Luna looked over at me. “You remember when Peyton’s father was killed? How quick it was and how none of us were expecting it?”
I nodded. We had watched a vampire named Geoffrey take down Rex, Peyton’s father, as we exited a dress shop when Rhiannon and I were shopping for wedding dresses. It had been sudden, brutal, and totally unexpected.
“I do.”
“I remember thinking right then, nothing is guaranteed. Nobody knows how long they have in this world. With the evils that are out there, and the accidents that can happen… Nobody gets out alive, Cicely. You may live for a thousand…two thousand years. Or, you might slip on the ice and crack your head and be dead by tomorrow.”
“I was thinking about this not long ago.”
“It’s the nature of life. So when I realized the price I’d have to pay for Dorthea’s help, I thought about all the people Myst killed. I thought about Rex…I thought about everything that had happened. And I realized that whether my ancestors come to claim me, or an accident, or a vampire’s fangs—one way or another, I’m going to die someday. I decided I wanted to choose how, and in doing so, do something good for the world.” She sounded almost cheerful.
She made sense. A fatalistic view that wasn’t mopey. “We have what time we have, I guess.” Reaching out, I squeezed her hand. “I’m just glad we’re friends again.”
“Me, too.” Luna smiled.
The door opened at that moment and Grieve strode in, followed by Check and Fearless. “We’re ready. The Flammen will meet us along the way. Our men know where Fenrick is and they will make certain he overhears them talk about the fact that you’re going to personally oversee the investigation of the gateway to Jötunheim. Then, we have to pray he takes the bait.”
I stood. “I’ll get dressed.” Turning to Luna, I added, “Are you sure you want to come with us? It may be dangerous.”
She laughed. “What have I got to lose? My life is already forfeit. I doubt the ancestors will let a sorcerer-priest kill me before they get the chance.”
And with that, we were in motion, ready to hunt the hunter.
Chapter 6
We were on our way. Luna wasn’t geared for our weather so Check broke out a sledge and I rode in it with her, a thick blanket bundled around us.
The sleigh was pulled by Ice Elementals in the shape of horses, translucent and glistening against the snow. After we had defeated Myst, the wonders of this realm started becoming clear. I hadn’t realized that Ice Elementals could change their shape. In fact, I had no clue what their normal shape was. Some pristine, ice blue flame, I supposed. All flickering with the energy of the primal winter. Now, though, they were crystalline stallions, pulling the sledge without tiring.
Luna’s gaze was fastened on them, amazement filling her eyes.
“I never knew there could be so much beauty. You love living here, don’t you,” she asked, and I heard a wistful sigh in her voice. “I wish there was a place I felt at home. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Veil House, but it’s not really mine. Having Peyton there helps, though. We get along really well.”
“Did your parents ever find out about Zoey?” I knew I was touching on a volatile subject, but I might as well get it over with.
In a soft voice, Luna whispered, “No. Oh, they know she’s dead, but I told them it was a car accident. I told them she skidded off the road due to the ice, and that she died instantly when she hit a tree. When I took her body home after we killed Myst, I had her cremated. I sent them her ashes. I couldn’t have them with me—not after what she did. But I thought my parents needed closure and they’d never have if I told them the truth.”
I nodded. There was nothing else to say. Zoey had betrayed us, though we could never be certain it was her fault. And in the end, she had paid with her life.
As we traveled toward the gate, the sky darkened. Night came early in our realm, and I leaned back against the seat, my head resting against Luna’s shoulder. She took my hand in hers. The rift between us vanished for good in that simplest of touches.
I pointed to the sky, where the aurora borealis shimmered in a way that it never did back through the portal. In our realm, the lights lit up the sky, sparkling and dancing from one end of the horizon to the other — ripples of blue and green and purple, swirls of red and pink and golden shimmers. And it crackled. You could hear the sparks dancing until the whole sky seemed ablaze with energy.
