Thorns of Frost (Fae of Snow & Ice, #2)(34)
“Because of the diminishing orem?”
He nodded. “Tensions are running high. Lord Crimsonale and Lady Wormiful are insisting we move our race to the southern continent and abandon our land before it’s too late. My father is resisting.”
A wave of relief billowed through me. “Because the king doesn’t want war?”
The prince snorted. “I think the real reason is because he’s stubborn, and he doesn’t think the orem is truly vanishing.” I frowned and wanted to ask more, but the prince stood. “I really must go. I shouldn’t be late, but that’s why I haven’t been very pleasant lately and why I haven’t been accompanying you.”
I sat back on my heels, realizing it was the most he’d ever revealed about his daily life. I knew he regularly visited the territories and was required to uphold the law using his death affinity, but I hadn’t considered the more diplomatic sides of his life. Council meetings. Political discussions. Subduing territory squabbles.
For some reason, I couldn’t picture the crown prince sitting in the council chambers each day, listening to angry territory archons fight and bicker over the direction of our great kingdom. It seemed too caged of an existence for the prince, like it clipped his wings. He had so much power and strength in him that it almost felt as though he needed to move and roam, and a stuffy council chamber certainly wasn’t for that.
When the prince made to turn away, I grabbed his hand. He stopped, stilling completely as his gaze fell to where I’d touched him.
I hastily removed my hold. “But why is Lord Crimsonale still insisting on moving south when Harrivee’s field is showing signs of life? Don’t they know that whatever I’m doing is working?”
The prince’s eyes darkened, those sapphire blue irises like a raging storm. “They don’t know yet, Ilara. I was waiting to tell them. If this field also shows signs of life, then I’ll reveal what we’re trying to the council. Until then, I don’t want anyone’s eyes on you.”
An ominous shiver ran through me, and not for the first time, I thought about what had occurred within the castle’s walls—the fae who’d gone missing. The ones who’d disappeared without a trace. They’d all been actively involved in the diminishing orem, either talking about it or trying to raise the alarm. None of them had ever been found.
And now I had dove headfirst into that very problem, a problem that had put targets on the missing fae’s backs.
“Up you go, now!” Matron Olsander said shrewdly as I balked at returning to the balance beam. It stood nearly twenty feet in the air, yet from the floor, it looked like an imposing cliff.
I swallowed the hesitation in my throat yet still didn’t move.
“None of this dilly dallying. Your first test will be upon us before you know it.” My tutor swatted my rump, getting a yelp out of me.
I rubbed my backside and glared at her, but she merely shooed me forward, so I reluctantly began to climb the ladder.
“You can do it, Lara!” Meegana called, an encouraging smile on her face as she watched from below.
I gave her a small nod. Cailis had confirmed following the first Trial dinner that Meegana always spoke truthfully when she addressed me. Beatrice usually did too. Because of the trust I was developing in them, both of them were becoming my friends despite the Trial requiring us to compete with one another.
As for Michas and Nuwin, Michas was surprisingly honest when he spoke, most of the time, but Cailis said at times he’d bleed gray, which was her affinity’s way of telling her he wasn’t outright lying, but he was skirting the truth.
And Nuwin . . . I nearly snorted thinking of him. He was a true trickster, oftentimes pulsing in lilac waves, indicating he was fabricating stories to elicit a response from those around him. I hadn’t been astonished in the least to learn that.
Not surprisingly, Georgyanna lied regularly, but her manipulation affinity was strong enough that even Cailis had a hard time seeing which colors she bled whenever she spoke, so Cailis and I had decided that it was best I avoid the female as much as possible.
And as for the crown prince, she hadn’t been able to get any reading on him at all. His affinities were too strong, his Shield like a stone wall. She wasn’t strong enough to see past it, and since the prince never released his Shield, not even for a second, it meant Cailis would never be able to see if he was truthful or lying.
I gripped the ladder tightly as I began to ascend while that thought struck me again. Shaking it off, I tried to concentrate on what Matron Olsander wanted me to do.
Some of the males watching me crossed their arms, arrogant smirks on their faces, while Beatrice plucked her hands on her hips, seemingly content to observe. Of course, everyone was in the training room again today, other than the two princes—both of whom were apparently attending a council meeting that was an all-day event.
I climbed higher, and a shrill laugh came from Georgyanna. Her aura heightened. A wash of it prickled my skin. It felt slimy, reminding me of oil, but instead of coating my insides, it slid off of me when I tethered my magic around me and practiced my Shield.
Thankfully, my magic was strong enough that I was able to thwart Georgyanna’s attempts at control, but the male standing next to Georgyanna must not have been as strong as her, or his Shield was down, because a cruel smile twisted his lips when her affinity hit him.