The creatures kept advancing, while the Ember King continued to roar beyond them like a demon possessed.
I had a dagger at least, and struck out at one of the creatures, but the blade passed through harmlessly. “Gods!” I cursed, then dropped the dagger as the blade sagged from the heat, melting into liquid steel. I turned desperately to Auggie, who was rousing, hand to his head.
Thank the Gods he was all right. Now, I just needed to ensure he stayed that way.
Freya stepped back again, and her foot slipped into the hole like before. She grabbed for me as she fell through the opening, pulling me along for the descent into the lava below.
My mouth opened to let out a shocked screech of horror as I slipped through the hole, falling toward the roiling lava.
I closed my eyes, expecting to feel the impact of lava that would melt the flesh from my bones, but instead my body felt an instant relief from the heat as I fell into something soft as a pillow. A tingling sensation worked its way from the bottom of my feet up to my scalp, sending my hair standing on end.
And then I felt the extreme cold.
My eyes flew open, but I saw nothing but white. Squinting, I made out white specks floating in my vision.
Snow.
I frowned, trying to reconcile what I was seeing. I tilted my head up to white skies and noted where they intersected the white snowy plains around me. To my left, white mountains reached up toward the sky. Quite the contrast from the deserts of the Ember King’s domain.
Wrapping my arms around myself to ward off the cold, I stood and gazed down to find Freya out cold at my feet, a fresh trail of blood slipping from one of her nostrils. She looked rather pretty in the fresh snow, her black hair spilled out around her head, flurries catching in her eyelashes, but her normally green skin was alarmingly pale.
Freya had managed to catch us with a portal, but it had clearly cost her. And now … I had no idea where the hells we could be.
I noticed something alarming in the snowy planes. While the Ember King’s castle had been black and gothic and ugly, the castle in the distance here was white and delicate, with fragile-looking icicle spires.
A shudder ran through my body as I stared at it. Something told me that we’d stumbled into another witch’s realm. I only hoped this one was more inviting.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“I apologized atleast five times already,” Freya grumbled, rubbing her arms in the small cave I’d managed to locate. It was too shallow to properly keep out the cold, but it was better than being completely exposed to the elements. Luckily, we had supplies to build a fire and it was working wonders to ward off the chill that had entered our bones. During the day, the temperatures had been freezing. Now that it was nighttime, it wasbeyondfreezing. It felt like a few steps outdoors would turn us into witch-cicles. What I wouldn’t give for my cloak right about now. I could think of at least three potions that would warm us. But no, we were stuck in an icy cave rubbing sticks together like … like Neanderthals.
“‘Sorry’ hardly covers it,” I said, pacing back and forth before the fire. “We left our friends back there to face the Ember King alone, and of all the places for you to teleport us, you bring us to the Ice Queen’s backyard.” Narcissa could handle herself, I had no doubt, but Auggie … what must he be up against? I sincerely hoped the Ember King wouldn’t broil him in an oven. I chewed on a fingernail.
Freya crossed her arms. “You try to create a portal with only a second’s notice. It was so sweltering, the first thing I thought of was someplace cold, and Greenland gets quite cold in winter. Nothing like this, though. This is definitely the Ice Queen’s doing.” At my look, she threw up her arms. “I didn’t realize she’d grown so powerful over the past decade. I’ve clearly been out of the loop.”
I continued to pace, but with less fervor. I put a hand to my head. “Yes, I … I know. I’m just frustrated. This is a terrible predicament. But I’m still very glad my organs aren’t currently molten puddles in a river of lava.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I think you meant to say, ‘Sorry I pulled you through that hole after me.’”
Freya rolled her eyes. “Yes, well, I could have let you plummet to your death, you know. I thought quickly and saved us both, didn’t I?”
I shook my head, chuckling. “Very well. Thank you for not letting me fall to my death after putting me in the situation.”
“You’re welcome.” Freya smiled, showing her teeth.
“And as soon as you feel up to it, we’ll just have to teleport back. Hopefully our friends will still be alive.”
Freya released a sigh. “The Ember King hardly seemed reasonable. And he was very adamant about cooking …” Her voice trailed off as she met my steely gaze. “I mean, theycouldbe alive.”
I stopped pacing and sat before the fire with a loud exhale. “I just don’t—I don’t know if I can do this. This was supposed to be an easy task, and it’s been one thing after another.”
“You can do it, Mr. Witch,” Therese said, pushing her head up through my shirt collar. She’d been icy cold by the time I’d dragged Freya to the cave, and frogs being cold-blooded, I knew I would have to keep her warm somehow. Body heat worked nicely. Although now that I had a nice roaring fire, thanks in part to a flask of whiskey from my bag, I scooped her out of my shirt and set her down before the flames. I worried that her body might not be able to stand the wind that kept sending icy blasts into our backs, but Therese seemed content with the fire for now. We really would need to find a more hospitable shelter soon, however, if this was to be an extended stay. “You can accomplish anything with friends.”
“That’s a rather optimistic view,” I said.
“It’s completely unrealistic,” Freya agreed.