Luna caught her breath. She shook her head as she stared into the night. “I have never seen anything quite so beautiful. In some ways, I envy you, Cicely. I don’t envy you your throne or the responsibilities you have, but to live in a place like this… I would think you could never forget about the magic inherent within the world. Not here.”
Her words stopped me short. Though there was truth to them, I realized that I had been taking this beauty for granted more and more. Perhaps that was inevitable, no matter where one lived—getting so used to one’s surroundings that it no longer seemed brilliant and beautiful. I decided right there to try and find a little wonder in every day.
Check was jogging alongside the sleigh. He laughed and waved at the aurora. “The gods look down from heaven tonight. Sometimes I wish that I could go across the Bifrost bridge instead of to the Golden Isle when my time comes.”
“How much further till we get there?” I was starting to get tired.
“We’re close now, Your Majesty. Almost there.” His joy vanished into somberness and he went ahead to talk to Captain Shell.
Luna straightened her shoulders. “I’ll do my best to prepare a spell to charm the sorcerer. I don’t know if it will work, but I doubt it could hurt. It never does harm to have a backup plan and if nothing else, the magic should throw him off guard.”
A few moments later, Grieve, Captain Shell, and Check returned. Check pointed to the stand of trees ahead. The fir towered over the land, a thicket blotting out the field beyond.
“On the other side of the copse. That’s where the gate lies. Now we just have to hope Fenrick took the bait. The Flammen is ready, and seems eager to help. He’s been fully briefed in the order of how to destroy the runes.” The guard paused, then added, “You know, Your Majesty, until you took the throne, we had little to do with the Wilding Fae. And they wanted little to do with us. You have brought our people together in a way that no one could predict.”
“I think perhaps that’s what Rhiannon and I are meant to do. We are neither fully Cambyra Fae, nor fully magic-born. We stand between worlds and now, we pull worlds together.” And right then I understood the logic of Lainule and Wrath when they set into motion their plan. Rhiannon and I were pawns, created for a very necessary strategy.
“We should go on foot from here. However, I fear the Lady Luna will not be able to walk atop the snow. One of our men will carry her on his back.” Captain Shell reached up to help us down from the sledge.
Luna shook her head. “I’m too heavy. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
Check laughed, but kindly. “Lady Luna, you are a mere slip to us. The Cambyra are extremely strong, and you are not the weight you think you are. Have no fear, you will neither harm nor hinder us.”
He motioned to one of the guards who immediately hustled over. I recognized him as Chasing. He was so named because he liked to run everywhere, and was faster than most of his compatriots. He had a shock of brilliant blond hair that stood out among the mostly dark-haired Winter Fae. It was not so platinum as Grieve’s, but was as golden as the sun. I had a feeling his parentage was at least partly from the Summer Court.
Check introduced Chasing to Luna. “You will carry the Lady Luna through the copse to the very edge and wait there for us. Take two other men to help guard her.”
Chasing knelt so that Luna could climb on his back. She giggled, blushing ever so slightly, but did as he bade. As he stood up, adjusting her weight and holding her legs around him, he whispered something to her and she laughed again, this time her cheeks flaming. I trusted my guards
to be polite, so I figured that whatever he said had struck her as slightly risqué but not offensive.
She flashed a look to me. “If you had told me this morning that I would be riding the back of one of the Cambyra Fae in the Court of Snow and Ice, I would have called you crazy. Yet, here I am.”
I waved as the guard carried her off into the copse. “Now what?”
Check glanced at Grieve and Captain Shell. “Now, we follow them.”
Before we could start, another guard ran over to us. He knelt, inclining his head. “Your Majesty, we have word that the sorcerer Fenrick is headed this way. He overheard our guards—as was our plan—and immediately set out in this direction. He moves quickly and is surrounded by a dozen of the vargr. They look hungry, Your Majesty, and dangerous.”
“We must move,” Check said. “Fenrick can move as fast as the wind and he will be here soon. We weren’t sure if he would take the bait, but apparently the thought of finding you out here is too tempting. We must be ready.”
