“You have to save Kai!” Gerta pulled on her hands.
“Oskar,” Rakel said.
The attendant picked Gerta up. “Where is he, Gerta?”
“Outside the city gates.” Tears and snot flowed down Gerta’s face. “I tried to find Grandmother, but she wasn’t in our rooms!”
Rakel and Oskar ran. Rakel was vaguely aware that Phile, Snorri, and Crow were on their heels, but her mind raced.Kai has magic? Impossible—he’s well past five…though my magic appeared when I was just three. Could he have such a delayed activation?
As soon as they cleared the castle doors, Phile streaked ahead of them. “Out of the way!” she hissed at a group of soldiers.
They left the palace grounds with baffled guards in their wake and zoomed through Ostfold. Folks yelped and leaped out of their way. They almost ran into a cart pulled by a pair of donkeys, but the owner dodged them at the last moment.
Rakel’s side ached with exertion when they reached the city gate, but when she saw Kai standing in the field of snow, she had renewed vigor.
The boy was standing trapped between several crude snow sculptures of horses and soldiers thatmoved. Whenever he tried to flee, a sculpture lunged at him. The rest of the mobile sculptures were occupied with brutally chopping and scattering motionless piles of snow.
“Kai!” Rakel shouted.
Kai didn’t answer. He cried and tried to back away from the snow creations. One of the soldier snow sculptures brandished its sword at him.
Rakel grabbed for her magic and reached for the snow, but it slipped away from her, mastered by another force.
“Stay here,” Rakel said.
“I wanna come with you.” Gerta put on a brave face, even though her eyes were clouded with terror.
Rakel placed a hand on her cheek. “You are a good friend, Gerta, but you can’t go.”
“Neither should you.” Worry gave Oskar’s face deep wrinkles.
“I have to.”
“It’s magic, Princess. He could hurt you.”
“He’s a scared little boy. He needs someone right now. And if I get close enough, I think I’ll be able to take control of the snow,” Rakel said.
“Good luck, Little Wolf,” Phile said.
Rakel nodded and started walking towards Kai and the snow sculptures. “Kai!” she shouted when she drew closer.
“P-P-Princess,” Kai sobbed. “I’m s-scared!”
“Everything is going to be alright. Try to calm down—your magic won’t hurt you.”Though it might hurt me.
Rakel tried pooling her magic on the snow sculptures again, but like the first time, they resisted.
Her actions caught the attention of a snow horse, which clumsily ran at her.
“No!” Kai screamed.
“Princess!” Oskar shouted.
Rakel quirked an eyebrow and encased the sculpture in a block of ice, stopping it in its tracks.
Kai gulped in air, and his shoulders heaved. “I want my mother!” he cried.
Rakel ventured closer and froze another statue.
