The frozen lake stretched before her, vicious winds rushing across ice as clear as glass.
She had no idea if it was thick enough to hold her weight, but with the heavy crunch of James running through the snow toward her, there was no option but to risk it.
Ahnna’s boots slid on the ice as she took a tentative step, heart hammering. If she didn’t keep moving, he’d close in. And even with these winds and his injured arm, it would be too close a shot for James to miss.
The ice creaked underfoot, a low, ominous groan that vibrated through her bones. She cast a glance over her shoulder, spotting James emerging from the tree line, his silhouette dark and unforgiving against the snow. He slowed, eyeing the frozen lake, then started toward her. His every step was measured, his gaze fixed on her like a wolf tracking its wounded prey.
“It’s not thick enough!” he shouted. “You’re going to make this easy for me and get yourself killed!”
“Dead is dead!” She turned to walk backward. If she kept enoughdistance between them, she had a chance of dodging his shots. Yet with each moan of the ice beneath her, Ahnna’s fear grew at the thought of frigid water closing over her head, of pounding her fists against ice, unable to find a way out. Dead might be dead, but an arrow through the heart would be quicker.
James lifted his bow and his jaw tightened as he drew the arrow and let it loose. A gust of wind caught it, sending it flying wide. With a grimace, he reached for another arrow.
There were only four left.
Ahnna forced herself to keep moving forward, each footfall sending tiny fractures spidering out across the glassy surface. She slipped, arms flailing, barely catching her balance as the ice groaned again, louder this time. Her breath came fast and shallow, fogging around her face as she edged farther out, knowing that one wrong step could send her plunging into the freezing darkness below.
James moved steadily, cautiously, his eyes never leaving her. Blood dripped from his arm, leaving a crimson trail on the ice.
Crack.
Ahnna tensed, watching the fractures grow. It was impossible to tell how thick the ice beneath her was, but logic told her that the farther out she went, the thinner it would be.
“There is no getting out of this, Ahnna!”
James loosed another arrow, this one tearing a lock of hair from her head as it shot by. A cry of pain tore from her lips, and she took another step back. “Will you at least listen before you kill me?”
If she could draw him out farther, his extra weight might break the ice.
“No.” Another arrow flew at her, and though she flung herself sideways, it still cut a burning line across her shoulder.
“Alexandra set me up!” She had to at least try. “Your father met with me when I returned to Verwyrd. He had me brought to the throne room, and he put Alexandra’s crown on my head and had me sit on the throne. He was acting strangely, and he spoke about yourmother. Said that I reminded him of her, and then told me that he intended to kill her murderer. That he would see Siobhan’s dreams fulfilled and that Harendell would be changed forever. A perfect storm.”
James didn’t answer, only let loose another arrow and Ahnna cried out as it scored a line of fire across her thigh. She took another few steps back, and the ice moaned in protest.
“He said the queen was dead.” Tears were freezing on her cheeks. “I thought he meant that he intended to kill Alexandra for murdering your mother, but I also realized that to achieve your mother’s dream meant peace with Cardiff. Which meant trade with Cardiff, at the cost of Ithicana. He had George lock me in my room, but Alexandra came to me, and after I told her his plans, she offered a solution. She said that the people wouldn’t want this, and that I should go to the ball and challenge Edward’s plans by reminding everyone that Harendell’s alliance with Ithicana was old and strong and reliable. But I know now that I was just dancing to her music—she knew what your father had planned, and she wanted me there so that he’d be forced to publicly embarrass me. So that all would watch as he tore everything from me, giving me the motive for murder.”
James lifted his bow, his last arrow in hand. But instead of letting it fly at her heart, he said, “She couldn’t have known.”
“Alexandra knows everything!” Ahnna screamed, sliding her foot back even as James took a step forward, the once glassy ice now a network of white cracks. “I packed my things that night. I was going to sneak out of the palace, take Dippy, and ride to the coast. But when I left my room, she was waiting. She told me that I had played my role to perfection. That I was every bit an Ithicanian, and not to take it personally; she just needed someone to blame.”
James took another step, arrow leveled at her head, and Ahnna slid another step back, the wind tearing at her hair.
Crack.
“She took my knife and then told me I should run if I wished toescape with my life. And then she started stabbing herself. You know the rest. You saw the rest.”
James didn’t answer. Didn’t lower his bow, only eased closer. Close enough that there was no chance he’d miss.
“I don’t know why Alexandra went to such lengths or why she felt she needed to risk so much. I don’t know if she did it to save her own skin, or if she just hated Edward that much, but Alexandra was the one who killed your father, James.”
Crack.
This was it. This was the end. “All I have done was for the sake of my people,” she sobbed, feeling failure reaching for her once more. “And though the nest of spiders you call a family all stabbed me in the back and deserve death for your faithlessness, I amno fucking murderer!”
His arrow remained fixed on her head, and Ahnna gave up hope as he remained silent.
“I have to protect Ithicana.” The words came out as a croak. “Forgive me.”
