He lifts me into his arms and summons his wings. As he launches into the sky, I glance down at Hollins. The streets are busier now, the people of the town going about their lives, unaware that a thirty-thousand-strong fae army is closing in.
Just one week. In one week, their lives will change forever, just as mine did when the Winter fae conquered Braemar.
Gideon tightens his hold on me, and as he soars over the trees, the town fades from view. Then snow begins to fall, a swirl of white around us that keeps getting heavier. And I realize, with a sinking feeling, that the Winter Court army is truly headed this way.
CHAPTER 20
GIDEON
Isabel stands at the window,quietly gazing out at the snow-covered forest. A few days ago, a herd of giant reindeer wandered by, far larger than is typically found in human and orc lands. Ever since then, she’s spent much of her time peering outside, hoping for another glimpse of a majestic Winter Court creature.
Beneath the trees and shrubbery that are covered in white, glimmers of ussha shine forth. But even if I couldn’t see the lifeforce of fae magic, I would know it’s there. The large concentration of it feeds my powers, making me feel stronger than ever, so strong I’ve barely needed to sleep since our arrival five days ago.
“I don’t understand,” she says, briefly glancing back at me. “The snow and the ice appeared in Braemar just as the Winter Court army approached. It didn’t arrive days in advance.”
I come to stand beside her and wrap an arm around her shoulders. Leaning down, I rest my head atop hers as I admirethe wintry landscape that almost feels like… home. Frostfall. It almost feels like Frostfall.
“I suspect it’s a combination of factors, little moth,” I eventually say. “The Winter Court army is headed this way, yes, and wherever King Theron goes, snow and ice always herald his arrival, but I also suspect most of the ussha in this area has spread directly from Winter Court lands. The fae animals that are walking among the trees can affect the weather as well.”
“I would love to see more of those giant reindeer,” she says with a radiant smile.
Gods, it warms my soul to see her smiling so brightly, especially in the aftermath of our most recent trip to Hollins. It also pleases me that she finds beauty in the snow and ice and holds a fascination for Winter Court animals. I run a hand up and down her arm, reveling in the tiny goosebumps that erupt on her skin as I keep caressing her.
I wish we could stay here like this forever,she sends down the bond.Just the two of us, hidden away in a cabin in the middle of a snowy forest. She emits a quiet, mournful sigh.
I tighten my hold around her. “I know what you mean,” I whisper. “But… it will be over soon. What will happen in Hollins, I mean. And in only a few days, we will be headed to Frostfall.”
At the mention of Hollins, she stiffens, but she doesn’t try to talk me out of the battle. She knows my mind is made up. She knows I am determined to seek vengeance. She also knows that even if I wanted to show mercy to the nearby human town, my people would never allow it. The Winter Court army would continue marching this way, and King Theron would lead the attack with or without my help.
“Perhaps after we return to the human lands,” I say, “we can build a cabin somewhere secluded on the edge of my people’s new settlement. I will plant frost-apple trees to lure the giant reindeer close.”
Isabel gives me a hopeful look. “That sounds… perfect.”
I press a kiss to her temple and take a deep inhale of her floral scent. In the days since we found the frozen bodies in the forest, her gentle presence has been a balm to my grief. Though I am still deeply shaken by the deaths of the Frostfall faefolk, particularly my sister-in-law, my mate has helped ease the sharpest pangs of sorrow that might have otherwise consumed me.
Truly, she is a light in the darkness, and I thank the gods that she came into my life when she did, at the precise moment when I needed her most.
I know I once tried to run from you, Gideon,she says, her voice a soft, intimate murmur in my head,but I’m starting to believe you came into my life at just the right moment too. When I needed you most. I was… desperately lonely.
After what happened with the orcs, people started looking at me differently. My former fiancé, Ian, wasn’t the only one who cut ties with me, assuming I was tarnished. Everyone from my previous life, all my childhood friends, stopped talking to me too. At first, I thought they were giving me space after what happened. But then I realized they no longer wanted to be associated with a girl who’d allegedly been sullied by orcs.
For years, I only interacted with Papa and the customers who came into the bakery. Then Helena arrived on our doorstep, needing a place to stay. We had a room for rent. She became my dearest friend. Though she knew about the orcs, she didn’t think badly of me for it. To have a friend after so many years of loneliness was a blessing, but then she disappeared, and I grieved her loss as though she had died.
Her confession washes over me. I’ve sensed her loneliness, but I didn’t realize just how deep that feeling ran until this moment. My heart aches for all that she’s endured, before I met her and after, though I’m careful not to let that ache becomepity. I know she doesn’t want my pity. Instead, she wants my companionship and my understanding.
I turn her in my arms and hold her tightly to my chest. Sensing she wants to say more, I remain quiet, waiting for her to continue.
Anyway, I always tried to convince myself that Papa and the bakery were enough, that if I kept my hands busy, I wouldn’t feel that hollowness inside me, but that empty pain always persisted, and it was always at its strongest after the day was through.
I send her a wave of warmth through the shared bond, and she wraps her arms more tightly around me in response. I kiss the crown of her head. She sighs and then exhales a shuddering breath.
Her thoughts are loud, her emotions running deep, and the truth she has finally decided to share with me continues pouring out.
Even though the orc seer told me that you were my fated mate, as you know, I didn’t quite know whether to believe it, and I didn’t truly realize it was real until the Winter Court army arrived in Braemar. During the attack and the days that followed, when I could hear your voice and sense your presence, I was terrified, yes, but also… I suddenly felt less alone than I had in years. Even when I was afraid of you, even when I told myself I should hate you, your presence filled that terrible silence within me. For the first time in so long, I was no longer alone in my own mind.
Her words settle over me, provoking a fierce surge of protectiveness for her. Gods. My little moth has carried this loneliness for years. The thought of those humans turning away from her, treating her as though she had somehow been ruined by what they believed the orcs had done, stirs an icy rage inside me. For one dark moment, I consider returning to Braemar so Imight hunt down every last person who has ever made her feel less than whole. But she is a gentle soul, and I know she would never want blood spilled on her behalf.
“You are no longer alone,” I say, pulling back to stare into her eyes. I cup her face and slowly brush away her tears.
