She raised a hand and studied the snowflakes that landed on her bare skin. Instead of melting, they trembled and swirled with her breath. She could hear murmurs from the guards posted at the gates, and the flickering yellow of their torches stretched past her, clashing with the silver moonlight. Snow crunched under boots, and Rakel smiled up at Knut when he stopped at her side. “Yes?”
“Beggin’ your pardon for bothering you, Princess, but General Halvor would like to hold another war council,” Knut said.
Rakel started to rise, but Knut shook his hands in front of him. “Not right now, but soon. He wanted you to know, but you can still stand out here for a bit.”
“If he needs my help…”
“King Steinar is with him,” Knut said.
“Ahh. It would be good if Steinar would talk to him.” She rearranged her gray cape so it flowed around her like snow on a mountain.
“Yes. And you seem like you need this.” Knut gestured to the falling snow and the gorgeous night sky. He cringed. “I mean that with no disrespect.”
“No, you are right. I am enjoying the weather,” Rakel admitted.
Knut nodded and gave her his charming smile. “Then you should enjoy it, Princess.” He saluted and backed away.
“Thank you,” Rakel called after him as he hurried for the icy walls. She exhaled from deep within her soul, and for a moment she forgot about the Chosen, the mirror, and all of the worries and burdens that clung to her shoulders.
Instead, she listened to the familiar song of the wind dancing through evergreens and the hushed falling of snow. The wind swirled oddly, and Rakel blinked. When she opened her eyes, Farrin stood nearby.
She let a small smile ease onto her lips. “Farrin, you—what’s wrong?” she asked, concern nibbling at her.
Farrin appeared to be normal. He still wore his black and crimson Chosen uniform, his black-tea-colored hair was neat and orderly as always, and he had a sword belted to his side. But the way he stood… He still had perfect posture and square shoulders, but his breathing was a little off—as if it pained him to stand.
He gave Rakel a thin smile and bowed stiffly at the waist. “Princess.”
Rakel stood and snapped her cloak, sending snowflakes flying into the air. “Is that why you weren’t with the attack on my traveling party today—because you were hurt?”
“I am fine, but thank you for the concern.” Though the corners of his lips curled up, his gray eyes were bleak. “I have been told your magic can resist Tenebris’s?”
Reluctant to share, Rakel bought herself a moment by pushing the braid of her white hair over her shoulder.He is still the enemy. I need to be careful what I tell him, for it will surely get back to Tenebris.“I blocked one of his curses with an ice wall.”
Farrin’s eyes finally held a flicker of their usual light. “That is good news for you. I have never heard of anyone fending off Tenebris’s magic.”
Rakel nodded. “I see.”
“I have heard you have a Chosen defector now among your ranks,” Farrin said.
“He was a mercenary, yes.” She turned to look back at Tana. She had built the ice walls to be taller than the village buildings, so she could only see orange light and plumes of smoke, but several soldiers stationed on the walkway were watching her. She waved to them, signaling she was fine.
“I’m surprised you allowed him to join you,” Farrin said. He shifted his gaze to the falling snow.
“Why?” Rakel asked.Crow is not a spy or plant. He has been too helpful, and the pain in his eyes when he spoke of the Battle of Gaula was too real. He is not one of Tenebris’s men.
“Because he’s a Chosen soldier. He has killed and fought Verglas citizens.”
Rakel put her back to Tana and also watched the snow. “The mercenary…he is not evil. His heart is good.”
“You are strong…to forgive the people who despised and feared you, and then to forgive a soldier who killed those people.” Farrin looked as if he wanted to say more. His expression was hesitant, and there was an extra depth to it that Rakel couldn’t interpret.
“If not for Phile, Oskar, and General Halvor, I might have let bitterness eat me alive. When I was exiled, I consoled myself that those who kept me on the mountain were wrong and evil. But although I have magic, I should not presume to know why people act as they do.”
“You are thinking of Steinar, and how he kept you on Ensom.”
Rakel blinked in surprise.
“Try asking him why,” Farrin advised.
