Cold Front

by Nikolai Joslin

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  More from Nikolai Joslin

  About the Author

  By Nikolai Joslin

  Visit Harmony Ink Press

  Copyright

  Cold Front

  By Nikolai Joslin

  Sequel to Life Beyond the Temple

  The Fires of Destiny: Book Two

  Ever since she was a child, mage Casey Kelly dreamed of a life just like the one she’s living now: peacefully engaged to former knight Regan Cartmell. So why isn’t she satisfied?

  Their quiet life of ease changes abruptly when Ston, a dark elf, arrives to warn them of impending danger and request their help. The dark elves, long ago banished and driven underground by humans, have returned—with a growing army and plans for revenge. Their only hope is for Casey to convince the underfae to join her cause, giving her an army of her own. And then she must lead them against enemies unlike any she’s ever faced.

  Worst of all, one of Casey and Regan’s most trusted friends offers a warning: Ston is not what he seems.

  To everyone trying to change the world—you can do it.

  Prologue

  THE ROOM was dark, but there wasn’t much to see anyway. It didn’t hold a mattress or rug for the cold concrete floor. Nothing was in the dark room, save the young woman I knew well. Casey Kelley.

  She was lying on the ground, her curly brown hair tangled and matted with blood, but I couldn’t think about that. I had to help.

  She was unconscious, her shallow breaths coming out in white puffs of air from the cold. Her Life Force was weak; I could only sense a slow, barely noticeable pulse of energy moving through her body. I wanted to call out to her, to wake her, to help in some way, but I couldn’t make a sound. So I just watched her breath come out in those white clouds. I couldn’t even cover her in a blanket.

  Hours may have passed before she moved. I wouldn’t know. I had lost track of time long ago. She shifted, and I watched for another sign that she was okay, or at least waking, anything.

  She finally sat up, holding her head in one hand and groaning. She pulled her hand away, and I flinched at the sight of the wound on her forehead that was caked in dried blood. She rubbed her hands together, trying to make herself a little warmer. I was glad she didn’t try magic; she didn’t have the Life Force, but she probably knew that.

  A light turned on outside the room, a thin strip of yellow coming from beneath the door and falling on the concrete floor. I could hear movement outside, and Casey must have too because she struggled to stand up. She almost fell back down but seemed to steady herself. She lifted her chin slightly, as if to show her strength in this situation. Even now, even without hope, she was still trying to be in control.

  I saw her tense as the doorknob turned, and I could sense the almost nonexistent Life Force moving to the palm of her hand. I wanted to tell her not to, that she could hurt herself if she tried, but I still couldn’t make a sound. For a second it was just a silhouette in the doorframe, a black shape against the brightness of the other room.

  And then he stepped forward, and Casey just narrowed her eyes at him.

  I could feel rage burning in my gut; I wanted to scream at him, to say that he was her friend, that she trusted him, that he was a traitor.

  He was a dark elf, his skin so dark it verged on black, violet eyes, short white hair that was spiked up, and raised runes covered his bare chest and arms. His name was Ston. He had helped Casey save the world not so long ago, and now he was standing in her prison.

  Ston moved closer to Casey until he stood right in front of her. He tsked quietly and said, “You know magic doesn’t work here, Casey. You rely too much on your gift. It was given to you, and because of that you believe you are entitled to it. We had to take it. We worked for it. We understand more than you ever will about it. We put ourselves through pain, torture really, to master this, and we don’t abuse it like you mages do. It’s not the only source of your power, like you believe it is.” He pulled his arm back, and I watched, frozen, as he slapped her across the face, the sound echoing in the empty room. “Power is in every part of you. Of us. The mind, the body, the spirit. That’s why I’ll win, why we’ll win. Because we know what true power is. A mastery of all aspects of one’s self. We’ll teach you, Casey. It won’t matter in the end. Your fate will be the same, but you mages need to learn. You just don’t understand. Don’t you get it? We’re trying to help you. Really. To teach you, to make you stronger. Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that what everyone wants?”

  “You’re a monster,” she whispered. “Don’t you care about the thousands of lives you’re taking? And for what? A show of your power?”

  He smiled wickedly. “Casey, we don’t have much time to teach you about strength.” He slid a long, thin blade from the belted sheath on his waist and turned it over in his hands. “Now, on to today’s lesson.”

  Everything went black as I was yanked out of the vision. “No,” I whispered, scrambling to bring it back. “No!”

  Chapter 1

  I WOKE covered in cold sweat and panting, Cam’s death racing through my mind. It had been a little over a year since she died. I didn’t dream about it every night anymore. I barely thought about it now.

  A year since Jaysun, Martun, and Cam died. A year since Regan died and came back. A year since I left the Temple. A year since I moved in with Regan. A year since everything changed for me. My entire life had changed. It had been four months since Regan asked me to marry her.

