Once there, I retrieved Shiksa from a harried-looking Clesta, a new pair of shoes, and some traveling gloves. After quickly saying goodbye to Clesta since she would ride in a separate coach, I allowed Curtis and the others to escort me to the waiting carriage.
Ravanna and Katrinka were already inside, and both let out annoyed sighs when I finally climbed onto my seat. Curtis reluctantly relinquished his oversight of me so he could take his place on the back of the impressive transport that managed to be both luxurious and formidable.
“So nice of you to finally join us,” Ravanna sneered. “We thought you had run away to avoid us.”
“Oh, no,” I rushed to tell her. “I just had... one last goodbye to make.”
“This is so exciting!” Katrinka gushed suddenly in a burst of optimism I had not yet seen from her. “I cannot wait to show you both my home.”
The door to the carriage closed, and Ravanna reached over and locked it. Katrinka opened the shades to her window while she tried not to bounce up and down in her seat.
“This is your home,” I told her as the carriage lurched into motion.
She blinked at me, trying to process my words. “Well, yes. But, you know what I mean. Barstus has been my home for so long that... well, I am looking forward to showing it to you, is all.”
I regretted stealing the optimism from her voice. Of course, she was excited to return to the place so familiar to her. I would have felt the same if we were headed toward Heprin.
Attempting a smile, I said, “I’m also looking forward to it.” I turned to Ravanna. “And to seeing Blackthorne of course.”
Her icy gaze swept over me, and she said, “You have black smudges all over your face.”
My hand flew to my face as I realized the prison bars had left marks. I rubbed blindly and tried to picture my mother enjoying this woman’s company.
Brahm Havish’s words haunted me.“...when Ravanna was in residence at the castle. Then she would go out nearly every night. And more than once, I caught glimpses of Ravanna heading that way as well. Ravanna, your mother, and Tyrn.”
It did not make sense. Why would the three of them spend time together in the pagan temple? And why would my mother lie about their friendship to everyone else? Or lack thereof?
And if they were so close, why do my uncle and Ravanna despise me now?
I was missing too many pieces for even part of this mystery to make sense. I had hoped Brahm would give me answers. But I only had more questions. And now, I had been left to Ravanna’s care until my coronation.
Whatever relationship she’d had with my mother, it was clear she did not want to continue it with me. Even now, as she settled across the carriage, her lip curled with barely restrained disgust, and her gaze bounced around the small space looking everywhere but at me. The next couple of months would be as trying for her as they were for me. She had no interest in tutoring me. Or training me. Or even spending time with me.
The Cold Queen indeed.
ChapterEleven
We approached Gray Cape, the capital of Barstus, in the dead of night. We’d been traveling for days, only stopping when it was necessary. I’d spent much of the journey napping, still trying to recover from two weeks of festivities and a night spent on the ballroom floor.
The border crossing between Elysia and Barstus had been smoother than when Taelon had tried to get through the Marble Wall on the Soravalian side. But the Wall was as dilapidated and gray as it had been there too. My heart sank to see the dirty sight of it, so much worse for wear than when I was a child.
I thought of what Brahm had told me about the pagans removing the magic from the Allisand bloodline. Was that why the wall seemed to be aging so quickly now?
We were not planning to stay long in Barstus, but I wondered what Bale’s library would be like and if it might contain information about the pagan rebellion. My hand rested on my satchel, where the spell book remained hidden away. Would it have anything to say about the pagan’s opinion on the Allisand bloodline and the Seat of Power?
How did one get to know a pagan? How could one even find a pagan?
I missed my mother. For more reasons than just the answer to this question, but not knowing who or how to ask someone for this information made my grief for her a sharp pang slicing through my chest.
Glancing at Ravanna across the carriage, the question bubbled up in my throat. It would take almost nothing to break the tense silence and ask her a simple enough question.Did you know my mother?The answer was even obvious. Of course she did. They had ruled kingdoms at the same time. They would have crossed paths willingly and unwillingly. That was the nature of their power and influence.
But I couldn’t manage to get the words beyond my lips. It was more than just approaching Ravanna’s ice-cold demeanor, though. It was that I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. I partly suspected Ravanna of trying to have me killed six months ago. I partly suspected she still wished for my death. To know my mother was her particular friend threatened my very memory of her. All that I knew to be true of her. And I was not ready for that.
It was late, and the road was exceptionally bumpy. We’d left the Diamond Mountains three days ago, but earlier this evening, we’d reached the foothills of the Ice Mountains. A steady rain fell outside, and a chill had crept into the carriage, despite the fur blanket I’d laid over my lap and Shiksa curled up beneath my chin.
Katrinka had warned of this bone-deep chill, even if she had not known I would soon be introduced to it.
Because of the constant rain, the main roads had been packed with gravel in order to keep them from washing away. The carriage wheels were able to find purchase, even while going up a steep incline, but it made for rough travel.
