Page 30 of Cold Hearted
Zander’s deep laugh bounced off the trees as he swung atop of the white mare, settling in easily.
I dipped my head. My cheeks burning up. “Where are we going?” I finally asked. He never did answer the question.
Zander looked back at me from his position on Luna.I felt a twinge of sadness that we weren’t sharing a horse anymore, but quickly swatted it away. Two horses were definitely better. “I’m taking you where you’ve been asking to go since the moment I met you. Noreum.”
This was it. This was my chance to save my kingdom.
* * *
Zander was right, I’d been trying to get to Noreum since I arrived in Ethereum, but now that we stood on an outcropping overlooking the tall city walls and the expansive city that it protected, I suddenly felt overwhelmed.
The castle jutted up proudly from the center of the city like a master lording over its slaves. Made of black stones and soaring hundreds of feet into the air, I imagined it reflected the arrogance of its lord.
“We’ll wait until nightfall to enter the city,” Zander said grimly from beside me.
“Why?” I asked.
Zander had said we would travel without any of his troops because he had business to conduct that he didn’t want to bring attention to, but surely as the commander of the Northern Army he could enter Noreum whenever he pleased. There would likely be a welcome party ready to roll out the red carpet as well.
“Because it’s safer that way.”
Safer?
I let out a low growl. He’d been maddeningly close-lipped over the course of our journey here. Whenever I tried to pry information out of him about the war or rebellion that I overheard his men talking about,he said nothing. I might not be up to date on the politics of Ethereum, but I was becoming increasingly aware that some sort of unrest was brewing, or ratherhad beenbrewing, in the Northern Kingdom. I didn’t necessarily need to know all the details to complete my mission, but some basic information wouldn’t hurt.
A drop of guilt seared my chest, but I ignored it. Once I carved out the Northern lord’s heart I was sure I’d bring more turmoil to the land and its citizens. Based on what I’d learned from my mother, I was convinced that evil was hidden in the heart of their lord. But from what I could tell so far, the fae of Ethereum were peaceful beings and didn’t deserve to be punished by the instability their lord’s assassination would bring.
But punished they would be.
It wasn’t lost on me that since Zander had black blood he might be the next one to inherit the magic of the Northern lord after I assassinated him, but I pushed that from my mind. It didn’t matter. If that happened, I would already be back in Faerie, and I’d never see Zander again. I ignored the way my heart pinched at the thought, and instead hardened my resolve. There was nothing to be done about that. If I didn’t return to the Summer Court with the black heart of an Ethereum lord soon, all of Faerie would suffer, and that was something as a princess I couldn’t allow.
Zander dismounted Luna and I followed suit, patting Omen on the nose and thanking him for the smooth ride. We tied them both to a nearby tree, giving them plenty of lead so they could still graze on the grass beneath them. Zander and I settled on a flat rock close by, our gazes not on each other but on Noreum in the distance.Small columns of smoke drifted toward the sky as the inhabitants tended their fires. The silence that hung in the air between us was thick, and as it lingered I started to feel like I was choking on it.
“Zander, tell me why we are waiting for the cover of night to enter the city like a pair of thieves,” I asked, as much to break silence as to know the answer.
Zander heaved a sigh. “Things are not as they should be in Noreum,” he finally confessed. “They haven’t been for a year now.”
“What do you mean?” I pulled my thick cloak around my shoulders to stave off the cold, knowing that we couldn’t light a fire, or we would be seen. And for some reason we weren’t supposed to be.
“Do you remember when I told you that my brother was murdered?”
I nodded.
“What I didn’t tell you is that my brother was the commander of the Northern Army before me and he wasn’t just murdered, he was assassinated by an evil being who wanted to take control of the entire Northern Kingdom.”
I pressed my lips together, hatred for this unknown creature rising up inside me. The being who killed Cal left Brienne widowed and Kipp and Kegan fatherless. If he were in front of me now I would cut the creature down with ease.
“Cal’s death set off a series of events that the Northern Kingdom still hasn’t recovered from.”
“What kind of series of events?” I asked, not understanding exactly what that meant.
He wouldn’t look at me, and from the hard set of his jaw as I stared at his profile, I could tell even talking about this upset him.
“You’ll understand when we enter Noreum. Things are not as they should be.” He sealed his lips shut, and I knew I wouldn’t get any more information out of him. But dusk was falling, so I’d have my answers soon.
* * *
As night fell on the city, so did the temperature. White puffs of condensation swirled in front of my face with every exhale, and seeing me shiver, Zander reached out and rubbed my arms. “This must be especially uncomfortable for a fae that wields sunlight magic.”