One of the guards stayed behind to hide the sledge and the horses as the rest of us headed toward the trees. Before long, we were in the heart of the thicket, beside Luna and her guards.
As we stood next to a tree covered with low-growing branches, Check motioned for us to look between the limbs. There, not ten yards from where we were standing, stood a glowing archway. As in the vision that I had experienced back with the shamans, a ripple of energy filled the arch from top to bottom and side to side. It crackled and snapped. There was something evil about this gateway, I could feel it even from where we stood. It was dark and foreboding, filled with anger and chaos and destruction all rolled into one. If this was a sample of what awaited on the other side, we couldn’t let the frost giants from Jötunheim enter our realm.
Grieve breathed softly beside me. “Can you feel it? I thought Myst the most dangerous creature ever alive, but what lies beyond that gateway could easily rival Myst and the Indigo Court.”
I rested a hand on his arm, more to reassure myself than for balance. “I can feel it. Whatever lies beyond the gate seethes with hunger for power and destruction. Do you think we brought enough guards with us?”
“I hope so.” Grieve motioned to Check. “Do we have enough manpower? If there are a dozen vargr coming with him, do you think we can fight them?”
His gaze firmly fastened on the gateway, Check slowly nodded. “I believe we can if we don’t have to fight Fenrick as well. The trick will be to push him through. I have talked to the Flammen and he is ready to move on our mark. Your Majesty?” He turned to me, a drawn look on his face. “I cannot believe I am about to say this, but you must walk out and stand near the gate. We will be ready to rush in to protect you. I still think this is folly, but if you must do this, I beg of you to be prepared to change shape. Fly away as quickly as possible. You cannot outrun the sorcerer, but you can outfly him, I believe.”
I sucked in a deep breath. Even though it would be difficult to kill me, the possibility was still there and I didn’t entertain the thought of being a sorcerer’s plaything. But having felt the energy of the gate, I knew this was the only thing we could do.
“I’m ready. I will be ready to transform into my owl shape at the first sign of trouble.”
“No, wait for our mark. The moment you change shape and fly away, we’ll rush in. If we take him by surprise, we can drive him through the gate and then the Flammen will immediately target the runes. If we can injure him in the process, so much the better.”
“I’ll stand to this side of the gate, then. That way I won’t be in the way. But the vargr will be with him, and your men will be caught up in fighting them. You should assign two or three to focus on Fenrick while the rest take on the wild wolves.”
Luna spoke up. She had shuffled her way over to us and was attempting to stand on the crust of snow without breaking through. “The moment I see him I will begin my spell. In fact, if I step out along with Cicely—pardon me, the Queen—it may distract him long enough for your men to run in. Especially if I am actively casting a spell at that time. He won’t be expecting me and he won’t know what to think.”
Check smiled broadly. “No one can ever tell me that the yummanii aren’t courageous. Nor that women can’t be as fierce as any warrior man.”
Luna bobbed her head at him, smiling back. “Trust me, Check, when you have very little left to lose, fear ceases to be much of a factor. My life is forfeit and I have no idea when I will be forced to pay the price. So if I can help out, why not go out with a blaze?” She turned to me. “Tell me when.”
From the distance we heard a terrible baying, it filled the air—howls and yips and snarls that echoed from the distance. As the cacophony grew louder, I drew a deep breath and kissed Grieve. “I love you. Promise me you’ll be careful, because I know you will be out there fighting with the others. And I promise to fly away as soon as I see him coming toward me.” It was the only way I could ease both our minds.
He nodded, kissing me back. “So, it would seem we are not done with our battles yet.”
“And this…this is no battle, but I fear it is quite probably the predecessor to one.”
At that moment Check gave me a nod. “Now, Your Majesty.”
As I stepped out into the open, Luna followed behind me, trudging knee-deep in the snow. In the near distance we could see a blur of smoke and shadow. The vargr, racing at the helm, and behind them their lord and master—Fenrick.
