Page 68 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

14

The Iron Citadel

Leah had expected to feel dizzy or nauseous when crossing the portal into Ironhold, but it felt normal, like passing through a regular arc, except that the landscape changed from frosty to foggy with winter dry trees but no ice or snow.

Venard was still looking outside, while Lady Celia kept staring at Leah with narrowed eyes. The woman was probably going to get some extra wrinkles from that trip—which would be well deserved.

Then, for the first time, the woman smiled. It was a cold smile that didn’t reach her eyes, but at least it was something. “We’re home. This is also your home now, even if you’re here only for a short visit.”

Leah nodded. “Yes.”

Lady Celia frowned. “Yes? That’s what you have to say? We are admitting you into our kingdom, the richest in Aluria, despite your horrible display, despite everyone’s suspicions about you.”

“I meant—”

“Quiet!” the woman roared. “Don’t interrupt me when I speak.”

Leah had only wanted to say she had meant no disrespect, but now she thought that she wanted to disrespect that woman, and she had quite a few words that required a lot of effort to be contained.

“We’re welcoming you.” The woman raised an eyebrow. “For now. But if we find out you’re carrying some servant’s child, oh girl, you’ll regret your lies.”

“Lies?” Leah couldn’t hold back her words. “How dare you question my honor?”

“Venard.”

He looked between Leah and Lady Celia, as if hesitating for a second. Then he slapped Leah’s face so hard that it brought tears to her eyes. Before she could even recover from it, he was holding both of her hands, and whispered in her ear, “Please be quiet or it will be worse. Please.” His voice was pleading, not threatening.

The woman looked at her grandson with a satisfied smirk. Leah wanted to jump out of the carriage, but she was restrained. She wanted to say that they should annul the wedding, that she hated them, that she wanted to go back home, but his tone gave her pause. Perhaps he was trying to warn her. He had hurt her and she couldn’t forgive him for that, and couldn’t imagine a peaceful union with him. But that woman… there was clear satisfaction in her face. She enjoyed seeing Leah humiliated, hurt.

“There, there, child,” Lady Celia said. “If you want to be part of our family, you need to adapt to our ways. Don’t interrupt us. Don’t contradict us. Your husband will teach you some manners, so that we can welcome you among us. It will soften you, make you more amenable. Like meat.”

Meat? Leah stared at the woman. “I want to go back.”

Lady Celia mimic-pouted. “So cute. She thinks she has a choice. Understand one thing, child: we don’t care what you want. Venard.”

“Don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, or it will be worse!” Leah screamed.

He held her wrists with one hand, then took a thin iron bar, bent it, and wrapped it around one of her wrists.

Lady Celia raised an eyebrow. “If you yell, if you complain, if you scream, it will burn you. Try to run, and it will burn you. And don’t think that it will be a soft burn. We’ll make sure it cuts across your bone until you’re like the Umbraar boy.”

Fel. How dare she say that about him? Was that how he’d lost his hands? No, it couldn’t be, he’d never been to Ironhold, as far as she knew. Thinking about him made Leah feel even worse, but then, what if he was also cruel? How would she know?

Lady Celia chuckled. “Silent. Much better, isn’t it? Now, we wanted to treat you kindly, but you chose this. We can still treat you kindly, mind you, once your behavior is appropriate for Ironhold. And I’ll be honest: I don’t care what your mother or father says. For me, you are a little slut who let some servant between your legs, and nothing will convince me otherwise. Who was it, darling? A guard?” She tsked and shook her head. “So many guards in the hallways, that’s what you get. But I don’t care who it was. If there’s a child there, it won’t survive.”

“Don’t say anything,” Venard whispered in her ear.

Leah had never been so humiliated in her life. In fact, she’d never been humiliated. The taste was bitter, but it mostly made her angry, an ugly anger that wanted to harm and maybe even kill someone. But she remained silent. She remained silent as the woman kept talking about how daughters were poorly raised nowadays, how Ironhold had high standards, how Leah was like a wild animal that needed to be tamed. It was as if this was a test to see how long she could stand being insulted without replying.

At last, the woman had a warmer smile. “I see you’re learning better manners, girl. You’ll see. Soon you’ll become a real princess, worthy of the Ironhold title.”

Leah wanted to roll her eyes and tell her that she had always been a future queen, but it wasn’t worth it.

Lady Celia raised an eyebrow. “Can you behave when we arrive at the Iron Citadel?”

That was the name of their castle. Leah remained silent.

“Can you behave?” she repeated.

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