Court of Winter (Fae of Snow & Ice, #1)(28)

But before I could form a coherent reply, his magic dissipated, and the prince turned on his side and doused the last light. “We leave at sunrise to finish the trip to Solisarium. I suggest you stop yammering and go to sleep.”

I sputtered, once again unable to form a reply when the creak of the bed broke the silence. He shifted into a comfortable position while his wings relaxed behind him.

I spun toward the latrine and slammed the door behind me. I couldn’t be sure, but I could have sworn that a faint deep chuckle came from the room, which only confirmed he was a heartless monster, and my brief hesitation to believe anything but had been foolish.

Sighing, I knew that meant one thing. I would be taking the floor.





CHAPTER 9





“Please, my prince. Please! I beg of you. Don’t kill us. Spare us! We have children. Two daughters remaining. They need us. They’ll starve without us!”

My parents’ pleas filled the throne room of the Court of Winter. But instead of King Novakin staring down at them from his icy throne, it was his son, the crown prince, whose judgment reigned.

“Silence,” Prince Norivun commanded. His giant wings draped behind him, the huge black leathery appendages in complete contradiction to the whites and blues of the court’s inner room.

My father dipped his head. “Please, my prince. My daughters will starve. My youngest, Ilara, has only just started working full-time in the fields, and my other, Cailis, has only been working them one winter. They’re lowest on our village’s pay. Without my income to help support them—”

“I said, silence!” the prince roared.

My father’s lips clamped shut as my mother wept beside him. Both were on their knees, their features twisted in pain as they faced their judgment.

“We only came to ask of our son,” my mother said softly, her sweet voice carrying through the room like a bird’s call. “To ask what became of him when he traveled to this court to voice his concern over the dying crops. Please let us go.”

Prince Norivun’s jaw ticked. “Guards.”

Ryder, Sandus, Nish, and Haxil appeared, hovering over the prince’s side before they descended the throne’s steps to my terrified parents.

“Hold them.” The prince’s eyes turned icy. Brutal. It was the same look he’d worn right as he took the life of Mealow’s husband.

“No!” I screamed. I tried to run from the back of the room, but wisps of fog drifted around my limbs, holding me in place. I pumped my legs faster, but I didn’t move.

“Please don’t kill them!” I shouted.

Tears ran down my cheeks as I pushed myself harder. I needed to move. Needed to get to them. I had to save them.

But no amount of effort propelled me forward. I stayed locked in the back of the room as sweat beaded on my skin and my muscles burned. It was as if my legs had been anchored to the floor, stuck to some sort of magical treadmill that kept me from saving my parents no matter how hard I tried to reach them.

“Please, Prince Norivun. Don’t kill them. I beg of you!” I called again. I cried harder, sobs racking my chest. “Please! Please!” I said over and over.

But the prince ignored me, and his guards’ grips tightened around my thrashing parents.

My eyes scrunched closed when the Bringer of Darkness unleashed the terrible strength of his affinity. I felt it wash over me after it passed through my parents. Felt it when their lives ended as swiftly as the raging northern winds.

My breath came out in a rush as I forced my eyes open. A twitch convulsed my father’s body, then my mother’s, before they both lay still as the prince’s horrific magic sucked back inside him.

“No, no, no. Please no. They can’t be dead. They can’t be.” I fell to my knees, suddenly able to move as sobbing overtook me.

But my pleas didn’t stop even when my parents’ vacant eyes gazed skyward from the cold stone floor.

“Please, don’t let it be true. Please, no.”

“Shh,” a deep voice whispered in my ear. Strong arms lifted me from the cold floor, then I was moving out of the throne room as the scent of cedar and snow drifted around me.

“But they’re dead. They can’t be dead.” Another sob shook my chest, and the strong arms slowly lowered me.

Then I was lying on a cloud of warmth as softness settled over my skin, and a hard and heated slab nestled against my back.

I cried harder as the throne room around me faded, and then all I felt was warmth, a slight stroking of fingers untangling the hair from my face, and a deep voice that shushed me to sleep.





My eyes fluttered open when a knocking sound roused me, but I wanted to keep sleeping and stay buried in the mountain of warmth that encased me.

I snuggled deeper into the bed, loving the feel of the soft mattress and the thick covers keeping me warm. This was heaven. A true luxury. Like no bed I’d ever slept in before.

Wait. A bed?

My eyes flew open.

I bolted upright in an actual bed just as a knock came again. A young female was calling through the door, telling me that it was time to get dressed.

All I could do was stare at the sea of pillows, sheets, and thick soft blankets surrounding me.

I was in the prince’s bed, when I specifically remembered going to sleep on the floor. My attention snapped to where Prince Norivun had slept.