Even from this distance I could see him. He was burly and tall, taller than any man I had ever seen. He towered like a giant himself. His hair was black as night, his skin pale as frost—he might have been a vampire for the pallor in his cheeks. Robed in gray furs, he traversed the snow faster than the Cambyra could run. He ran with the storm behind him, with boiling clouds in his wake and a flurry of snow that surrounded him. In front of him the vargr raced. Gigantic wolves, they were dark and vicious and there was a glint in their eyes that spoke of evil rather than animal instinct. These were no wolves of our realm. They were shades, shadows from Jötunheim, and they were out for blood.
Luna began to sing, loud and clear in a voice that echoed across the plain. The notes spiraled up, powerful and strong, and by just their sound, I realized how far she had advanced in her magic. As she stood near me, I gathered my power and raised my arms overhead.
“You are not welcome in my realm!” I cast my voice ahead of me to echo through the plain, rolling like thunder.
As he closed in, Fenrick laughed. “Your realm will soon be my realm, oh Faerie Queen of the night. You may be the Queen of Winter, but you are not the Queen of Frost.” He raised one hand and gathered to him a ball of energy that circled his wrist. It grew, blue and white sparking off of the purple.
Quickly I shifted, transforming into my owl shape. Hands to feathers, arms to wings, lengthening and spreading out into the great barred owl that I was. I flew up, gliding on the currents heading toward the forest. I wanted to stay and fight, but I had promised, and my decisions were not my own now. The Queen does not compromise her own safety.
Below me, Luna continued to sing. As I glanced back, Fenrick paused, staring at her, a look of confusion on his face. In that moment, my men raced out of the woods, three of them heading directly toward the sorcerer.
The others engaged the vargr and the fight was on. Grieve attacked one of the shadow wolves. It snapped at him, and he shifted into his own Wolf shape, meeting it snarl for snarl, snap for snap, bite for bite. They wrestled as I shifted back into myself, balancing on one of the limbs in the tall fir nearest the action. I cringed as the vargr’s muzzle closed in on Grieve’s throat. At that moment Check rushed in, thrusting his sword into the wolf’s side, pinning it to the ground. The vargr dropped and Grieve moved on to engage the next, Check by his side. They worked as a pair even as my other men faced their snarling opponents.
The three men who descended on Fenrick grabbed hold of him and the ball of energy he had been amassing went wild, skidd
ing to the side. It almost hit Luna, but she rolled out of the way, falling into the snow beside the gate.
I had a sudden fear that they wouldn’t be able to handle him—he was throwing them off. So, raising my arms, I whispered the words, Twister.
No, Cicely—you can’t.
Ulean, I have to do something.
She fell silent, and I focused on the power of the wind. It started slowly, but suddenly sprang up to surround me—a whirling mass of wind, sweeping snow and branch and bough into its vortex. I rose up atop it, riding it like a mighty ship, driving it forward toward Fenrick.
My men knew enough to scramble out of the way, though I heard Grieve scream out my name. But in the moment, the fury of the storm raged through me and I leaned my head back, laughing. The desire to let go, to become part of the storm, wrestled with my conscious thoughts, but I struggled to keep control, straining to force the tornado to bend to my command. Storms were capricious and had their own agendas, but I could control this—I knew I could.
Forcing the whirling dervish of a storm toward Fenrick, I bore down on him, laughing like a maniac, thrilling to the power as the storm raged through my soul.
He whirled, eyes wide. He had obviously not expected a tornado to greet him. I drove the storm forward and he began to back up as I came near enough to catch him up in the winds. He turned to scramble away, leaping in giant strides across the snow toward the gate.
Relieved to see that the guards had pulled Luna out of the way, I forced myself to release the twister, aiming it at him, and I fell toward the ground, sweeping up in my owl form at the last moment.
Fenrick paused long enough to shout something—the winds drowned it out for anyone with normal hearing but I could hear him, in the slipstream. “I’ll be back, and I’ll tear your kingdom to shreds.” Then he leaped once, disappearing through the gateway. The tornado siphoned through after him.
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