Nara gives me a sharp growl when I return to her side.
I stand firm in the storm, but my thoughts whirl as wildly as the flurries filling the air, ice that should cool my temper and settle my soul.
My fury only builds.
Thyra wants to break the False Queen’s curse. I want to destroy my enemies. We can do both, but only if she’s skilled and strong enough to fight any battle that comes her way—and prepared to end another fae’s life without mercy.
My whisper to Nara is as harsh as my intentions. “The time for patience is over.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Thyra
Itake a deep breath as I prepare to step outside the Rose Room, tipping my head back to accept the early morning sunlight shining through the panel in the ceiling.
I’ve left my armor in the back garden, hidden behind the closed wall.
I checked on it right after I woke up, finding it floating midair. It hummed at me, vibrating when I drew nearer, as if it hoped I would reach for it. It was still in the shape of a half-formed cocoon, waiting for me to step into it. An impulse I resisted with all my might, even when its humming became a soft sigh in the air.
I promise myself I’ll wear it again soon.
For breakfast, I ate only a small amount of bread. If training will be as tough as I anticipate, I don’t want to vomit. Not least because food is precious here.
I didn’t have a lot of choice when it came to clothing. I pulled on the warm undergarments, finding them tightly-fitted, followed by a corset. Over the top, I drew on the closest-fitting tunic and pants I could find in the basket, sinceI don’t want to risk wearing loose clothing that can be grabbed.
The garments are nowhere near as flexible as my armor, but they’ll have to do.
Stellen was right about the undergarments. They’re warm.
I pull on my fur boots but nearly don’t reach for my cloak. I’m overheating already.
I fold it over my arm, resolving to pull it on when I step outside, and then I pause, my hand reaching for the door.
Heat rushes to my cheeks as I try to push away the memory of my last interaction with Stellen, the shivery tingles all through my body as I attempt to forget how powerful a simple yearning melody can be.
I give myself a savage shake.
He was right to walk away.
He was right when he said that I have to be truly free before I can know what my heart wants.
He was right…
So why does my heart feel hollow?
I’ve felt this hollow before. Many times since the day the three kings found me. Since then, I’ve tried to fill it with hope and faith, sometimes even with fear, and still the emptiness returns.
Turning my right arm over, I picture the blade’s image now concealed beneath the long sleeve of this ill-fitting tunic.
I fight my frustration—another emotion capable of flooding the hollow in my heart.
I’m no closer to breaking the curse.
I’m fuckingfurtherfrom breaking the curse.
But I need the combat skills to take on fae who have been training to fight their whole lives. The carnage on the field outside the Alak-Teah proved to me how violent the Frost Kingdom can be. Not that different from the IronKingdom, considering the bloodshed between Antony and his stepmother’s lords. Antony protected me…until he didn’t.
I have to be able to protect myself.
