Minutes pass, and I remain glassless.
I try again, a little louder this time. ‘I need a glass.’
Kai raises a dark eyebrow. ‘I said you have to ask itpolitely.’
‘Since when did an old siege tower have a thing about manners?’ I grumble.
‘Oh, just do it, before we both grow old and die.’
‘Fine,’ I say with a sigh. ‘I would like a glass.Please.’
In the time it takes for me to blink, a glass goblet appears out of thin air in the space between us, teetering to a standstill.
‘See?’ Kai dips the glass into the water then pushes it towards me. ‘Now freeze it.’
‘But I –’
‘You did it before,’ he says. ‘You can do it again.’
I catch sight of River watching us from the far side of the pool. He nods.
I think I already know which of my emotions is anchored to ice, and as soon as I close my eyes, I see her, standing in that rust-orange dress, lips curved in a cruel smile.
Is that it?
I hear the sniggers from the crowd.
Murderer.
Changeling.
Freak.
I feel it again, that coldness.
A family like ours was bound to have a rotten apple some day, cousin. And here you are, rotten to the core. You’re not fooling anyone, least of all me.
I watch Ember smirk as she readies herself for the killing blow.
I’m just glad dear Aunt Analiese isn’t around to see it. To see you. How burdensome you must have been to her, Blaze. How … disappointing.
The coldness is spreading, blazing through me like fire, and I give myself over to it, letting it fill me to the brim. It’s not anger. It’s not even rage.
It’s ice-cold fury.
So strong it engulfs me. So cold it burns.
Conceal, contain, control.
It takes everything I have to push back against the feeling, and eventually, with one last gasp of effort, I reel my power in.
Panting, I open my eyes, expecting to see the glass of water coated in a glistening layer of ice.
Instead I find the entire pool has frozen solid.
16
The carpet of pine needles beneath my feet gives way to an expanse of glittering snow. I walk across this frozen wasteland as an icy wind begins to blow, my gaze fixed on a glimmer of gold lying up ahead. With every step I feel its pull growing stronger.
