Sacrifice (The Snow Queen #2)(46)

She gave the walls a ceiling, creating a perfect sphere of ice that entombed the Chosen leader. She barely noticed when Farrin dispatched two soldiers and joined her.

He tilted his head, an appreciative grin playing on his lips. “I see,” he said. “If he doesn’t realize what you’re planning…it will be brilliant.”

As if in response, a booming noise made the ground shake, and a side of the ice sphere was blown to pieces. The rest of the sphere—thick and frosty—cracked and fell in on itself, making a dangerous avalanche of ice shards and blocks. Just to be safe, Rakel then dropped a load of wet, heavy snow from the hillsides on top of the fractured ground.

There was no sign of life.

“Retreat!” General Halvor shouted.

Rakel held a fist of magic to keep herself standing upright. She blinked, and Farrin was gone.

Phile whistled. “Little Wolf!”

“Here, Princess.” Oskar lifted Rakel onto his horse. “Can you hold on long?”

“For a bit. How are our troops?”

“Battered, but I don’t think this could be considered a loss. The Chosen sustained a much higher mortality rate,” Oskar said, mounting up behind her.

Rakel almost fell off the side when the horse lunged forward.

“Fall back in formation,” General Halvor shouted. “Take the injured, but move!” His pony tossed its head and whinnied when Farrin appeared, not even out of breath.

“Tenebris is calling a retreat,” he said. “He has one slight injury, but a colonel and one of his close companions were both grievously injured by the falling ice.”

“Shouldn’t we push him now?” Frodi asked. He stood as if it pained him, but he still held a ball of fire. At his side—also mounted on a pony—was Steinar.

“No,” General Halvor said. “Our soldiers cannot continue with this pace. We need to regroup and reorganize.”

“But Halvor,” Steinar said.

“The princess cannot fight Tenebris any longer. She is barely holding on the way it is,” General Halvor said.

Concern furrowed Farrin’s brow as he watched her.

He’s worried—he doesn’t know this is normal. Rakel forced her lips into a quick smile.

Farrin frowned gravely and gently held one of her hands.

General Halvor eyed them, but addressed Steinar. “As it stands, we don’t have anyone capable of fighting him without sustaining heavy losses. I’m calling a retreat.”

Steinar nodded.

Rakel shut her eyes and strained to hold on.

“Princess,” Halvor said.

Instead of speaking, Rakel opened her eyes.

“You can let go,” Halvor said. “We have emergency procedures in place for this situation. You can rest.”

Farrin still stood next to her, his expression guarded as he watched the conversation play out.

Her eyes flickered from Farrin to Halvor as she wondered what would happen after she fell unconscious. “Are you sure?”

Halvor caught her unease and offered her a nod. “Yes.”

“He’s right, Little Wolf,” Phile said.

“The sooner you begin resting, the better,” Liv piped in. She was still mounted behind Phile and yipped in surprise when the Robber Maiden abruptly swung her horse around.

“I have you, Princess,” Oskar assured her.

Rakel’s eyes slid towards Farrin, and she wordlessly asked, Will you guard them?

Farrin smiled and raised her hand to his lips. The warmth of his lips and his breath was a tender caress on her skin. “Sleep well, Princess.”

Rakel narrowed her eyes and wanted to lecture him—his reaction was something she did not want to encourage—but fighting Tenebris made her feel like she had been chewed up by a snow bear and spat back out, so she let go of her magic.

When she did, she felt a sharp, suffocating magic whisper on the winds.

You are just like Tenebris.

Shocked, but lacking control of her body and mouth, Rakel sagged against Oskar, aghast. Her thoughts slipped through her fingers, and with mounting horror and fright, Rakel plunged into a dreamless sleep.





CHAPTER 10





NEW BEGINNINGS


Her body ached. Not the ache of strain, but the pain of having been dragged across a bumpy road for miles. She couldn’t help the groan that escaped her mouth as she blinked in the bright light, trying to make sense of the bleary world.

“Phile?” she murmured.

Phile was always there when she woke. Why wasn’t she saying anything?

Rakel raised her hand and pinched her eyes, clearing her vision. It took her several tries to find the strength to sit up in bed.

She was splayed out in the only bed of the tiny cottage she shared with Phile and Liv in Tana. Two cots were folded and stacked against a barren wall, but there were blankets, cushions, and a few straw dolls scattered around the room. One particularly well-made doll was tucked in Rakel’s right hand.

She smiled. “Gerta.” She rolled her shoulders, wincing as her bones cracked and resettled. Her mouth felt as dry as fall leaves, and her stomach rumbled in a most unseemly fashion.

The cottage was lit with golden sunlight that splashed in through the windows. Rakel turned, bathing her face in the light like a cat, and was surprised to see a familiar back.