  I spun the ring on my finger as I thought about it. She knew I was still plagued by Cam’s death, that I still had dreams, and that I wasn’t quite the same yet. She didn’t seem to care, though. She said love wasn’t about finding someone perfect but about finding someone who made your life seem perfect. I guess I did that for her. She made my life better, but I wasn’t sure I believed in perfection anymore.

  It had taken a long time for me to get a full night’s sleep, and an even longer time to believe that Regan was still Regan. That she hadn’t changed like Martun did. There were times when I still wasn’t fully convinced.

  And I wasn’t the only one having problems adjusting. Regan said all the right things when she needed to, she was still as warm and loving as she had always been, but I couldn’t deny things had been off. Ever so slightly, not enough to change things, but enough to make me almost wish to be back on my Proving.

  She had her own doubts about her return, though she rarely talked about it. Some nights she would grow tense, her arms holding me tight enough to wake me, muttering about Jaysun or Cam, and when she woke covered in sweat and panting she’d brush it off as a dream. I hated not being able to help; she was still trying to play the tough card when she didn’t need to. I couldn’t exactly blame her. Not many people would be able to have gone through what we did without any scars, but it was frustrating that she couldn’t let me in enough to help when she obviously needed it.

  Regan mumbled something in her sleep and reached out for me, pulling me back down into the bed. “Why are you up already?” she whispered quietly, like she was only half-awake.

&n
bsp; I smiled weakly. “Nightmare is all.”

  “You all right?” She seemed more awake now after I said that.

  I rolled over to face her and smiled. I kissed her softly, taking comfort in such a small action. “I’m fine. Just thinking.”

  She nodded, but I don’t know if she fully believed me. “Go back to sleep, baby.”

  “I’m awake now.” I frowned. I could almost never get back to sleep after I woke up.

  “What were you thinking about?” She took my hand and slid her fingers between mine.

  She stared at our hands for a while, as if amazed by them. “Us.”

  “Not having second thoughts, are you?”

  I chuckled quietly. “No, I think I’m good for now. Just… us in general.”

  “For now?” She laughed. “Gee, way to make me feel confident about all this.”

  I smiled. “You know I love you.”

  She released my hand and pulled me tightly against her. I let my head rest under her chin, listening to her heartbeat. “I know. I love you too,” she whispered.

  Her fingers trailed on my arm, up to my shoulder. I could feel her trace the ragged, ugly, pink scar on my shoulder. Most of them were from my punishment for bringing Martun back, but the one she was currently tracing was from the fight. It was on the front of my shoulder, my chest really. Ston didn’t have a lot of energy by the time he started healing me, and he couldn’t make it all disappear. He could close it up, but that scar would always be with me. Like Regan’s in her chest. Hers wasn’t as bad. I made Ston heal her first, and the Old Ones had started to do it. They didn’t do much, but they brought her back for me. That’s what I cared about. They brought her back at the cost of Cam’s life.

  I pressed into her more, trying to be sure that she was still here. I pushed Cam from my mind and closed my eyes. “Tell me a story?” I asked. How long had it been since she told me one of her favorite knight stories?

  She chuckled quietly, her laugh starting in her chest right next to my ear. “Which one?”

  “One I haven’t heard yet,” I mumbled.

  “You’ve heard a lot of them.”

  “I can’t have heard them all,” I protested.

  She thought about it for a moment. “I suppose not. I have a good one for you.”

  “What’s it about?” I asked, counting the little freckles on her arm.

  “Knights. One of the first female knights, actually.”

  Regan then told the story of Tiana. She was the daughter of a rival country, one that was close to war with this nation. She came, dressed as a man, and entered their enemy’s army, hoping to gain insight into their battle plans. Her father had sent her because he had taught her from a young age how to fight, and as a future ruler, she was smart and thoughtful, and very careful. She was stronger, smarter, and more convincing than even the most trusted in his military.

  The first day, she saw a beautiful woman in the castle. She nearly forgot who she was. She had been raised as a prince since her brother died. Her father wanted a strong ruler that he could trust for his country, and so she played the part of prince. When she saw this woman, she didn’t think about anything but courting her. She took her helmet off and tucked it under her arm. She dressed and wore her hair like a man, so when she spoke to the woman no one was the wiser.

  Tiana couldn’t sleep that night. She couldn’t figure out why the woman had acted so uninterested in her. The next morning she went out on a ride. She took a horse from the stable and wore light riding clothes, careful not to show her womanly curves by binding her chest. She rode through the forest, and eventually came to a stop at a lake.

  She stretched out in the shade of a tree and watched her horse drink. She had begun to doze off in the summer weather when a voice came from behind her. She turned to see the woman she had seen the other day. She scrambled to her feet, and the woman repeated her question.

  “Are you the knight from yesterday?”

  Tiana nodded. She asked the woman if she would like something to eat, and the woman hesitated before accepting her offer. Tiana walked to her horse and pulled an apple and a small knife from the pouch. She began peeling the apple, a thin strip of the skin spiraling down. She asked who the woman was, but she just shrugged and said, “A woman in the wood, hiding from the ever-watching eyes of others.”

