Ban hesitates. “Don’t you still want to see the library?”
“Yes. We can go the back way. It will only dump us into the halls for a short time. And we still need to survey and see if Davina left something behind or whether there are any living in the streets.”
“Zarev already did that,” Ban says, and more banging sounds on the door. I think Zarev will break it down if we don’t open up soon. “We could search the castle if you want. It would give you and Odette some time to get back to the library, if the passages are still all the same.”
“You want to split up?” I ask, surprised. With how protective he’s been, especially since I woke up, I didn’t think that would be an option.
He blows out a breath. “I can feel my magic beneath your skin, Neve. I can even focus on it if I try to feel it, like searching for it on a map. I think I can track it. I know the way to the library and… I don’t know how well Odette fights hand-to-hand, but I know you can kick ass.”
A smile ghosts over my lips, and I hug the dress to myself. “Is that your way of saying you trust me, mage?”
Ban snorts, but he appears against the wall, leaning in to see behind the screen. “I’ve trusted you for a long time, Neve. Even if you’ve been itching to stab me with an icicle for half of it.” He winks. “I’ll grab Odette. Don’t do anything reckless, my queen. And maybe, before you cover up, take a peek at your back.”
My grip tightens on the dress as he disappears, and the chilly tingle from before shoots up my spine. No… not up. It’s like a chill across my back, and I move from behind the screen, still holding the dress, to turn and stare into the mirror with a gasp.
There’s something akin to cracks across my skin. But filling the gaps are bits of ice and frost, and when I reach back to touch them, there’s no lift between the spaces. Everything is smooth, like my back has always been this way.
Your mother ripped out your spine.
Glaring over my shoulder at my reflection, I lift my chin. The past two weeks have spun out of control, but for the first time since I woke up, it feels like I’ve done something good.
The person staring back at me has my mother’s calculating gaze, but that’s the only gift she ever gave me. “Screw you, Mother.”
My head snaps around at the sound of a gasp, and Odette is in the bedroom as a shadow disappears. I doubt Ban lingered if Zarev was yelling through the door. “Your back.”
I nod. “Magic. I’m almost ready. Then we can go to the library and look for what we need.”
“Ban sort of explained,” Odette replies, averting her eyes. The nudity doesn’t bother me much when I’ve always had attendants to help me dress. It’s something I’ve chosen to deny since waking, mostly because I didn’t want the questions and judgment from the attendants of the castle. My mother tried to offer Nyra’s help, but I couldn’t imagine letting that Icebound woman anywhere near me.
When I slip behind the screen again, Odette keeps talking. “We ran into some guards after we found some clothes for me. We were trying to be… discreet, but you made a lot of racket, Your Highness.”
I peer past the screen and shoot her a glare. “Please. I’m sure you make quite a scene with your… Reaper. Is it Zarev?”
Odette makes a face. “Gods, no. My Reaper is Raymundo. You may have heard us talking about him.”
“I suppose that makes sense. You and Zarev don’t act much like a couple.”
“We’re only here together because Ray’s brother is ill.” She blows out a breath. “After this, we have to find a way back. When I last spoke to Ray, he said his brother, Thomas, is fading. Rapunzel’s healing magic is keeping him alive, but every day, it’s weaker.”
“Healing magic?” I ask, tugging the dress over my head. “I’ve heard a little bit about that.”
“Rapunzel is unique. What Ban did for you… I think it only works because you both have winter powers. On someone like me, I think it would just get me killed. I’m already struggling out here.”
With the dress in place, I step out again, surveying the open closet for some shoes. Unlike Odette, who wears a long, thick coat with earmuffs and gloves, fuzzy boots covering her feet, I don’t need any of that. But I’ll draw even more attention anywhere we go if I don’t wear any shoes. After selecting a pair of flats, I turn to Odette.
Her gaze isn’t on me. Instead, she’s staring up at the wall. The last family picture we had taken before my father died hangs over the useless fireplace. I look the same, since it was only a few months before my coronation.
Mother looks the same, too, if not more frigid than she was in recent times. But Father looks better than he did as an Icebound, and an ache forms in my chest. “I forgot that picture was in here.”
Odette glances between me and the painting, curious eyes open wide. “This is really from a century ago?”
“Give or take a few months.”
She shakes her head, and I get it. It’s hard to wrap my mind around, too. Still, this is a painting that’s full of lies. Neither of my parents turned out to be the same as the personas they presented to the kingdom.
Before I can overthink it, I form a shard of ice and slash it across the painting. It cuts right through my mother’s face, leaving Father and me alone as the torn side sags.
Odette turns toward me. “I don’t know much about family betrayals, but you should talk to Rapunzel. She’s full of trauma.”
