Last night hung over me like a dark cloud, but I pushed through it, tugging on my boots. Bitter quiet followed us as we left the room and strode down the hall.
Only when we reached the elevator and began the drop down the transparent chute did she broach the silence. “I need you to create a barrier between the mountain and the castle.”
“Don’t you already have something like that?” I blinked, recalling the one I passed through when I first entered the grounds. The frozen moat, the ice giants, the drawbridge. “Fortress-style?”
“Yes, but it is old, and the avalanche happened to hit a weak spot.” She stared ahead.
Another coincidence. Another twist of unease in my gut.
“So… what exactly are you asking me to do? Make an indestructible wall of ice that will protect your kingdom forever?”
The car slowed to a stop, the doors sliding open. “Temporary is fine.”
“You know I can’t do that.” Wincing, I hustled to match her long-legged strides. It felt as if I’d fallen down all seven flights in that dungeon and hit every step along the way.
“You must.” She turned down a narrow staircase, her feet swift and light.
“I…” Can’t, I started to say, but I let it drop. It was no use. It’d mean nothing to her. She didn’t even have the courtesy to try and convince me, like how she’d dangled the threat of war to force me to unfreeze the moat. The options were clear: do it or get out.
As long as I needed something from her, she could ask me for anything in return.
She disappeared around a corner, her long hair whipping behind her like rose gold ribbons.
Inhaling an icy breath, I followed, the passage growing tighter, windier, the tips of my fingers skimming the wall all the way down for extra support.
My knees buckled when I reached the final step, the stairwell opening into a wide hall.
Elves scurried past me, carrying whatever they could fit in their hands: vegetables, fruits, ale, each other. I hopped over a broken oak barrel, sliding on the mushy remains of what looked to be potatoes. Fallen crates of food littered the floor along with bits of blood and snow.
Stepping over the crumbled remnants of what clearly used to be a wall, I followed Hildur out onto the grounds, the thick layer of powder crunching beneath my soles.
A group of elves gathered at the foot of the avalanche, their colorful robes a stark contrast to the harsh, white, world.
“Your Highness.” An elf ran over, clipboard angled against his gut: Kristjan, the same elf who’d been taking notes at the river the day before.
The queen pulled off her leather gloves. Without a moment’s hesitation, he took them and guided her to the rest of her court. I struggled to catch up, warmth coating the side of my leg—my cut was open and bleeding. Damnit.
Mounds of rock idly tumbled down the mountainside, crashing into the ground.
“What’s the plan?” I heard someone ask as I awkwardly hung on the outskirts of the assembled crowd.
I brought my hand to my brows, a shield against the intense glare.
“Gods, it’s even worse than I’d imagined.” The queen shook off her mantle, passing it to the air, knowing, expecting, someone to grab it. They did.
A flash of gray rushed by me. Tongue out, barking. Then another. Pink nose, furry ears, blue eyes. The royal huskies. They wove between the helpers, their curled tails shaking, paws digging into the compact snow.
“The dogs are searching for bodies. Whenever they alert, the Eyes are then pulling them out.” Kristjan glanced at his notes. “The kitchen staff is gathering what’s left of the stockpile, but understandably, they’re a bit shaken up.”
“No doubt,” Hildur mused.
“We started at the base of the mountain, where the snowpack was deepest and deadliest, and are making our way out.”
“That area is clear then.” It was never a question with the queen—because if it wasn’t done yet, it certainly would be after her statement. “Just in time for River to fix the barricade.”
With a curl of her fingers, not even granting me the dignity of turning her head, she ushered me forward. Like I were a puppet—and I had no choice but to follow her summons.
“Very well.” She ushered Kristjan aside. “Show us the worst of it.”
