There’s a chill at my back again, and instead of the strange coolness skating by, it lingers. I want to find it annoying, but if it really is Ban, I suppose it’s good to know where he is. That’s another matter to address later. Until my mother treats me like the queen I’m meant to be, I see no reason to indulge her and share that the ice mage is back. So far as I can tell, Nyra truly said nothing about his appearance to Mother.
Icebound… they are spirits of a sort, according to legend. Ban sounded mad, talking about Reapers and the dead, but perhaps there’s some sense to it. Like me, maybe the spirits sense something is amiss. No one else seems any wiser about the ice mage’s presence.
“This meeting is dismissed,” Mother says suddenly, rising from her seat. The fluidity of the movement is still jarring to me after watching her struggle for years. “If you do not live in the castle, Nyra and Kael will see you out.”
I lift my brows, fighting the urge to cross my arms as the group obeys her every word without whispers and gasps. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that as queen, I actually want to know what’s going on.
Waiting silently, the room empties, and even Bromley abandons me. I try not to let the thought irritate me, but I could use someone on my side. If this is another wasted effort,I’m going to find the Captain of the Guard the moment this discussion is over.
As the door closes us in, I breathe a sigh of relief that Nyra and Kael were sent away, too. This is the first time we’ve been entirely alone since my return, and the fact that four long days have passed leaves a hollow feeling in my chest.
Mother surveys me for a moment, debate heavy in her eyes. “The special guest is someone you’ll remember from your past.”
“I don’t care who the guest is, Mother,” I bark, swiping the checklist off the table in front of me. “What is this nonsense? You’re wasting time planning balls and serving finery to the upper class while the poor starve. A hundred years hasn’t changed much of anything, has it?”
She presses her lips together and sighs. “Things were difficult during the adjustment period after King Andor’s passing and your disappearance. As dowager, it was my job to step in and ensure that the kingdom did not fall to ruin in times of uncertainty. We were lucky to have any alliesat allafter that disaster.” She takes a calming breath, a smile blossoming across her lips that doesn’t reach her eyes. “You were asleep a long time, Neve. Expecting you to take on the burdens of the Frostlands in a few short days, let alone when you barely had any practice to begin with, would be negligent on my part. Are you even getting any sleep at night, Your Grace?”
My eyes narrow at the question. Since returning I haven’t managed to sleep, not in the royal guestroom or my childhood bedroom. Nothing will convince me to close my eyes and chance going back to the dreamscape. “What do you know of my sleep, Mother? Now, or over the last hundred years? In a century you’ve barely aged, and neither have I.”
Those cold, nearly translucent eyes seem to look right through me. “I don’t know what cast you into the great sleep,Neve, only that it was my job to ensure you were safe until you returned to us.”
That chill is back against my skin again, andI swear, it’s got to be Ban. “I woke up in a cabin. In the North Mountain, where Father used to take me, and you rarely went. Your curse kept you from being able to climb the mountains comfortably. I didn’t think you would remember its location.”
“Your father left us suddenly,” she snaps, the fake sincerity in her voice vanishing all at once. “He was stolen from us by that ice mage. The same person who has ripped everything from us.”
Subconsciously, I reach behind me, and the chill that seems to have been following me ghosts across the back of my hand.Definitely Ban.I’m not sure if having him this close to my mother is a good idea, but for some reason, his presence steadies me. “Ice mage or not, Mother, I’m asking aboutyou. I go away and nap for a century while you rule in my place? How have you not aged? How are you moving with such grace?”
She reaches up, touching her cheek, caressing the frosty skin. “My curse… it slowed my movement for a long time.”
“I seethat’sbeen cured,” I say, the sarcasm in my voice surprising me.
“Much to my surprise, it seems to have all but stunted my aging over the century, too,” Mother goes on, dropping her hand. “I had to do something to keep the kingdom from falling. Much has changed in the past century, Neve. With you asleep yet alive, but with no signs of waking, I felt it was wrong to give the chance for anyone else to take over the throne,yourthrone. I made the allies I had to and carved a path for the Frostlands to thrive and survive.”
There’s a lot to unpack there, and I’m not quite sure where to start. Gesturing toward the table, I focus on what I’m most mad about. “Telling me about some upcoming ball like it’sthe only problem we have won’t help. I need to understand our political agenda. What the people think of you, me,us.I need to make a formal statement to the civilians here and make it known that I’ve returned.”
“What about the matter of the spell?” Mother goes on, tilting her head. “There will be questions. The Queen risen from a frozen sleep? This will not simply be rumors that circulate among the nobility and our royal court. Thiswillmake its way throughout all of Mystica.”
“And who will hear it?” I challenge. “Is the Court of Cards still a concern? Swan Lake or all of Wonderland? Perhaps a map would do me more good than dinner invitations.”
She purses her lips, and I can feel the rejection burning on her tongue. She surprises me, giving into one of my questions for the first time. “Come. We’ll go to the study and look at the maps, if you please.”
“Yes,” I say, before she can say much more. “Now. And I’ll be addressing the citizens tomorrow. Enough is enough. There’s no way we’re putting on a ball in the palace without me addressing the people who live here. They depend on us, Mother.”
Something flashes in her pale eyes, and the chill that brushes across my shoulder blades is almost comforting. I don’t need Ban knowing more about the Frostlands than he already does, but I have no idea how to shoo him away without drawing Mother’s attention.
Curling her lip, she turns away quickly. This meeting room used to be the room Father would occupy to address his army. I don’t think a ball should be discussed within the same walls, but times have clearly changed.
Mother’s shoulders are stiff as we walk through the palace. There are a few guards stationed in the halls, ensuring that visitors do not stray past the guestrooms; it appears thatsome things have stayed the same at least, and the path Mother leads me down is a familiar one.
A pang hits me in the chest as we step through the doors of Father’s study. It looks like it hasn’t been used in quite some time’ the room in need of a good dusting. The curtains are mostly drawn, open enough to let in glimmers of afternoon sun.
It’s like stepping back in time to the first place that makes me feel like I’m home.
“We were cleaning this room for a while after Andor’s passing, but in recent years, things have become more difficult to manage, and I haven’t kept up with this room. The map is up to date, though.” There’s a stab of disbelief as I carry myself across the room. The map has always hung in the same place, and I yank open the curtains to give the room more light.
The map is nothinglike I remember.
Moving closer, I drag my fingers across the parchment in wonder, leaving little paths through the dust. Some of the places are familiar, but Wonderland used to be such a small place, and Camelot had more land, if I remember right. Tressa was a new kingdom a century ago, and now a hard line separates it from the rest of Mystica, like there’s a divide.