  Tiana asked no more, understanding what it was like to be watched constantly and respecting the stranger’s privacy.

  She cut the apple into small slices, and they ate in silence before Tiana asked if she needed a ride back. The woman said no, and Tiana rode back to the palace.

  Months later Tiana had all but forgotten about the woman, and her father believed he knew enough to begin his war. But Tiana wasn’t done yet; she was meant to sabotage the army from the inside. They were preparing for the first battle when the woman came up to her. Tiana was wearing her armor and was ready to ride out to battle when she came. The other knights fell to their knees as she came by, and then Tiana knew who she was. The princess. She started to drop to a knee when the woman stopped her.

  “Don’t bow, knight. You have not bowed to me once, and I have admired that about you. To you, I am just another face in the crowd. Don’t change that. Instead, walk with me before you leave to protect this great country.”

  And so Tiana walked with her, back to the wood where they had shared an apple. They walked in silence for a long while before the princess said, “Do you still insist on pretending you are another man in my father’s service? Even here, alone with me?”

  “I have no idea what you mean, milady,” Tiana said, hiding how flustered she was.

  “You are a woman. I am not a fool like my father and those other knights may be. I can see the softness in your features. And your eyes. You look at me, not like a piece of meat, but as a woman. Beautiful, as if you’ve seen the moon for the first time.”

  “You are more beautiful than the moon, milady. More than all of the night sky,” Tiana whispered, not denying her gender.

  “So you are a woman?” she asked, smiling at the compliments.

  “I am,” she admitted.

  “And a traitor?” the princess asked the question lightly, but Tiana could tell that she already knew.

  “Yes. I am the princess of the nation you are to wage war upon.”

  “I believe it is you who is waging war upon us.” Tiana didn’t respond, so the princess continued. “I wish you luck in your endeavors.”

  “Against your own kingdom?” Tiana asked.

  “No. In bringing peace. The end result of war is a type of peace, and while it would be better to avoid war, sometimes it is unavoidable.”

  “Is there a way to bring peace without death?”

  “Marriage binds nations together, but I’m not sure that can help us here.”

  “And why not?” Tiana asked.

  “We’re women of course. The two of us.”

  “Does that prevent love? Can I not find you beautiful? Can I not feel my heart stop when I see you? See my world get brighter when you walk in the room?” Tiana paused and stepped closer to the princess. “Can I not wish to kiss you? Wish to pull you against me and explore your body to my heart’s content?”

  The princess blushed and seemed to be at a loss for words, and so Tiana kissed her, and lovers were made in that shady spot where Tiana had nearly fallen asleep months before.

  She went to the princess’s father and confessed her treachery and asked for his blessing for his daughter’s hand and her plan for peace. The king unwillingly accepted, knowing that this was a war he could not win, and Tiana rode off to her father’s palace to tell him of her plan. He begrudgingly agreed, knowing that her mind was made up, and the couple married shortly after. The two nations forever lived in peace, and Tiana and her new wife adopted many children from the orphanages of the two nations.

  I smiled and looked up at Regan. “I liked that one.”

  “Really?” Regan smiled back down at me and asked, “
Why is that?”

  “Tiana seems like you. Falling in love at the drop of a hat and being all romantic about it.”

  “You’re my princess, right?”

  “Of course,” I said, snuggling deeper into her chest.

  Her fingers brushed along the scars on my back, and I couldn’t help but nearly pull away. She tugged me back to her and said, “You would think that you would be okay with this after being naked with me so often.”

  My cheeks grew hot, and I said, “They’re not my most attractive feature. They just make me feel uncomfortable.”

  “They’re beautiful. Just like you. I don’t care that you’ve got scars, Casey. We’re getting married. If I minded, I wouldn’t be doing that.” She smiled jokingly. “Casey, I love you. I don’t care about these. I don’t see them as ugly or as making you less beautiful than you are. They’re just a part of you, Casey. Just like mine are a part of me.”

  I slipped my hand under her tank top and trailed a finger along her abdomen until I felt the small, jagged circle where she had been shot protecting a young mage. She had talked about it so long ago, I barely remembered it until she mentioned it. “It’s not that big.”

  She chuckled quietly. “Size doesn’t matter.”

  “They’re just… I don’t… I hate them.”

  “I don’t.” Regan tentatively touched my back again, and I forced myself not to move away. “I love every bit of you, Casey. Every single inch.”

  “Really?”

  “You better believe it,” Regan said and kissed my forehead. “Every goddamn inch.”

  I felt myself blush again, but I just buried my face into Regan’s chest. I opened my mouth to say something when I heard Cinder’s loud bark from the living room. “Does he want to go outside or something?” I groaned before rolling out of bed.

  Once on my feet, I found out what he was barking about: a knock at the door.

  Regan grabbed her gun and followed me out the door. Old habits die hard. We didn’t get many visitors, and you never know who wants to kill you.