Heart of Ice (The Snow Queen #1)(70)

“You’re welcome, Princess.”

As Liv slipped away, Phile gave Rakel a bone-crunching hug. “It’s good to see you up,” she said. “You’re thinking of when you were cursed, right? He ran off to the forests—I snagged him once the fighting was over. He was gorging himself on uncovered weeds. Nice work with Graydim’s sword, by the way. That was a neat trick.”

“Where is he?” Rakel asked.

“Farrin Graydim? Gone.” Oskar’s voice held a grim note in it as he pulled out a padded arm chair and indicated that Rakel should sit in it.

Rakel gave Phile an accusing glare.

“It wasn’t me!” Phile protested. “This time we handled him all proper like. Halvor had him and the rest of his cronies tossed in the dungeons. They were out in less than a day—knocked out all the guards and stole away in the middle of the night.”

“Any leads?” Rakel asked.

Oskar shook his head. “They’re gone. We didn’t discover they were missing until the guards failed to report in at the end of their duty at dawn.”

Rakel sank into the chair Oskar had fetched for her. “So although we reclaimed Ostfold, the real threat is still at large.”

“If it makes you feel any better, he didn’t get a chance to nab his sword,” Phile said.

Rakel brightened. “He didn’t?”

“Nope. He tried—there’s a couple of dings in the ice—but your giant block is still sitting out there in one piece, and there’s no way that weather user could have gotten it open for him.”

“I hate to be the voice of skepticism, but I doubt the loss of his sword will hit him all that heavily. He can easily replace it,” Oskar said.

“I don’t believe so,” Rakel said. “The sword was definitely something he treasured. While I’m certain he can use other weapons to reflect magic, I have hopes that they won’t work as well.”

“We’ll find out eventually. In the meantime, I suggest you confirm that the sword is still there, and leave it in the ice, Little Wolf,” Phile said.

“Why?”

“If the sword is that special, he’ll try to retrieve it,” Phile said.

“I see. I’m not opposed to it, but I do wish to speak with General Halvor and King Steinar first,” Rakel said. “How did the rest of the battle go?”

“As well as any conflict could go,” Oskar said. “Our losses were not as heavy as they would have been, thanks to the entrance you forged and Tollak’s shields. Our forces pushed the enemy out of the palace and into Ostfold. Unfortunately, the city limits sustained more damage than the palace as they held the brunt of the fighting—Halvor is inspecting the city now to begin drawing up reconstruction plans—but the fight ended shortly after the rest of our magic users joined the fray. The majority of the soldiers surrendered, but there were some escapees.”

“And the magic fight?”

“Better than we hoped. Genovefa ripped through them like a cat playing with a mouse—with backup from our other magic users. It was a good exercise for them, though. It strengthened their ties as a team.”

“Only one of the Chosen magic users got away during the battle: the shapeshifter,” Phile said. “We’re pretty sure it was she who freed Farrin and the rest.”

Rakel frowned. “She didn’t free any soldiers?”

“Nope. Only magic users. It just goes to show that they’re really not united. If we’re lucky, the abandonment of the foot soldiers will cause dissent among the rest of their mercenary troops,” Phile said with a toothy smile as she flipped Foedus in the air.

“I can’t believe that we won so…cleanly,” Rakel said.

“Aye, it’s a testament to General Halvor’s planning and to your power,” Phile said.

Rakel knitted her fingertips together. “Perhaps, but I believe it is also because we are—as you mentioned previously—united. But…do you think they’re planning something?”

“Halvor considered that. He sent a regiment of troops back to Glowma, along with Ragnar, Frodi, and the rope-weaver,” Oskar said. “They arrived without any difficulties and reported that the city is fine. They’ll remain stationed there, for the time being, until our future plans can be decided.”

“Are things not going well with Steinar, then?” Rakel asked.

Oskar rubbed the back of his neck. “Things are going rather poorly, but not for the reasons that you fear.”

“He is not domineering?”

“No, quite the opposite. He has told Halvor to do whatever he thinks best, and he would not give an opinion on anything we asked. Now, he runs away whenever he sees us, and his valet feeds us excuses for why His Majesty couldn’t possibly meet with us,” Oskar said.

“How…odd,” Rakel said, a thoughtful frown pulling the corners of her mouth down.

“He’s weird,” Phile said with her usual bluntness. “I know he’s your brother, Little Wolf, but he’s got the fortitude of a tree-mouse, and he runs around like a frightened child. I don’t know what the Chosen did to ’im, because he’s different from the last time I took a gander at him, but now he’s one camel short of a caravan.”

Oskar rubbed his chin. “Leaving the rest of the resistance to Halvor isn’t a bad move, but if Steinar remains hermit-like, it doesn’t bode well for what will come after.”