Sacrifice (The Snow Queen #2)(22)

“I don’t think you’re scary or wrong either. Magic doesn’t make you more special or less human,” Rakel said. She held out her hand and created a paper-thin snowflake the size of a bowl. It twisted in the air, glittering a dazzling silver in the firelight. “It means you have a responsibility and an ability that will never leave you.”

“Magic users are hunted and killed,” Kai said. He stared at Rakel, begging her with his eyes to save him.

“It’s true; they were. And in many countries, they still are. But you live in Verglas. Nothing like that will happen to you,” she said.

“You were all alone on that mountain because you had magic.” Kai shivered and stared at his hands.

“Oh, Kai,” Rakel said. She dismissed the snowflake and hugged him. “My exile is…complicated. One day, I’ll explain it to you. But that was in the past. My brother—King Steinar—would never let anything happen to the magic users. Things have changed. We don’t have to hide anymore.”

“How do you know?” Kai asked, his voice small.

Rakel released him so she could meet his eyes. “Because Steinar wouldn’t do anything to harm me.” She was surprised when she realized she genuinely meant it. Her relationship with Steinar was rocky, but in the few stilted conversations she’d had with him, she knew for certain he had never planned to hurt her, and that wouldn’t change. “And the Verglas citizens have grown to accept us. Many people have come out of hiding and declared their powers publically so they can help us save Verglas.”

Kai rubbed his nose and stared back at Rakel. After a few long moments he lowered his gaze to the plate of toast. “Okay.” He slipped off his chair and padded across the room to pick up a basket of toy blocks Snorri frequently used in their strategy sessions to build models of landscapes he’d scouted. Kai paused with a block in each hand. “If I can’t—if it attacks me again, will you stop it?”

“Kai, the princess is the most powerful magic user ever.” Gerta snatched up another piece of toast and wandered after him. “She can keep you safe.”

“I’m afraid I am not the most powerful.” Rakel ignored Phile’s snort of disbelief. “But I can promise that I will stop your magic, should it prove to be harmful.”

Kai nodded. He sat down on the ground and started arranging the blocks to build a wall. When he had a decent structure going, he said, “Defend.”

The blocks pulled tight, creating a wall. Gerta tried to kick it, but it didn’t move.

Phile prodded the blocks with Foedus. “Can you order it to do more than one thing?”

“I don’t think so,” Kai said.

“Could you try?” Oskar asked.

“Scatter,” Kai said.

The blocks remained tightly interlocked.

“I don’t know how to make it stop,” he admitted after several moments of silence.

“You have to let go of your magic,” Rakel said. “You feel it swirling in you?”

Kai nodded.

“Cut it off.”

Kai set his shoulders then kicked the blocks. They scattered, toppling from their tight formation.

Rakel turned to Oskar but was distracted when she realized that Kai’s mother stood in the doorway—her face wan and tense.

“Kai,” Rakel gestured to the door.

“Mother!” Kai threw himself at her. She took a step back, and at first Rakel thought it was due to the force with which Kai hit her, but it was almost a flinch.

“Thank you, Princess, for saving Kai.” Gerta brushed crumbs from her face and offered Rakel a big, sweet smile.

Rakel smoothed the little girl’s braids. “You did well to come find me.”

“I knew it,” Gerta said, satisfaction crusting her words. She thumped across the study—stopping to grab her abandoned coat.

Kai’s mother placed a shaking hand on his head. “Thank you,” she whispered to everyone in the room, then fled like a nervous doe. Kai, clinging to her hands, was dragged in her wake, and Gerta shuffled after them.

“Playing is gonna be a lot more fun now!” Gerta said as she skipped out of the room.

Knut—Kai’s mother’s escort to the study—saluted Rakel. “Do you need anything more, Princess?”

Rakel rubbed her forehead. “Yes. If you would tell General Halvor I wish to speak to him about what happened, I would appreciate it.”

“Of course, Princess. You did well.” He offered her a gap-toothed smile and ducked back into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

“You all are going through a pretty bit of trouble over one little boy.” Crow eyed some of the leftover toast and goat milk.

“He’s not just a little boy,” Rakel said. She was reluctant to put into words what Kai and Gerta had done for her. They offered love when everyone else feared my touch.

“Even still, one child with magic don’t make much of a difference to the country,” Crow supposed.

Oskar rubbed his head. “Perhaps not now, but he could potentially become powerful. Not on your level, Princess, but he could be similar to Farrin—very troubling to go against. His limit, of course, is that he must build things to use his magic.”

“He’ll need help.” Phile tossed Foedus in the air and caught it by its hilt. “He’s been thrown into a new world, and there are no books or teachers that can help him make sense of it.”