Rakel uneasily glanced at the snowdrifts and ice coverings she’d made to hide the Verglas soldiers. She was loath to use her magic in the presence of so many, but she didn’t have a choice. The army Farrin was bringing was beyond her abilities to subdue unless she used a substantial amount of her magic—an idea she liked even less.
“Princess?” Captain Halvor asked.
Rakel nodded. She leveled her chin and strode out of the shadow of the pass and into the sun.
Behind her, the fox screamed as Rakel reached for her magic. She glanced at the hills and yanked the snow down their steep sides, spreading it out in front of the pass like a blanket—it would be much harder for Chosen soldiers to attack in a foot of snow.
The leaders of the army yelled and reorganized their ranks—moving their mounted soldiers to the front to break the path. Overhead, the sky grew cloudy.
“They’ve brought the weather mage with them,” Phile announced.
Rakel was studying the sky, trying to decide what would be the best way to use the already stirred weather magic, so she saw the first arrow. “Archers!” She threw her hands up, and columns of ice burst out of the ground and bloomed like trees, shielding the Verglas army.
“They’re expecting our ambush,” Oskar said.
“Archers, take those horses down!” Captain Halvor shouted.
“Little Wolf, the weather mage!”
“Where?”
“Straight out.”
“I see him.” Rakel left the safety of the ice shelter, deflecting an arrow with an ice shield of her own as she stalked towards the weather mage.
She saw him suck his head into his shoulders, trying to hide behind the struggling horses. When he saw that she was prowling in his direction, he yelled. “Farrin!”
Rakel blasted ice at him in hopes of cutting him off, but, as if he had been summoned, Colonel Graydim dropped in front of Rakel’s path, his two-handed greatsword unsheathed.
“I told you, you should have left Verglas.” His handsome features were subdued with regret.
“And I told you I wouldn’t,” Rakel said. Knowing she would have to defeat him fast—or he would be able to keep her occupied for the fight—she created a circle of treacherous ice around her.
“Attack!” Captain Halvor shouted, leading the Verglas troops out of the pass.
Farrin shook his head and pointed to his boots. “Ice cleats,” he said, taking a few steps on the ice slick with no trouble.
Rakel flung an arm out in front of her, throwing a human sized chunk of ice at him. Farrin swung his sword at the incoming attack, meeting it head on.
There were a couple of things Rakel expected to happen. She thought in all likeliness his sword would snap—she had made the ice thick and dangerously cold—and predicted that the ice would smash him to the ground.
Instead, when the flat of Farrin’s sword met the ice, a shrieking noise pierced the air. Farrin carried through with his swing, and the chunk of ice reflected off the sword. It hurtled towards the Verglas troops and hit three soldiers, tossing them to the ground like ragdolls.
Rakel whipped her hand in front of her, dropping a heavy snowdrift over his head. Farrin skidded backwards with his speed magic so he wasn’t under it, and he swung his sword at the falling snow. The shrieking noise tore through the air, and the snow followed the swing of the sword and hit a line of Verglas soldiers in the chest.
As panic clawed at her chest, Rakel formed dagger-sized shards of ice. She spread them wide so they surrounded Farrin on all sides. She clenched her hands into fists, and the daggers pelted towards him.
Farrin was a blur as he parried the shards. Some he broke, and a handful hit him—tearing his uniform—but the majority ricocheted off his sword and flew into the Verglas forces.
Soldiers shouted in pain as Rakel’s ice daggers pierced their armor.
“Do you understand now, Your Highness?” Farrin lowered his sword but kept his stance and expression guarded.
“You have two strains of magic,” Rakel said, her lips numb. “Speed and…”
“Magic deflection,” Farrin confirmed. “Anything you throw at me, I can avert.”
Her ears rang as she stared in horror.
