Page 145 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

“What about your kids? Do they know you’re not their father?’

“It’s different.”

“Different how?”

“The iron princess swore to me that the father wasn’t from any of the Aluria royal families. Must have been some guard or something. She didn’t want to tell and at the time I wasn’t worried about it. But it means they only have iron magic to grapple with.”

“It’s not shameful for you, though. You should tell them.”

“Perhaps I will. Perhaps I’ll have to. And why is it shameful for you?”

She snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. Women always take the fall, take the blame, swallow the shame. Men don’t need to answer for anything.”

“I…” He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to tell her she should have told him, but would that have made anything different? What if he’d still been under the illusion she had betrayed him? Funny how he was starting to think it had been a mistake, a stupid illusion, that he’d been fooled by a lie. But he couldn’t change any of that now. He took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

She got up and looked at the opening. “We need to find a way out of here.”

“Let’s wait until the sun comes up. They won’t be as strong then. Meanwhile, perhaps you should rest.”

She shook her head. “When my daughter’s in danger?”

“You overused your magic. You need to rest.”

“I didn’t overuse shit. But I’ll lie down and be quiet if my voice disturbs your highness.”

“What’s with the foul mouth, Ursiana?”

“You got a problem with my mouth? Be glad you can’t hear my thoughts.”

She lay down on a corner and he sat by her. “If you want to stay awake, we can talk, but I’m worried about you. You were passed out, I was afraid you were going to die. You have no idea—”

“Thanks. I’d rather sleep than hear that shit.”

Azir sighed. “I’ll let you rest.”

He waited to hear some other kind of cursing, but instead her breath was steady, as if she’d fallen asleep already—or as if she was pretending, just so he would leave her alone.

Could it be true what she’d been saying, that she’d never betrayed him? And Leandra, his daughter… A deathbringer out in the world, with no idea about the terrible power she carried. And in love with Isofel, the boy he had raised. That had to be love, to carry her across Aluria to him. Azir would need to get her out of Ironhold. It was too dangerous for her now that she wasn’t even a hostage anymore. They had Frostlake already, there was no need to keep her alive. So much for him to do, so much that needed to be fixed.

He looked back at Ursiana. An entire life lost, a heart broken for no reason, an entire life spent with a bitter, frozen heart, when it could have been different. And yet had it been different, he wouldn’t have taken in Fel and Naia. Strange destiny.

* * *

Leah was tryingto find her dragon, trying to call him, and soon she was in an open valley, under a heavy thunderstorm. Even with all the noise of the rain, a deafening scream caught her attention. Her dragon was not flying, but lying down, hurt. This time she would use any and every magic in her power to save him, no matter what it took.

Leah ran towards her dragon, but stepped into blackness instead. No. If she truly looked, she could see through it. It was the hollow. And then she saw what she’d been looking for; Isofel, standing in what looked like a small tornado, and then she was standing beside him.

He didn’t acknowledge her, but it made sense. It wasn’t a tornado, but his own magic, spinning pieces of metal around him, while horrific things, bodies, tried to break his barrier. Fel was in danger. She was in danger with him. No. She knew why she’d come; to save him. If it was a matter of letting some strange power flow through her, she was going to do it. But what if it killed Fel? Perhaps she could try to take him away with her. No, she could barely walk in the hollow alone.

Then Leah remembered the Queen of Darkness. If there was a time to be all powerful, it was now.

“Help me,” she muttered, knowing that there could be a high price for what she was asking, but she didn’t care.

A dark slit opened in the sky, from where dark things fell down. No. Flew down. With teeth, claws, and small wings, they attacked those awful animated corpses who were trying to get to Fel, trying to get to his company in the fort. They were vicious things, but she had them under her control, she had them protecting the Umbraar men and, most important of all, the Umbraar prince.

And yet she felt as if her control was slipping, as if it was draining her strength, her life. Death magic. Oh. The Queen of Darkness had tricked her. This was magic that sucked life force. And yet if she let go, she didn’t know what would happen, didn’t know if these things would make everything worse, if they would attack the Umbraar men. What had she done?

She felt familiar arms wrapping around her, then was leaning against Fel’s chest.

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