“A nøkken is a freshwater creature. It lures people, mostly females and younglings, into the water and drowns them. It can shapeshift into a horse or—fates!—a fiddler.” Vale let out a stream of curses.
My heart rate sped up. As we got closer to the lake, I could see better. Not so far from the horse was a hole in the ice, and a young woman thrashed.
“I think that’s Lei!” I wished that we’d brought weapons. Especially when five more women drifted toward the ice as though sleep walking. Men tried to hold them back, but a supernatural power controlled the women, giving them the strength to move forward. What if they couldn’t stop them?
My stomach dipped as a more dire thought slammed into me. What if Lei wasn’t the first? We’d heard three screams.
Ahead, Ronaldo and Caelo sprinted for the lake, both armed with bows and arrows. They reached the edge of theice, positioned so they would not hit the humans, aimed, and let their arrows fly.
The nøkken stepped out of the way of both arrows, unbothered as it glanced down at the hole in the ice. The screaming had stopped, and Lei’s body remained in the hole, still as death.
“Neve, I don’t want you landing,” Vale said as we soared over the first ice hut—seconds from the lake at this pace. “You might be susceptible.”
“Vale, I?—”
“Please Neve!”
The desire to respect his wishes fought against that of helping defeat the creature, and compromising, I soared for the stars, hoping that if I went high enough, I’d stay out of the creature’s sphere of influence.
Appeased, Vale scooped up a bow and arrow, leaning against an ice hut and soared for the monster. High above, I followed, heart hammering. Before my husband got there, another arrow flew, and the nøkken didn’t see this one coming.
It struck the creature in the side, blood blooming over white hair. The monster shrieked. The chilling sound was nothing like a horse would make, but rather human-like. Another arrow, Ronaldo’s, came at the nøkken, then Caelo’s joined. Both hit their marks, and finally, the creature fell.
When it hit the ice, the creature shifted into a dark black beast with the face of a human and a wispy body cloaked in sodden, filthy rags. Yellow eyes blazed in the nøkken’s face for a second before that fire dimmed.
I plummeted, hoping to get to Lei in time.
Seeing as he was already so close, Vale reached the hole first. He plunged his hand into the ice and gripped Lei’s arm, still clinging to the ledge.
I joined him, feet hitting the ice, jarring me. Hard. Her arm looked so hard and cold.
My stomach churned as he pulled Lei from the hole. A small amount of relief flooded me as I watched her suck in air, but it was dashed a moment later and my entire being filled with dread. Lei hadn’t been the only one in the frigid water.
Samantha had grabbed onto Lei’s ankle, and her hand remained stuck in that position, allowing Samantha’s body to bob below the surface until Vale broke her grip by pulling Lei from the water. Her eyes still wide with the terror she’d felt when she died, Samantha sank.
I dropped to the ice to help, plunging down to my waist. Reaching. Reaching. Reaching.
My skin tightened. Stars, it was freezing! Far colder than the river I’d thrown myself into to escape the vampires who hunted me. That river bordered the vampire and winter fae kingdoms, but this lake lived in the heart of Winter’s Realm and filled with water from the mountains. Far more frigid.
“Vale! Neve!” Caelo’s garbled voice hit my ear through the water.
Someone grabbed my feet as my fingers wrapped around Samantha’s hand. I pulled back and the person who had a hold of me helped. When my head broke the surface, I gulped down the cold air.
“Neve! What were you thinking?!” Vale growled.
“I couldn’t leave her!”
He said nothing, but the set of his jaw told me that Vale didn’t agree. I ignored his ire, and he helped me pull the girl’s body to the ice, next to Lei, who was breathing shallowly.
“Get Lei to the fire,” I instructed. “Wrap her in blankets and put her between horses. As warm as she can get.”
Ronaldo picked up the young woman and ran for the fire.
I stood and wavered. Vale caught me, though he, too, shivered.
“We need the fire too.” He swept me off my feet and tucked me against his chest, which was wet with lake water.
“I’m fine right now,” I protested. “What about Samantha?” I cast a glance at Caelo, saw the sorrow in his blue eyes and knew my suspicions had been right.
