Her eyebrows rose at my hesitation. Before she could revoke the terms of our bargain, I blurted, “I accept. I will bring you Princess Eira’s heart in exchange for freedom from my duties to you and the crown, as well as any amount of my blood that you still possess.”
“Very good.” Calista waved an idle hand. “Now, be on your way. I’m certain you’ll want to get started right away. After all, Princess Eira will be a difficult target to locate.” Her mouth widened in a satisfied smile. “Probably your most challenging assignment yet.”
I sketched a quick bow before departing the throne room. Each step sent a quiver of pain up my legs—an echo of the torture the queen had inflicted on me.
But it didn’t matter. That would be the last time she would ever hurt me.
Because, challenging or not, I would kill the Snow Princess.
I wrung my hands together,pacing the length of the small sitting room in my cottage while I waited for the other human rebels to arrive.
“Stop fretting,” Stella said from the armchair. She had one leg crossed over the other, her twitching foot the only sign of her unease.
She was nervous, too.
For the tenth time, my gaze strayed to the open window, where the wintry forest surrounded us.
When I’d been exiled, I’d sought refuge here in Knockspur, the last of the human lands. Calista didn’t bother with villages like this one, which made it the perfect hiding spot for me to meet with my rebel friends. For years, we’d been gathering followers with the intent to take down Calista.
“What if it’s not enough?” I asked Stella. My gaze darted to the piles of coins on the table. I had counted them twice. Five hundred sixty-two gold pieces.
It seemed like a lot to me. But I didn’t know how expensive it would be to hire mercenaries and soldiers. Aside from me, the rebels were all human. It would be impossible for us to fight Calista’s forceson our own.
Gareth, the human noble from the Shennith Province, would know the answer to that. Shennith housed the queen’s armies, and Gareth, who was much older than the rest of us, had plenty of experience dealing with soldiers.
“If it’s not enough, we will figure out a new plan,” Stella said firmly. “You aren’t alone in this, Eira. Even if it takes time to form a new strategy, we can do it.”
I said nothing, crossing my arms and biting on the inside of my cheek.
That was just the thing. Ididn’thave time. In fact, I was running out of it. Each new day brought me closer and closer to my death.
“They’re here,” Stella said, rising to her feet and jolting me from my morose thoughts. I followed her to the window and scanned the frosty surroundings. Various fae creatures flitted about—including Frisk and Kendra. Rogun, a massive white dragon who resembled a snow beast more than anything, was curled up in the snow, snoozing contentedly.
Next to the large Crystal Icebolt, three horses appeared, each bearing a rider I recognized. Tansy was first, the human noble from the Vorreya Province. Her sandy hair was a frazzled mane around her face, but her chestnut eyes were bright as she dismounted.
Behind her was Denton from the Jarta Province. My heart did a backflip at the sight of his burly frame as he slid off his mount.
No,I chided myself.That’s over now. You’re not allowed to look at him like that anymore.
The third horse belonged to Gareth, and my heart seized for an entirely new reason. As soon as Gareth looked at the pile of coins, he would give me my answer.
Was my rebellion doomed? Would I die before I could de-throne Calista?
Our duty as royals is to defend this court against foes,my father had said.To rid our kingdom of enemies who would harm our people.
I hadn’t known when he’d told me this that those enemies might come fromwithinour very court.
But I would do my damnedest to eliminate Calista and uphold my father’s legacy. He protected our people as best he could. With him gone, it was up to me now.
Stella threw open the door, and Tansy embraced her, shaking flecks of snow from her hair. Stella laughed, clutching her friend tightly. “Good to see you, Tan.”
Denton came next, his dark eyes immediately finding mine. I went rigid, pressing my lips tightly together and offering the barest shake of my head.
No more.
Stella patted Denton’s arm, and he gave her a forced smile before striding into the cottage. The sitting room felt so much smaller with his intimidating presence. I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe, so I shifted my focus to Gareth instead. He scratched at his white beard, his black eyes lighting up when he saw me.
“Hi, Gareth,” I said with a genuine smile, stepping forward to embrace him.
