“Aye. I think so. This fresh layer of snow makes things look a little different, and it’s hard going, but we should reach it before nightfall.” He looked down at me. “Especially if you can walk for yourself.”
I nodded and gripped Oliver’s hand, levering myself to my feet. “I can walk.”
I swayed, and Oliver steadied me.
“I can walk,” I repeated in answer to his skeptical look. “I can.”
He insisted on attaching my snowshoes for me, and I let him, gratefully. My head was clearing, but I could still feel weakness in my limbs, and I didn’t really want to crouch down if I could avoid it.
But I found that every minute that passed with the heat back inside me, a little of my strength returned. Within an hour, the others weren’t even having to slow for me anymore. Several times I caught Sterling giving me a look I couldn’t read. Was he wondering at my quick recovery? Or just generally wondering about my powers?
The others must have talked about it among themselves at some point. Surely. But he hadn’t mentioned it to me, and I had no desire to discuss it with him. As we traveled, I did worry about what his knowledge meant, however. We still didn’t really know what we were going to face, and we had just lost the element of surprise.
Eventually I threw off the thought. We had been completely out of options. Better to lose one weapon in our armory than to die. And just because he knew about my powers didn’t mean he would have any way to counter them. My usual confidence had returned along with the flames that filled me. We had survived the leopards and the blizzard. We would survive what was coming too.
Our overall progress had slowed significantly with the extra dumping of snow, and the afternoon sun was stretching long, before Sterling stopped and pointed toward an enormous boulder with a satisfied smile.
“Ahhh…?” I squinted at it, trying to work out what he wanted to call our attention to.
But Oliver broke into a broad grin and a sliding half-run. He stopped at the rock face briefly and then part of him disappeared.
“Oh.” I moved forward, and the change of angle revealed a narrow passage through the rock. No wonder no one had ever found it. You could walk straight past and miss it.
Oliver bent down and removed his snowshoes. His eyes sparkled triumphantly back at Giselle and me.
“There’s only the thinnest layer of snow on the ground in here,” he called. “We won’t need our snowshoes.”
I immediately plonked down into the snow and pulled mine off as fast as I could go. Reluctantly I attached them to my pack. We still had to make it back down the mountains again.
Giselle shook her head at me, sliding past toward Oliver with her usual awkward snowshoe gait. As soon as I stood again and attempted to follow her, I realized the cause of her amusement. At the first step, I sank deep into the snow.
I yelped as I toppled, my leg entirely swallowed by the deep powder. I tried to pull myself out, but only seemed to sink further in. I looked helplessly across at Oliver, whose eyes suggested he was trying not to laugh at me, but it was Sterling who stopped beside me.
With a grunt, he reached down and gripped me under my arms, hauling me out of the snow.
“Follow my track,” he said, as he took off along the same route the other two had taken.
Sighing, I scooted after him the same way I had slid down the slopes. It required a lot more effort on the flat, but thankfully I only had a short distance to cover.
When I finally stepped off the snow and into the rock passage, I gave a warning look to Oliver and Giselle.
“Not a word.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Oliver assured me, although his eyes were still laughing.
“You’ll learn eventually,” said Giselle, sailing past me.
I glared at her back. No wonder my older siblings had found me irritating.
I continued to grumble internally as I brought up the rear of our little single-file procession. I didn’t mean it, of course, I was just so relieved to be free of the incessant snow. It made me never want to see another bit of it again, let alone become an expert like the locals.
The rock ended suddenly, and I stumbled into Oliver’s back where he had stopped abruptly in the entrance. He murmured an apology and moved out of the way without looking back at me.
As soon as I stepped free, I realized what had captivated them. Spread before us was an enclosed mountain valley. Occasional thin patches of white on the ground were overwhelmed with the green of grass. I even saw some splashes of pink and purple. Here spring seemed to have actually come—at least somewhat.
The sun shone down on a larger collection of houses than I had anticipated, and beyond them I could even see what looked like some small fields. Figures, large and small, moved between the houses, intent on the everyday tasks that occupied villagers.
I shook my head. So this part of Sterling’s tale at least had been true. When Oliver looked back at me, I could see he was thinking the same thing. And the earlier triumph in his expression had only solidified. I smiled back at him, unable to help being swept up in his hope. But a moment later, I shot Giselle a more concerned look. I could see from her eyes that she was impressed by the village, but when she saw my expression, she cast a worried look at Oliver’s back.
I knew he wasn’t fueled by anything so ignoble as a desire to say I told you so. He was merely filled with relief and hope for his kingdom. And I wanted to share his joy, especially since it was obvious a weight had already lifted from him.
But I couldn’t help being more wary. We still had to work out exactly how this enchantment protection worked, and if it could help us. And then we had to convince these villagers to give it up.
And when I looked over this perfect village, I saw hope—yes—but I also felt a sinking sensation. The blizzard lingered fresh in my mind, and I couldn’t imagine how we would ever prevail on them to give up their protection. And what if we did, and we saved the kingdom, but another blizzard hit in the meantime, and they all died? Could we convince them to return down the mountain with us, at least temporarily?
