“Swan Lake?” Neve asks, tilting her head. “Let’s see, that would make you… the granddaughter of King Dillon?”
Odette’s eyes widen, and she rises from her spot by the fire. “Yes, he’s my great-grandfather on my father’s side. How do you–”
“There were only so many royals a century ago,” Neve interrupts, shrugging. “We did not have good relations with King Dillon. Aside from our agreements with the Court of Cards, we didn’t have that many alliances across the land.” She snorts. “Now, it seems to be a necessity.”
“Did you know my grandfather?” Odette asks, and I shoot Zarev a look. “I heard you were sleeping before you fought with the Snow Queen. I’ve heard the rumors, but King Dillon died over a hundred years ago.”
“I see you aren’t caught up,” Neve says, peering between all of us. “We have a lot to discuss. Let’s start with how the two of you ended up here in the Frostlands. You don’t look like you planned to travel here.”
“We fell through a magical pool in the clouds and interrupted your fight with the Mad Queen,” Zarev answers easily. He has given me a summary of their time in the clouds over the last four days, and we haven’t figured out what it all means.
There’s a giant in the clouds.That’s what he told me, and I hadn’t put all the pieces together yet. A giant…
Could it be the giant I accidentally led there years ago?
“What do you want to do now?” Odette asks when Neve doesn’t have an answer. She’s standing there thoughtfully, looking completely unbothered about her back, despite my need to check it. She went from lying comatose to flying up a mountainside in the span of a few hours. I wish she would rest, but from the determined set of her shoulders, I doubt that’s going to happen.
“I need to go back to my palace,” she says, her voice lacking the dread I expect. “I need to see what’s left and what can be done. Did you see any living after we fled?”
“No,” Zarev replies. “I went and checked for spirits several times, but I never saw any. Even the smaller villages farther off are largely without life. There are a few living, and fewer spirits, but not like I expected it to be.”
I press my lips together, resisting the urge to point out that the Frostlands are largely barren anywhere outside the city proper.
“It’s the capital I’m worried about,” Neve explains, staring down at her hands. “That’s where our magic did the most damage. I need to know whether what the dreamscape showed me was real.”
“Dreamscape?” Z looks confused, but that’s to be expected. I haven’t had the time to catch him up on everything.
“I’ll explain later,” I reply, glancing up. Without the heavy clouds and snowfall of last night, today is shaping up to have better weather. However, the way Odette still huddles and shivers in the cave, one would never guess it’s warmer.
“We should go,” Neve exclaims, looking between each of us before settling on Zarev. “Ban’s familiar with the palace. We can head toward the throne room and see what’s become of the place. Can you shadow hop, Hell Brother?”
Zarev scoffs, shaking his head. “Can I shadow hop…”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Neve says easily, crossing her arms. “Another strong Reaper, then. Good. I think we need all the help we can get right now. If what the Sandman showed me was correct, the palace is in ruins. The people are still frozen in death. It’ll be a mess.”
“Sandman?” Zarev echoes, crossing his arms. “Now,wherehave I heard that before?”
“Not now, Z,” I hiss. Neve watches the exchange with unreadable eyes, looking between all of us.
“Ban, can you shadow hop her to the throne room?” she asks carefully, nodding toward Odette. “Do you travel that way much, Princess?”
“As long as it’s not like it was in the clouds, sure,” Odette replies, her eyes looking uncertainly between us. “But I thought–”
“Splendid,” Neve replies, clasping her hands together before turning to glare at Zarev. “Let’s get packed and moving. I need better clothes, and so does she. We have things to do at the palace. Feels like enough to get done in a day.”
I shoot her a look. “Neve–”
“Let’s get going.” The tone of her voice brooks no argument and I close my mouth. Neve turns, paces over to Zarev, and grabs his arm. He looks like he has half a mind to shrug her off again. “Ban knows the way. He’ll be along in a moment.”
Zarev shoots me a look, smirking. I’m pretty sure he does it to piss me off, wrapping his other hand over the backs of hers. He takes half a second to glance toward her back, and he must know if I didn’t think he could safely move them, I’d already be in his face. She did fine, coming back down the mountain, even if I’m not entirely sure what her plan is by having him help her at the kingdom.
He winks at me when all I do is grit my teeth, and they disappear together. I turn to glare at Odette, who is already picking up snow to douse the fire. Sighing, I drag my hand across my body and send a heap of snow on top of the flames.
She glances up, brushing back her hair. It’s tangled in the snow and wind. She doesn’t seem willing to take off the oversized mitts anymore. Her mismatched eyes peer up at mecuriously. “Zarev is warm. I doubt you have that aura about you.”
“Unfortunately, Princess, I’m as cold as it gets.” I wrap my arm around her, dragging her into me, and she shudders at the chill. “Enjoy the shadows while they last.”
Odette holds onto me with one arm, shivering. The shadows don’t feel wind or cold or snow, so it's got to offer her some type of relief, because the palace isn’t exactly a welcoming and warm place either. They didn’t see much of it before, but I doubt the rest of the structure is in a much better condition than the destroyed throne room.
