Court of Winter (Fae of Snow & Ice, #1)(10)

Vorl’s shoulders tensed, his hand going to his club.

“Stay strong, Cailis.” I kissed her on the forehead as she turned to Finnley and buried her face in his chest. Birnee gave me one last pleading look. “Take care of her,” I begged. “Please.”

Birnee and Finnley nodded solemnly as my sister’s shoulders and wings moved up and down with each sob.

Standing tall, I locked down the pain that threatened to overwhelm me. I might have been the weakest fairy in our village, but I wouldn’t let that define me now. Not here. Not in this moment.

Vorl’s focus burned into me as I walked stiffly toward the prince and his guards. A moment of hysteria filled me, but I managed to contain the ironic laughter that almost spilled from my lips. Without me in the village, who would Vorl torment now?

My village archon’s expression was filled with mixed emotions. Disbelief. Anger. Perhaps even resentment. But his hand remained on his club, just waiting for me to balk.

The prince cut Vorl a sharp look, then brought his attention back to me. For the barest second, the prince’s gaze dropped to my throat again.

“This way,” one of the prince’s guards said. A braid whipped from around his back as he gestured toward the door.

The prince did a one-eighty, and I followed blindly, my feet moving of their own accord as I put one foot in front of the other.

“My prince?” I called to Prince Norivun again. He towered over me, his midnight attire shining like obsidian. His aura screamed of death and violence, but I still stepped closer to him. “If I’ve done something against the court, I can assure you it was entirely in ignorance. Please tell me what I’ve done so I can make it right.”

“You’ve done nothing against the court.” He slipped on a pair of supple leather gloves and disappeared out of the barn. He hadn’t even glanced at me when uttering the words that proved my innocence.

My jaw dropped as confusion froze my tongue. The guard with shorn white hair nudged me through the door after Prince Norivun, and I nearly slid on the ice when a burst of wind hit me in the chest, but I managed to right myself as the rest of his guards joined us and closed the door behind us.

Inside the field kitchen, an eruption of conversation broke out. I couldn’t decipher what anyone was saying, but I could just imagine what their whispers and hisses hinted at, though nobody dared open the door to see what was happening. I did catch a few hovering near the window, as though I was a side show at Firlim’s market and they were debating if they should drop a few rulibs in payment for the entertainment.

If the prince used his affinity on me now, it would indeed be a show. Albeit a quick one.

Shivering, I wrapped my arms around myself as the sun blazed all around. Since we stood outside of the field’s land that was infused with orem, it was freezing.

I held up a hand to shield my view as the sun’s reflection on the snow made the landscape blinding. Another gust of wind shot through the valley, and without my scarf, my hair flew around my face as coldness seeped into my bones. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so exposed outside. I never left my home without my hooded cloak or headscarf.

“How shall we proceed to the capital, my prince?” one of his guards asked. He was of medium height with a thick white beard, yet his stance was strong, his hands large, and like the prince, two swords peeked out from beneath his wings.

All of the prince’s guards appeared to be of similar age and wore the court’s signature colors. They were young, strong, trained soldiers who undoubtedly knew how to wield those weapons.

The prince eyed me coolly, assessing my frame through an emotionless mask. “You have no wings.”

I flinched. It was something anyone could see, yet it’d been so long since someone had so blatantly pointed it out.

“You’re very observant.” The sharp comment slipped off my tongue like a thrown arrow as that stirring rage began to simmer in me again.

The bearded guard scowled and stepped forward. “You dare to speak to—”

Prince Norivun held up a hand. “It’s all right, Sandus. I’m sure she meant no disrespect.” His voice turned glacial, and the magic around him stirred.

I froze, realizing what I’d done. Such insolence would likely garner punishment, even though I was innocent of any actual wrongdoings, but my innocence didn’t matter. He was the crown prince, and the prince could do as he wished. He didn’t need a reason to take me, and nobody cared that the prince had torn my family apart, that he was forcing me from my home and destroying my sister in the process, or that he was humiliating me on top of everything else. Even if he was doing it all on a whim, even if I’d done nothing against the court, it didn’t matter.

That shocking realization made me take a deep calming breath. Because dying right here and now would in no way help my sister. Cailis needed to stay safe and continue her life peacefully and hopefully happily, but if I died for deliberate acts of contempt of the crown, her world would be shattered.

With stunning clarity, I knew that staying alive was the best thing for my sister, regardless of what it cost me. I needed to stay safe, keep breathing, and make my way back to her if at all possible. Which meant I shouldn’t do anything prideful or stupid.

“I apologize, my prince.” I dipped my head, the words like acid on my tongue. “It’s been some time since anyone has pointed that out.”