I looked over the village again and sighed. And even if we could, how slowly would a whole village full of people move? Would we return with salvation for Eldon, only to find Eliam had already completed its coup?
I knew why Oliver wasn’t thinking of any of these things. He couldn’t allow himself even a moment of weakness in his determination. As heir he carried a weight that I had never known. As seventh-born, it would take a tragedy beyond reckoning to ever make me responsible for my kingdom.
“Welcome to Valley View,” said Sterling, striding forward toward the closest of the houses. Oliver followed, his steps long and confident after so many days of carefully picking our way through the snow.
With a sigh Giselle also stepped forward onto the grass, and I followed a beat behind. Except while she kept walking, I faltered and nearly fell. The gap between us widened as I stood frozen, dumbstruck and horrified. As soon as I had touched the floor of this odd valley, my insides had gone cold.
“Come on.” Giselle turned back to stare at me in confusion. A quick look at my face had her backtracking to grip my arm.
“What is it?” Her eyes rapidly flitted around the valley and even looked behind us, as if she feared I had spotted some threat the rest of them had overlooked.
“My…my fire,” I gasped.
She looked confused. “I thought you said it had come back?”
“It had. And then I stepped in here. And it was gone. Instantly.”
“Well, re-light it,” she said. “Like you did before.”
I shook my head. “I’ve been trying.”
We stood motionless, staring at each other, a slow and horrifying realization dawning on us both.
“Their godmother object,” she breathed at last. “The one that keeps away the snow and ice…”
“Well, at least we know it still works against enchantments as well,” I said, but no hint of pleasure sounded
in my grim voice.
I had feared our loss of the element of surprise. But apparently I should have been afraid of something far worse.
Chapter 20
We had managed to spur ourselves into motion by the time Oliver noticed we had fallen behind. His eyes questioned us, particularly once he saw our expressions, but I just shrugged. We would have to tell him later, when we found a chance to shake off Sterling. Now that the mountain man knew about my powers, I didn’t want to admit to him they might be gone.
The people we passed nodded greetings at Sterling and cast curious glances at us, but none of them smiled or came over to talk. Sterling seemed unbothered by their reception and led us through the village to a small log house.
The air in the valley was noticeably warmer than it had been out on the mountain, but I still found myself shivering by the time he had a fire going in the empty fireplace. The whole house had an empty, unused feel that told me it was his even before he confirmed it.
“You can all stay with me for now,” he said, gesturing to the floor in front of the fire. “Sorry I don’t have beds to offer you.”
Oliver shrugged and neither Giselle nor I offered any protest. It would be more comfortable than the floor of a cave which had been our accommodation since we started up the mountain.
“Well, I’ll leave you to settle in while I go to rummage up some food,” said Sterling, one hand already on the door.
“Wait.” Oliver stepped forward, brow furrowed. “Are we just supposed to stay here? We need to meet with the village elders and inspect the godmother object.”
Sterling raised both eyebrows, and I narrowed my eyes as I watched him, the thought of my achingly cold middle temporarily receding. It was subtle, but something about his manner had changed. I thought back. Or maybe it had been gradually changing as we moved closer to this village.
“Hold your horses, there. It’s almost evening. Too late for calling the elders together today. We’ll eat and sleep, and then see what tomorrow will bring.” He shut the door behind him.
Oliver remained in place, staring at the wooden barrier. At last he sighed and turned back to us. “I should be happy to see this place so exactly like he described. And tomorrow will come soon enough. But I keep thinking of that army camped outside the palace.”
“It might be a good thing if we have a bit more time to think through our approach to the elders,” I said, my mind already having circled back to my own loss.
“What do you mean?” Oliver crossed over to join us where we sat in front of the fire.
I glanced at Giselle and then back at him. “Would you like the good news, or…”
“What?” he asked, more forcefully this time. “What is it?”
I swallowed, the words harder to say than I would have liked. “The moment we walked into this valley…”
He leaned forward, his concerned gaze focused on me, silently urging me on.
“The moment I stepped on the grass, my fire disappeared.” I placed a hand against my chest. “It’s just…just gone.”
Oliver rocked back, shock in his eyes. “But what…how…?”
I didn’t reply, watching the slow realization fill his eyes.
“So, that’s the good news part,” I said, my voice weaker than I would have liked. “It seems like maybe this object of theirs really does work to repel magic.”
“But without your powers…” I could see the thoughts racing furiously across his face, although he seemed to be struggling to enunciate them.
“Yes, as I said. We might want to really perfect our approach to the elders. Because if we can’t convince them to give up the object willingly…”
“Then everyone I love will die, and my kingdom will be destroyed.”
He shot up and began to pace the floor. I watched him uneasily. When he put it like that…
My feeling of helplessness grew. I had thought I could save this kingdom—that I’d been sent here to do it, even. But now I was useless. Just like when the leopard attacked Giselle.
“What did you think of the people?” asked Giselle. She didn’t appear to have been following our conversation at all, lost in thought about something else.
