Heart of Ice (The Snow Queen #1)(36)

Captain Halvor shook his head. “It is only right. Excuse us, Princess. I will have the reindeer sleighs prepared.”

“I’ll go get extra furs. If you build a blizzard, I imagine it’s going to get cold. We’ll be ready shortly, Princess,” Oskar called over his shoulder as he and Captain Halvor made for the door.

“It’s not…I don’t need…” she broke off in a sigh when they left without listening to her. “Yes. A real gift,” she reminded herself. She frowned in irritation until she remembered their worry, and a smile finally won the war. “Enough. I must focus on the present. Tomorrow, we fight.”





CHAPTER 10





TO BATTLE


Rakel watched the fox with the fascination of a child. While everyone else in her unusual army was silent and motionless, watching the pass for signs of the Chosen army, she gawked at the small animal—the first one she had ever seen outside of a book.

The fox seemed to notice her stare, and it made a show of digging a hole in the snow and thrusting its nose in it.

“Is that normal behavior for a Verglas fox?” Phile asked.

Rakel shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”

The fox barked—a strange combination of a scream and a hoarse yodel. “That is an awful noise,” Phile said.

Captain Halvor rustled a branch, and Rakel cringed in guilt. She gave the fox one last curious glance, and turned to peer down the pass.

The previous night, Rakel had coated the land in a layer of snow that almost reached her knees and used impressive drifting to wash out most of the roads and paths. The one area she kept open was the path they guarded—which wove between two steep hills to create a small pass. Captain Halvor had chosen this location as the place they would make their stand.

They had slipped into position hours ago, and while Rakel tried to tweak the air temperature so it was a little warmer, many were cold and uncomfortable from the inactivity.

“Maybe they’ve changed their plans,” she said as the fox barked again.

“Doubtful,” Phile snorted.

“Colonel Graydim likely realized we were in his office. He—”

“There,” Captain Halvor said, pointing to the entrance of the pass.

Armor glittered in the sunlight as the Chosen army marched forward.

“Are you ready, Princess?” Oskar asked.

Rakel uneasily glanced at the snowdrifts and ice coverings she’d made to hide the Verglas soldiers. She was loath to use her magic in the presence of so many, but she didn’t have a choice. The army Farrin was bringing was beyond her abilities to subdue unless she used a substantial amount of her magic—an idea she liked even less.

“Princess?” Captain Halvor asked.

Rakel nodded. She leveled her chin and strode out of the shadow of the pass and into the sun.

Behind her, the fox screamed as Rakel reached for her magic. She glanced at the hills and yanked the snow down their steep sides, spreading it out in front of the pass like a blanket—it would be much harder for Chosen soldiers to attack in a foot of snow.

The leaders of the army yelled and reorganized their ranks—moving their mounted soldiers to the front to break the path. Overhead, the sky grew cloudy.

“They’ve brought the weather mage with them,” Phile announced.

Rakel was studying the sky, trying to decide what would be the best way to use the already stirred weather magic, so she saw the first arrow. “Archers!” She threw her hands up, and columns of ice burst out of the ground and bloomed like trees, shielding the Verglas army.

“They’re expecting our ambush,” Oskar said.

“Archers, take those horses down!” Captain Halvor shouted.

“Little Wolf, the weather mage!”

“Where?”

“Straight out.”

“I see him.” Rakel left the safety of the ice shelter, deflecting an arrow with an ice shield of her own as she stalked towards the weather mage.

She saw him suck his head into his shoulders, trying to hide behind the struggling horses. When he saw that she was prowling in his direction, he yelled. “Farrin!”

Rakel blasted ice at him in hopes of cutting him off, but, as if he had been summoned, Colonel Graydim dropped in front of Rakel’s path, his two-handed greatsword unsheathed.

“I told you, you should have left Verglas.” His handsome features were subdued with regret.

“And I told you I wouldn’t,” Rakel said. Knowing she would have to defeat him fast—or he would be able to keep her occupied for the fight—she created a circle of treacherous ice around her.

“Attack!” Captain Halvor shouted, leading the Verglas troops out of the pass.

Farrin shook his head and pointed to his boots. “Ice cleats,” he said, taking a few steps on the ice slick with no trouble.

Rakel flung an arm out in front of her, throwing a human sized chunk of ice at him. Farrin swung his sword at the incoming attack, meeting it head on.

There were a couple of things Rakel expected to happen. She thought in all likeliness his sword would snap—she had made the ice thick and dangerously cold—and predicted that the ice would smash him to the ground.

Instead, when the flat of Farrin’s sword met the ice, a shrieking noise pierced the air. Farrin carried through with his swing, and the chunk of ice reflected off the sword. It hurtled towards the Verglas troops and hit three soldiers, tossing them to the ground like ragdolls.