Page 112 of Omen of ice
Because she’s in love with me.
And I’m in love with her.
“We’ll fight—together.”
For a moment, I swear she might argue, but in the end, she simply smiles—a mischievous, beautiful grin—and lifts the sword. With an echoing roar, she launches herself into the fight, and I follow, eager to spill whatever blood I can.
I dive for the closest guard, releasing my animal before hitting the ground. He pulls up short when, instead of the somewhat lazy, troublemaking nephew of the Winter Lord, he’s faced with a giant angry wolf. I snarl and snap at the air, and he turns and runs, but I’m faster.
And far hungrier for blood.
I catch his ankle, clenching my jaw and coaxing a scream from him.
“Please! I was just following orders!”
My response is to bite down, tearing his foot from his leg and leaving him to bleed. I’m different now. Changed in ways I could never have imagined. But I still have no desire to take a life unless I have to. He could still die, but he’s got a fighting chance—if he leaves to tend to his wound.
Back on two legs, I search the chaos for Tania. She’s across the field, face to face with the largest of the guards. He swings; she pivots. She slices; he dodges. They’re evenly matched. Or they are until she seems to hesitate. Mid-swing, she pauses and visibly shivers, as if overtaken by the cold. Her opponent uses it to his advantage. His attack is brutal and swift, knocking her to the ground. I feel the air leave her body, feel the spike of fear as he stands over her. He has her pinned by the tip of his sword, and I sprint forward.
I’m almost to them, several yards away, when he draws back his blade. It’s impossible. I won’t make it. “Tania!”
I hold my breath as the blade plunges toward her chest. A rush of determination surges through the link, and she twists at the last second. Bringing her leg up, she catches the guard behind his knees. His balance tilts. His momentum is thrown. The sword sinks into the earth, and her attacker crashes down.
One by one, we take them out. Benj sweeps in and hauls several of the guards away—I have no idea where, and I don’t care. These are Liani’s squadron. Possibly the same ones who looked the other way when she murdered my mother.
When the final guard is down, my gaze goes to the spot we last saw my aunt. Of course, she’s nowhere to be found, but she can’t have gotten far. “I’m going to find Liani,” I say to Tania. She isn’t going to get away with this. “She’s mine.”
Benj shifts back to his Fae form and points across the field. When I look, Liani is there, blade in hand, facing off against a massive black horse. “Looks like someone else beat you to it.”
“Is that—”
“Daroose may come across as nothing more than an irritating distraction, but trust me, the kelpie is far more than he appears.” Delkin smiles.
On the other side of the field, Liani swings her blade with skill. A lady of court, yes, but she was more than that, once. A fighter. A huntswoman. It wasn’t just her beauty that attracted my uncle. She was fire and she was strength—and she has no intention of going down easily.
But Delkin is right about Daroose. The kelpie is far more than I thought. Liani slashes, dragging her blade across the horse’s flank. Daroose lets out an otherworldly howl and sprints forward. Liani dodges and starts to run, but the kelpie is faster. Its teeth clamp down on her arm, coaxing a pained scream from my aunt, and it starts dragging her toward us.
“I believe you misplaced this, little Fae,”Daroose says in a muffled voice. It—he—stops a few feet in front of us. The kelpie’s true form is nothing short of magnificent. Black as the starless sky with teeth sharper than a warrior’s blade, the kelpie has eyes that glow deep purple. The glow matches his tail and mane, which seem to pulse with energy.“Is anyone searching for a false queen?”
I can’t believe it. “You went after her?”
Liani struggles, and Daroose bites down harder. Blood oozes from his mouth.“One more time, and I will bite it off.”To me, he says,“I was doing as commanded by my druid.”
Tania comes up beside me. I look from Daroose to her, brows raised. “Protect Valen at all costs,” she says, looking at the kelpie. “Thank you.”
“Wait a second…” I study him, taking in his true form. “I thought you said you couldn’t talk to us like that.”
Daroose lets out a soft whinny.“I lied.”
“What do you plan to do?” Liani shouts. “March onto the estate and reclaim your throne? They will crucify you.”
“How is it that the people just forgot the Frostreaver name?” Tania glances back at Delkin. He’s watching Liani with barely contained fury. “How do you simply forget the real royal family?”
“With magic,” another voice says. Levina emerges from the trees. She walks to the center of the clearing and stops in front of Delkin and Benj. With a mock bow, she says, “It is good to see you, Majesty, after all these years.”
“You know Levina?” Tania asks. I don’t miss the slight wobble in her stance or the shiver she tries so hard to suppress. Underneath it all, there’s a shimmer of hope. Like somewhere deep down, she’s still hanging on to the idea that this was all a big misunderstanding. That her mentor, the woman who raised her, hasn’t just betrayed everything they both stand for.
Delkin’s face is pale. He’s rigid, the muscles in his arms coiled, fists clenched and ready. “I know her. But this woman’s name is not Levina. Her name is Aphelian.”