“What people?” Oliver didn’t stop his pacing. He was making me restless. Pacing was usually my thing.
“The people of Valley View, of course. I assume you were both watching them as closely as I was.”
Oliver’s steps slowed, and I frowned as I felt a fresh stirring of shame. I hadn’t been watching the people. I’d been too wrapped up in horror over the loss of my powers. It had felt as if I stumbled through the village naked, and I’d had little thought for anything else.
Or had I? The more I thought of it, the more the people sprang to life in my mind’s eye. Apparently some less conscious part of me had been examining them and storing the observations away for later. The thought filled me with a surprising buoyancy. I had only had these powers for a short time, really. Had I been useless before then?
A small smile flitted across my face. Various of my siblings had certainly thought so at different points. But I had never felt that way. So why would losing my powers now make me so? I straightened, determined to still be helpful.
“They looked far more animated than the people back in the capital,” I said.
Oliver nodded slowly, his focus still on some distant unseen point.
“But not exactly normal, either?” Giselle made the statement into a question.
“No…” Oliver rubbed a hand along his jaw. “They weren’t too friendly, were they? But then maybe that is normal for this village. They’re very isolated, so they might have developed strange ways.”
“Maybe.” I scrunched up my face, unconvinced. “But surely their isolation would make them more interested and curious about newcomers. And about Sterling’s return, too.”
Oliver glanced at the door. “Maybe I should have insisted on going with him. I wonder what they’re discussing right now.”
I took no pleasure from the unease that had replaced his hopeful enthusiasm, but I couldn’t regret it, either. Somehow I suspected we would all need a dose of healthy caution if we were going to make it through this.
“Well, there’s nothing you can do about it now,” said Giselle, seemingly the calmest of us. “And I can’t imagine they’d take kindly to you poking around alone.” She wrinkled her nose. “They looked sort of unpleasant.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “Or rather as if we were unpleasant.” I raised an eyebrow as I surveyed myself. “Not that I can imagine why. It isn’t like we’ve just hiked our way through a mountain range without a bath for…how many days was it, in the end?”
Giselle snorted, and Oliver managed a smile. When he opened his mouth, I held up a hand to stop him.
“Please, no. I’m far too exhausted to cope with any false compliments right now.”
“Oh, good,” he said. “Since I was merely going to agree that you could use a bath.”
I picked up the rough cushion from my chair and threw it at his head too fast for him to duck. It hit him full in the face before he caught it and lobbed it back in my direction. I ducked, and he looked around for something else to throw.
Giselle stopped us with a gagging sound. “Oh, please. That’s enough, lovebirds. Now that someone’s mentioned the word ‘bath’, I’m not going to be able to rest until I’ve had one.” She stood up and looked at us expectantly.
For some reason Oliver had flushed and looked away at her scolding rebuke, so I answered.
“Are you expecting me to pull a bath out of my pack? Because I’m pretty sure it was heavy enough that there might be one packed in there somewhere…”
Giselle rolled her eyes. “The villagers must do something for baths. And I for one don’t want to face any elders without having had one. Some things are more important than food.”
I jumped to my feet in complete agreement. I wanted nothing so much as I wanted to peel off these ill-fitting clothes and sink into
some delicious hot water. I would never get used to being cold again after these delightful weeks with my own private heat source.
Oliver looked less convinced. “Wasn’t it you who were just saying they’re not likely to take too kindly to our poking around?”
Giselle shrugged. “So we won’t poke around. We’ll just ask someone about a bath.”
Since she pulled the door open and marched out, me close behind her, he had little choice but to follow. We hailed the first people we saw, a young couple, and from the expressions of distaste on their faces as they surveyed us, we needed those baths even more than we realized.
To our great joy, it turned out that Valley View came equipped with its own public bathhouse thanks to the presence of a small set of hot springs on the edge of the town. We hurried over to them, Sterling forgotten in our excitement. Oliver warned us to be careful and keep our eyes open before leaving us for the men’s bath.
“I don’t know about you,” I said to Giselle, as I sank into the water, “but I have no intention whatsoever of keeping my eyes open.” I let them flutter closed as I heaved a deep sigh.
The water gently circulated in the largish pool, carrying away my grime and replacing it with fresh water. Either nature or an industrious villager had shaped several stone ledges at the perfect height for sitting, and I gratefully let my head tip back against the rim of the pool.
“I have no idea how hot springs can exist in a place like this, but it’s the best thing I ever heard of.”
Giselle’s indrawn breath made me hold up a lazy hand. “No, please don’t tell me. Some things really are better with the mystique preserved.”
I could almost hear her eye roll, but I didn’t care in the least. I was utterly, blessedly warm, and soon I would even be clean. For this one perfect moment I refused to think about anything else.
Once I had soaked enough to regain a little energy, I dipped my head back into the water and vigorously washed my hair using one of the bars of soap provided on a small shelf beside the pool. I watched the suds floating away and wondered how long I could get away with soaking in here when voices made me sit up straight and look over at Giselle.
A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen (Beyond the Four Kingdoms Book 3) Page 16