Ambrosia (Frost and Nectar, #2)(33)

“Refusing to take the throne. She’s certain Torin will be back any day now. And I don’t know if she’s wrong. She’s unfailingly loyal, and Torin never wanted her on the throne. He thought she was too weak, and that the magic would kill her.”

He turned back to me. “We are not in good shape. We don’t have any more time to spare. And I know Torin wouldn’t be allowing this to happen if he had any control whatsoever. If he could be here, he would. I’m just worried that he’s…” Aeron trailed off for a moment. “That he’s trapped or something. ”

Worry twisted in my gut. If Torin was in trouble, Ava must be, too.

I slid the plate of bread onto a bedside table. “What is the dragon I keep seeing?”

He crossed to the bed. “It’s the curse the demons placed on us long ago. When the frost encroaches, dark magic takes over. The dragon is circling like a vulture, waiting to eat the dead, to feed off our destruction. Our kingdom hasn’t seen them in centuries, but I think they’re attracted to misery and desperation.”

When he sat down across from me, I pulled the blanket off myself, and I wrapped it around both of us until we were cocooned in wool. He took my cold hands in his and rubbed them together, then breathed on them.

When he looked up at me again, his golden hair hung before his eyes, and his cheeks were pink with the cold. Even with the chaos around us, he still had that perfect rakish charm.

“I don’t understand what happened,” he said. “I keep piecing together what I saw, trying to make sense of it. Moria had come up here to speak to Ava but wouldn’t allow me anywhere in earshot. Ava ran down to the throne room to speak to Torin. And then I saw him touch her, and ice spread over her body. But I don’t understand why Torin would freeze her with his magic. I suppose it was an accident, but I’ve never known him to lose control of his magic before.”

A disturbing memory threaded through my mind, a tidbit of a conversation I’d overheard.

“How much do you trust Torin?” I asked .

“Honestly, I trust him with my life. I’ve known him since we were little.”

I shifted closer to him.

“I don’t trust Moria,” I began. “Ava didn’t trust her, either, but whatever Moria said to Ava, it was believable enough to make her upset. I didn’t hear the whole conversation, but I heard a little. Moria accused Torin of killing her sister. I think Moria’s sister might have been the person whose diary we found. She was Torin’s girlfriend or lover or something.”

Aeron stared at me. “Milisandia. That’s what Moria said? Milisandia went missing. But it’s treasonous to accuse a king of an unlawful murder. And of course, Torin is not a murderer. He kills lawfully.”

“So maybe Moria was lying. But something about that conversation had Ava rushing to speak to Torin, and now they’re both gone. What if Torin was trying to cover up what he did?”

Aeron went still. “Maybe you misheard.”

Annoyance flickered through me. “I didn’t mishear,” I said, more sharply than I needed to. When had I last eaten? It had probably been far too long.

He stared at me, a line forming between his eyebrows. “Torin never spoke about Milisandia after she went missing, but I always assumed…well, I assumed she ran off with someone else, started a new life with someone across the mountains. You have to understand, Shalini. I’ve known him since we were boys. He’s not a murderer, and I will not tolerate the accusation.”

I bit my lip. “Okay, but when Ava questioned him about it, Torin froze her with his magic.” Aeron’s fingers were still like ice cubes. “Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“We live in strange times.”

Sorrow tightened my chest. When it came down to it, Torin seemed a million times more trustworthy than Moria.

“So, how do we get Ava back from wherever she went?” I asked. “Isn’t there some kind of magic? You must have Seelie witches here who can tell where they are or what happened to her.”

Orange light wavered over the hearthstones. Aeron really had done a good job of getting the fire going again.

“Orla sent soldiers to search for an old crone named Modron,” he said. “She lives far beyond the frozen Avon River. Modron is said to be as old as Faerie itself, and she might also be the only person who could fix Torin’s throne. She’s a truth-teller, and she gives us glimpses of what happened in the past.”

“As old as Faerie itself?” My eyebrows rose. “How has she stayed alive this long?”

“No one knows. Some say she’s a god or a nature spirit. I think she’s a Dearg Due who summons humans to Faerie and drinks gallons of their blood. It keeps her heart pumping.”

My lip curled. “Really?”

“No one does that at court anymore. It sort of went out of fashion. No one has seen her in decades, I think.”

I stared at him. “Moria is a Dearg Due, isn’t she? Has she returned to her kingdom?”

Aeron shook his head. “No.” His face paled. “ Actually, she’s been advising Orla. If what you said is true, that she made treasonous accusations against Torin, I should let Orla know right away. We’ll get them back,” said Aeron with more confidence than his furrowed brow suggested. “I’m sure Modron will help us learn the truth. And I have complete faith in the king.”