Frost (Frost and Nectar #1)(37)

Slowly, I rose from the bed, running my hand over my ribs to check for sore points. The pain had faded, feeling like a faint bruise at most.

I glanced down, slightly disgusted to find that I was still in my running clothes. But I supposed no one was around to judge me.

Blinking, I entered the larger room and found Shalini sprawled on her bed, reading a book. She looked up at me with a grin. “Look at you, already better.”

My head was pounding like I was hungover. “Almost.” I flopped down on the bed next to her, closing my eyes. King Torin’s healing appeared to have worked, but it had left my muscles and the cartilage between my ribs painfully sore. “Have you heard anything about the next trial yet? Torin suggested it would be more brutal than the first.”

“Shit. No, I haven’t heard a thing. Aeron came by earlier with food, but that was it.”

My stomach rumbled, and I sat up. By the door was a small wooden table laden with silver cloche–lidded platters.

“There’s chicken and some kind of herbal salad with flowers,” said Shalini, adding, “Surprisingly tasty.”

Swinging my feet over the side of the bed, I approached the table and removed one of the domed covers. The food looked exquisite, the salad riotous shades of spring and sunsets—green, violet, carrot, canary yellow, and plum. I pulled a plate from the table and crossed to a desk to eat, then popped a little yellow flower into my mouth, which was flavored with a tangy orange vinaigrette.

Worry danced in the background of my thoughts.

Let’s hope Torin keeps me alive until this is over.

WHEN I’D FINISHED EATING, I WENT INTO THE BATHROOM AND TURNED ON THE WATER IN THE COPPER

clawfoot tub. Outside, a lurid crimson sunset stained the sky, tinging the snow with red. I stripped off the filthy running clothes and dipped my feet into the hot water.

I slid into the bath, my skin turning pink as steam coiled around me. I didn’t belong here. Even the dark castle stones made me feel that way. Despite my ears and genetic makeup, I was a human through and through—Chloe’s daughter.

When I closed my eyes, I kept seeing visions of blood seeping into snow.

Forcing those images out of my mind, I stretched my arms over my head, letting the hot water run over me, remembering the feel of Torin’s magic. Now I could feel the knots and the tightness in my chest loosen. The skin over my ribs was unblemished, unbruised. Torin’s healing touch had been miraculously effective.

I grabbed a bar of soap and ran it over my body. It smelled of evergreen trees and petrichor.

Only when the water started getting cold did I drag myself from the tub. I dried my hair and body with a towel. Still damp, I crossed into the main room to find we were no longer alone. Torin had returned and draped himself over a velvety armchair. “We need to train.” He pulled out a silver flask and took a sip. “Are you ready?”

I stared at him. “Does it look like I’m ready?”

“Get dressed, Ava. Let’s try to make sure the next trial goes better than today’s.” He nodded at a pile of tidy white clothes, neatly folded on the table where the food had been. He rose from the chair and slid his flask back into his pocket. “A half mile east of the castle, you’ll find a clearing in the woods. A cemetery. Look for the lit torches through the tree branches, and you’ll find me there.”

When the door closed behind him, I turned to Shalini, still clutching my towel, and frowned.

“He’s awfully bossy.”

“He is a fae king with nearly unlimited magical power, so…I think that’s expected.”

“A cemetery, though?” I snatched the pile of clothes from the table. “Did he say what we’d be doing?”

“Not a word.” She jumped off her bed and pulled on a cloak. “But I’m coming with you.”

“Why not stay in the warmth?” I knew Shalini well enough to drop the towel and start dressing.

“Because I came here for adventure, and I won’t get it reading books. Although some of the smut is really quite good.” She smiled brightly.

I pulled on a pair of white pants, a matching shirt, and a white woolen cloak. Perfect for blending into the snow outside. “If I die during the next trial, do you think you could stay and ask Aeron out?”

“How about we don’t find out?”

I frowned at Shalini’s red cloak, thinking of the medieval English queen who’d escaped a winter siege camouflaged in white. “If you want to come with me, you need to dress the part. All white. I don’t think anyone is supposed to see us, or the princesses will be kicking my ribs in again.”

Shalini cocked her head, and the warm light shown in her dark brown eyes. “Listen, Ava, it’s a bit scarier here than I imagined, but I think you just need to go with it. You are fae, after all. I watched clips of Moria and the princesses online. They’re taking no prisoners. You’ve got to be as brutal as they are.”

“I did poison a crowd of people with mustard gas or something today,” I admitted. “Which is something I never expected to do with my life.”

“Good. If they come for you again, go for the jugular. Because it’s you or them, and I really prefer you.”

I HUGGED MY CLOAK TIGHTLY AS WE CROSSED INTO THE DARK LANDSCAPE AND THE ICY WIND STUNG MY

cheeks. Shalini had found a white cloak several sizes too large, and she trudged by my side. I could hear her teeth chattering, but she didn’t complain once. We entered the dark forest. Moonlight streamed over iced tree branches.