Page 66 of Omen of ice
“Most Fae I’ve encountered have been touched by the stench of death.” He shrugs. “An unavoidable pitfall.” Daroose pokes at Valen’s shoulder, then scrunches up his nose and frowns. “This one has not been touched by violence, but…” Another deep breath. “Idoscent magic. Didn’t you say—”
Valen stops short and whirls around, but I’m one step ahead of him. “As a member of the royal Winter Court, he’s lived his life in a place where latent magic lives in the ground. I imagine that’s what you smell.”
A furious gleam sparks in Valen’s eyes, and my fists tingle in response to his anger. The barest hint of cold lingers at my fingertips.
“I thought we were keeping things like that to ourselves, Tania,” he says.
“That is interesting,” the kelpie muses. “Interesting indeed. Little Fae is a descendant of Servis?”
Letting Daroose know we have access to Fae magic is a card we don’t need to show, but there’s no way to hide the power completely. If Daroose smells something, then we have to come clean—at least a little. “I’m sure you can understand why we wish to keep his true heritage a secret. Valen doesn’t share his family’s…views.”
Daroose grins. “Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that. The bloodline of a Fae isverytelling.”
I want to ask what he means, but Valen stops walking. “There.” He points to the chasm in the distance, toward the rickety bridge that spans it. Though the two trolls aren’t visible, they’re no doubt lurking close by. “Remember to stay silent, kelpie.”
Daroose holds both hands up and nods ahead.
Like earlier, the moment I set foot on the bridge, the trolls swing out from beneath it. “Did you bring us our…” The female’s gaze lands on Daroose. More specifically, the necklace draped around his throat. She rips the chest from my hands and yanks it open. “How dare you!”
“We’ve brought you the price you requested.” I square my shoulders and stand tall. A fight won’t be ideal, but if that’s what it comes to, so be it. Valen and I are crossing this bridge one way or another.
“You’ve done no such thing.” The male roars. He hurls the golden chest at my feet. The small thing shatters, bits and pieces bouncing in every direction. The one closest, a chunk of the cover, glints in the fading sunlight before springing over the edge of the bridge, into the seemingly bottomless abyss below.
“We have,” Valen corrects. “You asked that we bring you the golden chest that Daroose stole. That is exactly what we’ve done. You said nothing about the contents inside. You’re required per our agreement—and troll honor—to let us pass.”
My fingers itch, hands ready to draw my blade and cut our way across if needed.
The male troll advances. His colossal figure casts an expansive shadow over us, and in that moment, I’m convinced he’ll strike, but his mate intervenes. “The Fae is right. We said nothing about the contents of the chest. They broke no agreement.” As she steps aside, her meaty hand gestures across the divide. “You may pass.”
Valen relaxes and starts forward. I move aside to let Daroose follow, but the troll holds out her hand to block his path. “The toll was for the human and the Fae. The kelpie has paid no price.”
Daroose growls, the fingers of his human form twitching.
“What will you ask to let him pass?” Our deal included taking him with us across the bridge. I have no idea what will happen if we break our promise.
“The necklace.” The male troll makes a meaty fist and sneers, baring a mouthful of jagged, rotting teeth. “I will allow him to cross, but not with the necklace.”
Daroose freezes, eyes going wide. His hand goes to his throat, covering the necklace as he staggers back. “You’ve held me captive long enough, troll.”
“Perhaps,” the troll says. His blue lips curve up at the corners. “But if we allowed you to go free, you would surely return to exact revenge for our trespass.” Thick fingers shake greedily. “Remove the necklace, and you may go.”
Fury sparks behind his eyes, but Daroose reaches back to unhook the necklace. A satisfied rumble growls through the troll as he lumbers closer. Daroose moves like he’s going to drop the chain into the troll’s hand, but instead he seizes my arm. Before I realize what’s happening, Valen roars and Daroose drops the necklace into my upturned palm.
“What have you done?” Valen stares down at my hand.
Daroose only shrugs. He catches my eye for a moment, and I swear I see the smallest hint of fear. It’s fast and passes quickly, and when he turns back to the troll, he’s grinning. “I am no longer in possession of my necklace—as requested. May I pass?”
The female is furious, but the male throws back his head and howls with laughter. “I pity you, Daroose. You have been away from the world for a long, long time. Giving your necklace to a human will prove far worse than giving it to me.”
Worse?
The troll steps aside and gestures across the bridge.
“I suppose time will tell.” Daroose saunters past the trolls and starts across the bridge. Valen follows, very pale, but says nothing.
When I move forward, the male troll grabs my arm. “If you allow the kelpie to return here, know that I will make it my mission to kill every remaining human in Derriga.”
I jerk from his grasp and snort. As if I have any damned control over what the kelpie does. I have my own problems to worry about. And, really, how much damage could one kelpie do?
