gave nothing but love to you and your brother. I cared for you, fed you, taught you to be strong, self-sufficient, encouraged you to use your magic. What are you talking about? Did that fae brainwash you?”

“Nobody brainwashed anyone. You gave us love, yes, but it was always Fel first. You never asked me what I wanted, and you never cared for my fire, never even had a nice word about it.”

He threw up his hands. “Because it worried me! I don’t know what it means, I don’t know how you got it. I don’t want anyone to see it. And perhaps I never asked you what you wanted, fine. I don’t think so, but let’s assume it’s true. Well, then, you never told me! If there was anything you weren’t happy about, how was I supposed to guess, Irinaia? I can cross through the hollow, but I can’t read minds.”

“I’m telling you now that I want to stay here.”

“To spite me? To defy me? Why, Naia, why? What are you going to accomplish here? This fae will use you then leave you, they aren’t like us. He might even kill you. Don’t ruin your life.” His tone was now more pleading than angry. “Is it marriage you want? I’ll help you find a husband, Naia. Come home. I’m asking you.”

His reaction confused her. She didn’t expect him to stop being angry, didn’t expect him to try to be understanding. But it was true that at first he was going to drag her back home without even asking what she thought about it. And there was another problem. “You can’t carry me; it’s dangerous. You’ve always said you can’t bring anyone through the hollow.”

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