Heart of Ice (The Snow Queen #1)(44)

Rakel was quiet as the snow continued to fall.

“Come with me.”

“I haven’t agreed to come back.”

“We’re not going to go back, but there’s something you need to see.” Phile grabbed the reins of her horse and moved east. Rakel reluctantly fell in step with her and used the walk to adjust the weather so it no longer snowed on her behalf.

When Phile stopped to extinguish her torch, Rakel could hear faint shouts.

“Princess!”

“Princess Rakel!”

Phile, Rakel, and the horse made their way around a thick wall of pine trees. The forest was dotted with flickering lights. Villagers and troops alike held torches above their heads as they squinted in the darkness and shouted.

“Princess!”

“We’re sorry!” Knut shouted, his usually smiling face lined with grief.

Rakel’s icy wrath buckled. She thought she was valued for her ability to free villages, but a valuable weapon wouldn’t bring out so many people. Inga—Gerta’s mother—was out, as was Captain Halvor and the guards from his squad, a number of Fyran and Vefsna villagers, and many of the soldiers she had freed from the Chosen garrison. They were searching for her in spite of the snow and cold, on the same night as a hard-fought battle. They had to be bone-weary, but they kept plodding through the forest.

“What am I supposed to do, Phile?”

“Trust them,” she advised. “Let them know you trust them. No matter where you run, if people are involved in your life, you will be hurt; it’s a fact of life. But you of all people should know that loneliness hurts even worse.”

“That doesn’t make it any less frightening.” Rakel raised her chin and walked towards the searchers. Phile followed behind her, towing her horse.

It was Captain Halvor who saw her first. “Princess,” he breathed, his face slackening with relief. In four quick strides, he bridged the space between them and searched her—in a much less invasive and personal way than Farrin had—for injuries. “You’re not wounded,” he said.

“No,” Rakel said as soldiers shouted down the line, alerting everyone that she had been found.

Captain Halvor fell to his knees and bowed to her, his face hovering above the snow as the searchers ran to join them. “It was my mistake, Princess. I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I must tell you how deeply I regret the incident.”

Rakel stared at the crumpled captain and wondered how she should react. She didn’t blame him; even with Aleifr’s attempt fresh in her mind, she had never thought that he was behind this. He deserved to know that, but how? Phile poked her in the spine and gave her a meaningful look that didn’t help her at all. I’ve been locked up for twelve years. How am I supposed to know how you comfort a person?

She flattened her lips and glanced at their audience, who watched her with wide eyes. Thinking of the way Phile hugged her and the multiple times Farrin had maneuvered her with care, Rakel knelt in the snow. She hoped her hands weren’t terribly cold as she placed one on his shoulder, making Captain Halvor look up at her in surprise.

“You cannot be held responsible for the heart of your men,” she said. It took her several moments, but she allowed a smile as fragile as a snowflake to emerge from the depths of her heart. She always considered him to be a glacier-solid man, but the ache in his eyes spoke of a pain in the failure of his soldier. “And even if I did hold you responsible, you have my respect and my trust, Captain. You would not so easily lose either of those.”

She barely had enough time to read the relief in his eyes before he ducked his head, shielding his face. She looked up and was surprised to see some of the soldiers and villagers were teary-eyed. She felt her cheeks heat and tried to smooth her hair. She awkwardly patted Captain Halvor on his back and stood.

“Shall we go home?” Phile asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes,” Rakel said, grateful for the help.

“Climb on—you can ride back with me. We need to have a healer take another peek at your side. You might have opened the wound again.”

The procession back home was quiet but cheerful. Captain Halvor and his guards seemed determined to prove their loyalty, for they stayed with Phile and Rakel, their eyes watchful for any perceived threat or danger.

Phile rode straight into the encampment and all the way up to the room Oskar shared with Captain Halvor. Initially, Rakel didn’t believe it was Oskar tied up inside. His voice did not contain its usual cheer and carefree tone, but was dark and threatening.

“Please, sir, stop!” a soldier in the room begged.

CRASH!

“I would if you would UNTIE ME,” Oskar growled.

“But, but it was the c-captain’s orders!”

“Forget your mule-headed captain. Once I loosen these knots, you’ll regret the day you left the womb!”

“If you’ll allow me, Princess.” Captain Halvor bowed and made his way inside.

“Halvor—you traitorous cur—what?”

There were several moments of silence as Phile and Rakel slipped from the horse, until Oskar burst outside.

“Princess,” he said—his shirt ripped and frayed and his hair mussed. He swept Rakel up in a tight hug, surprising both of them.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“It wasn’t your fault.”