He was trying to distract her—and it helped. She couldn’t deny she was curious, though she wasn’t about to tell him that. “No, but you’ll probably show me anyway.”
He chuckled and held up his gloved hand. He turned it over as though studying it. “Fae handle temperature variations better than humans, but even my men cannot withstand the Land of Ice for long without proper protection. I will show you one of my abilities that will keep us warm overnight, but if you feel frightened, you must calm yourself like you did a moment ago.”
Lex gripped the edges of the coat that dwarfed her body and huddled inside the fabric. She was turning into an icicle even with Garrin’s outerwear layered above her own. “I have no idea what you plan to do, so I can’t promise you anything.”
His mouth turned up. He didn’t look at her like the campus curiosity she was back home. He didn’t avert his eyes when he spoke to her, and he seemed pleased at her stubbornness. “You experienced some of my magic in your dormitory. Do you remember?”
A shiver added to her existing chills and coursed through her. “I remember the cold. And then it was gone and we were inside the cave.”
“You are part Dark Fae, Lex, and what I gave you was a taste of my powers. Your innate ability to deflect my magic indicated you are my kind and not another Fae from another part of Tirnan. You are whom I say you are, no matter how you spent your life before I found you.”
The wind blew harder around Garrin, whipping his wavy, dark hair across his forehead.
And then he raised his hands, and the snow around them rose too.
5
Garrin raised his hands and drew on his power. The snow around them rose and compacted, slowly forming a dome around them. He was careful not to move too quickly, but even so, Lex gasped.
“Do not be afraid. I have complete control. I can throw the snow across the horizon or compact it, as I am doing now.”
Lex swiveled her head back and forth at the walls forming around her. She huddled inside her coat and blinked several times, shivering harder than normal.
“Breathe, Lex, as you did earlier,” Garrin said as he worked. “The dome will protect us from the elements, not harm us.”
Garrin turned toward one side of the dome and brought his hands together as though in prayer. He slowly separated them, and the ice and snow trenched and formed a tunnel that led to the outside, allowing air circulation while keeping heat in. Finally, Garrin blew on the interior walls, warming the compacted snow until it melted. Then he blew again and cooled the melting snow, turning it into an icy, hard shell.
“My prince,” Zirel said, and Garrin looked over his shoulder.
Lex shook near an interior dome wall, her eyes glassed over.
Garrin rushed to her. “Can you hear me?”
No answer.
He tore off his gloves and grasped the sides of her face with his palms. “Look at me, Lex.”
Her teeth chattered violently.
“Lexandra,” he said, “look at me now.”
Lex’s gaze collided with Garrin’s. “Wha…? How do you know my name? No one knows my name. Except for Jas.”
He rubbed her temples gently. She was so fragile. For the first time, he truly feared she wouldn’t reach his kingdom alive.
The notion was unsettling. This woman did not deserve to die. And the thought of it made him wish to shelter her. “You told me they call you Lex,” he said in a calm tone.
She swallowed. “I never told you my full name.”
“Your given name is traditional in our land, with Lex as the diminutive. Lexandra means defender of people,” he said, smoothing his thumbs over her forehead. “And you were born to defend and protect.”
Her shaking grew less violent the longer she listened to him.
Garrin slowly lowered his palms, but he remained within arm’s reach.
“Aside from the fact that just looking at the walls of this igloo brings on a panic attack,” she said, “how did you make it?”
“It is my gift—one we call ice and fire in Dark Kingdom. And when you are ready, your gift will help many too.”
