Heart of Ice (The Snow Queen #1)(38)
“No!” Rakel shouted, raising a wall of ice to protect them. She yelped when Farrin kicked her in the side, tossing her to the ground.
She glared up at the rainy sky and angrily fed the rainstorm her magic, turning it into a blizzard. Lightning sizzled in the unusual weather conditions, and Rakel scrambled to her feet, barely avoiding Farrin’s stab at her thigh.
She fed the ice shelter more power—popping another column out of the ground—and threw a cloud of loose, dry snow at Farrin. He can’t do much damage with that.
His sword sliced straight through the cloud, and it fell before reaching him. Rakel threw up another cage around Farrin, but this time he was prepared for it and shattered a hole for himself when it reached his knees.
“Isn’t it strange that no one is coming to help you?” Farrin asked as Rakel backed away from him. He traced the edge of his scar—the white one that crossed his cheekbones and bridged his nose—with a gloved finger.
“What do you mean?” Rakel asked warily.
“You’re obviously in trouble. I could take you at any moment, and no one is moving to help you.” Though his words were hostile, he looked past Rakel and studied the Verglas forces with disapproval.
Rakel cast a cautious glance around the battlefield. It was a grim sight. Without her support, the Verglas soldiers were outnumbered. They were fighting valiantly, facing off against the better-equipped Chosen soldiers with fierce cries, but man after man fell, staining the battlefield.
Rakel exhaled sharply through her clenched teeth, making a whistling noise. If we don’t do something we’re going to lose. I have to help! She hauled her magic—grabbing more of it than usual—and snapped. Ice clamped around Farrin’s feet like a bear trap, freezing him in place. Rakel expelled the last of the storm, fixed her gaze on the weather magic user, and hurled a giant chunk of ice at him. It hit him in the head, and he crumpled, falling to the ground. Hearing the ominous noise of groaning ice, Rakel threw up two more support columns of ice without turning around to see the young girl who was trying to crush them.
Panting, she whirled around and pelted ice-covered snowballs at Farrin as he broke free of his ice shoes. He reflected them with ease and would have pelted several Verglas soldiers trying to take down a giant snow bear if Rakel hadn’t thrown up an ice shield in time.
“Surrender, Your Highness. You’re near your limit.”
Rakel wanted to scoff. How does he presume to know my limit? As Farrin moved into close range, Rakel channeled a slice of her frozen magic and blew a blustery, ice-flecked wind. Farrin was so close, he couldn’t angle his sword, so when he raised it, the magic bounced off and hit Rakel. She was braced for it, though, and was unbothered by the cold and bits of ice…until pain bloomed in her arm.
Rakel screamed as a wolf clamped on her upper arm, savagely ripping her skin. She kicked it in the stomach, sending it flying. In mid-air, it turned into a snow bear and, with its longer reach, raked her side with its claws.
Rakel flopped to the ground, her body consumed with pain.
“Bunny!” Farrin snapped. Even in the middle of great pain, Rakel realized she had never seen Farrin so angry before. He drew himself up to his full height and his slate-gray eyes were as welcoming as frigid lakes. “Attacking Princess Rakel was not a part of my orders. What are you doing?”
“You ain’t pushing her hard enough. While fightin’ you, she took out Bluff, and she’s been keeping Dryden from collapsing that shelter on the soldiers’ heads,” said a sharp female voice.
“Bluff’s down?”
“Sure is.”
“Fine. Help Dryden and end the fight.”
“What about little ol’ princess, here?”
“I’ll take her back to camp.”
Rakel grit her teeth and pushed herself to her feet. “Captain Halvor, call a retreat!” she shouted.
“We can’t retreat—they’ll follow us!” Phile shouted, kicking a Chosen soldier in the face.
“They won’t be able to,” Rakel promised.
Captain Halvor, who was facing off with the sweet-faced girl that possessed the strength of a battering ram, grimaced when she scored a hit to his side. “Fall back!” he shouted. “Retreat!”
Rakel clamped her hands to her bleeding side. She tried to freeze Farrin’s feet again, but he noticed her attack and sprinted in close to her. She threw up a shield of ice to protect herself, and Farrin cleaved it in half. While she scrambled backwards, she threw up ice walls—cutting off Chosen soldiers so they couldn’t follow the retreating Verglas army into the pass.
Farrin, using his speed, caught her, grabbing her by her injured upper arm. When Rakel yelped, he frowned, stabbed his sword into the ground so he could secure her by her wrist, and lifted his hand that had squeezed her injured arm. “Bunny wounded you,” he said, narrowing his eyes at his red-coated glove.
Rakel didn’t waste her breath on replying. Even though the pain made her head swim, she stopped Chosen soldiers wherever she could. She brought down the ice pavilion on top of the brute-strength girl, froze a dozen pursuing soldiers to the ground, and heaved up a low wall topped with spiked ice that made the cavalry horses balk.
“Little Wolf, come!” Phile shouted.
With her various attacks, Rakel had managed to create a bit of a gap—some of the Chosen army would get through, but only a dozen or so, and she was confident Verglas soldiers could handle that many.