“Who?” Nash snarls from behind me.
I pant as the trees part, revealing the tents. Ice warriors spill into the garden, surrounding everyone. Theo growls low, his body trembling. Malice emerges from behind a warrior, opens her palm, and blows a shimmering gold substance over Theo. He twitches, his panicked eyes finding mine. There will be no dragon to save us this night.
Malice smirks at me. “I warned you, Daphne. Now you will pay with your heart so that I can take your power.”
“Can this night get any worse?” Jacob mutters as he runs his fingers through his hair.
The Snow Queen emerges through a portal. Rage burns my flesh as I come face to face with Eron’s murderer. Yes, this can absolutely get worse.
Chapter
Thirty-Three
Jacob raises his hand. “Your magic won’t work here, Sara.”
Nash and I join everyone on the lawn as the ice warriors surround us. Malice skips in a circle around the formidable wall of frozen muscle. Genie grabs Sir Sweeps-A-Lot and makes him disappear before hovering above the gang.
The Snow Queen throws her head back and releases a bitter laugh before pointing at me. “I am not here to challenge your power, Grimms. I just want the menace who killed my love.”
Gwyneth takes a step forward, her hands fisted at her sides. Charming grabs her arm and yanks her back. “Daphne didn’t kill Eron. You did.”
“It was never meant to be him,” the Snow Queen snarls. The ice warriors twist their spears, forming a fence around us. “Now I will have your life in payment.”
Wilhelm folds his arms and levels her with a look. “If you truly love him, then there is a way to solve this.”
My head whips around. “How?”
“If she iced him, then he isn’t dead—he’s trapped inside of her power. So if she dies?—”
“So does her power,” I breathe as my eyes narrow on the queen before me. My heart trips over itself with eagerness forviolence. Never in my life have I wished someone dead. Strange times.
There’s a shift around us as we come to a silent understanding. The queen needs to die. Nash stands poised, ready with the beast he hides so well prowling just beneath the surface.
“If there was ever a time to let out your inner crazy, now is it,” I murmur as I track Malice around the wall of warriors. What are you up to? Her gaze catches mine, and she smirks before flicking her eyes to Hart.
“Do you miss my kisses, Stirling?” she drawls.
My spine stiffens. There might be two murders this night.
Hart tilts his head. “Kissing you was like kissing my sister.”
He kisses his sister?
“He means gross,” Theo mutters, answering my unspoken question.
“Enough.” The Snow Queen slices her hand through the air. “Give me Daphne, or I will paint this garden with your blood until I have my vengeance.”
Nash winks at her. “Over my dead body.”
She snaps her fingers, and in a flurry of movement, the soulless warriors twist their spears. Moonlight glints off the razor-sharp tips.
The guys shift, subtly urging me and Gwyneth into a protective circle.
Jacob shakes his head. “You do this, and you are breaking one of the accords.”
The Snow Queen recoils. “She’s of your bloodline?”
“The Stone sisters are our descendants, and both are about to come into their power. The process has already begun, so I ask you again—are you willing to break the accords?” Jacob snaps.
