Carved in Ice and Glass: A Snow White Fairy Tale Romance

12. The Princess

We set off down the mountain, and I was grateful for the steep, slippery slope that stifled any questions the hunter might have for me. All of us were so focused on our descent, trying not to slip and fall to our deaths, that there was little time for chitchat.

But I felt his dark gaze boring into me, burning with accusation.

I chose to ignore it, gritting my teeth with each precarious step.

We stopped halfway down to drink from our waterskins. I took my time sipping, leaning against a boulder to catch my breath.

Theron didn’t waste any time. “How?” he demanded, his voice a low growl.

I certainly wouldn’t make this easy for him. I took a long, slow gulp and leveled an innocent stare at him. “I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t play games with me, princess. How did you escape the blood bargain?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Play games with you? I saved your life, you ass. You could show a little gratitude instead of interrogating me for answers you haven’t earned.”

He blinked at me, stunned. Good. He deserved to be thrown off his high horse every now and then. I took another sip of water.

“If I’m to abide by the terms of my bargain, I can’t let any harm befall you,” he said, speaking slowly. “I need to know how you are able to defend yourself.”

“Do you?” I challenged. “Do you need to know? Because as far as I’m concerned, making your job more difficult is far more appealing than disclosing all my secrets to you.”

Fury burned in his gaze. “You can’t?—”

“I don’t owe you anything, hunter,” I spat, pushing off the boulder to stride toward him. I’d prepared for his interrogation and refused to let him win this one. “You came into a human village—my village—intent on killing me. The only reason I’m not dead is because I tricked you, so don’t pretend like you’re looking out for my safety out of the goodness of your heart.”

“And who can blame me?” Theron spread his hands, his expression darkening. “You’re exiled for a reason, princess. You’re trying to cause a civil war. I heard you declare your intention to steal the throne from the queen. If I killed you, the riots would stop. There would be peace in this court at last.”

“Peace?” I cried out. “You talk to me of peace? The only ones at peace are those under Calista’s thumb, the privileged fae she deems more elite than others. Fae like you. But what about everyone else? What about the half-fae, like me? What about the humans? And the—the?—”

“The unseelie,” Frisk provided, circling my feet.

“Yes!” I said, encouraged by his response, even if it brought to mind a pair of bloodthirsty red eyes that would haunt my dreams forever. “The unseelie. Like those pixies. They aren’t savages. They deserve a free life, just like you. Would you take that away from them?”

Theron shook his head, baring his teeth in anger. “And you think throwing a fit will get you what you want? You’re such a child, Eira. Riots and thievery aren’t doing your court any good, either.”

My head reared back. “Riots? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. You’ve been wreaking havoc since you left Taerin, leaving carnage in your wake.”

“I have not!” I was prepared to rip his throat out, then faltered. If he was saying these things, it meant he believed them to be true. He couldn’t lie. My anger ebbed slightly. “What has Calista been saying about me?”

His mouth opened and closed. My abrupt shift had no doubt disoriented him. “What?”

“She told you all that, did she? Or rather, she implied it.” I hissed out a breath and rubbed my forehead. Blood and ice, I should have guessed this would happen. Calista would never allow the court think I was simply a poor, shunned princess. Of course not. She would vilify me, do all she could to paint a picture that I was the enemy she was protecting everyone from. “I’ve stolen, yes, but only from her coffers. Nowhere else. I…”

I deflated, my ire vanishing and leaving exhaustion and despair in its place. How was I supposed to win the court back when they believed I was a rogue, a criminal causing pain and suffering wherever she went?

“What did Calista say, exactly?” I asked in a tired voice.

“She said your latest exploits left the village of Raya burned to the ground.”

My blood chilled. “She—She burned Raya to the ground?” My voice was a hushed whisper.

Theron stared at me, his brows furrowing. “Eira, what are you saying? Are you telling me you didn’t do this?”

“Of course not!” Tears pricked my eyes, and I struggled to catch my next breath. “Raya… was where the human nobles and I last congregated. Calista’s men found us, and we fought our way out. But I swear to the gods, when we left, the village was still intact. Calista—She must’ve… Blood and ice.” A tear trickled down my cheek, and I impatiently wiped it away. A roar of rage built up in my throat, and I clenched my fingers into tight fists, my nails carving small crescents into my palms.

I needed to hit something or I would explode. I whirled on the hunter, who stared at me with a stricken expression.

He would make a nice target for my wrath.

“And who are you to fling accusations at me?” I snapped. “You’re Calista’s right-hand man! You do all her dirty work for her. Tell me, how many have you killed in her name? Does it bring you joy, to do such bloody work for a false queen?”

His fury returned, and he took a threatening step toward me. “You don’t know anything.”

“Neither do you, apparently, if you’re swallowing the lies she’s spewing about me.”

“You aren’t a fool, princess, so don’t pretend to be. What is your dear stepmother’s brand of magic?”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “What, are you quizzing me?”

“Answer the damn question.”

“Blood magic,” I growled.

“And how does she wield it?”

“All she needs is a person’s blood and she has full control of them.”

Theron lifted his eyebrows and fixed a flat stare at me.

Only then did the pieces click into place.

My heart dropped to my stomach. “She has your blood.”

He huffed a dry laugh. “No shit, princess.” He turned and draped his leather jacket over his arm. “Looks like we’re both victims of Calista’s scheming.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. It certainly didn’t make Theron innocent; he was still a cold-blooded killer.

But he was under her control. Were his actions, his words, even his own? Was he reporting everything back to her?

My mind turned to the contents of my pack… and one item in particular that no one, not even Frisk and Mauro, knew about. What if Theron had seen it? What if he’d told Calista?

“Wipe that panicked look off your face,” Theron grumbled. “I am perfectly lucid right now. She can only control me when she summons me.”

“So, why hasn’t she summoned you?” I asked, suddenly suspicious.

“She won’t waste precious blood droplets unless she absolutely has to. It’s the same reason she doesn’t use my blood to force me to fulfill my assignments.”

I scoffed at that. “No, you’re just a killer by choice.”

His lethal gaze shot to me, ire burning in his expression. “I didn’t choose this, princess.” And there was something so haunting about his voice that I had no reply to that. “At any rate, I’m still required to strike fae bargains with every assignment. It’s how she keeps me in check. But she wouldn’t dare use my blood to spy on me night and day. Of course, with every passing hour, she’ll be wondering where I am, so there’s no telling what she’ll do.”

I turned to glance at Mauro and Frisk, who had been watching the exchange silently, their dark eyes alert. Frisk swished his tail in agitation, and Mauro snorted and pawed at the ground.

“We should keep moving,” Frisk said. “Especially if the false queen is bound to call on you if you’re delayed.”

He was right, but I found I couldn’t move. I felt like there was more to say to Theron, but I wasn’t sure what. An apology? Condolences for his situation? How long had he been in Calista’s employ? How long had he been forced to work for her with no way out?

“I don’t want your pity,” Theron snapped without looking at me.

My irritation returned. “It’s not pity. Besides, I don’t give a damn what you want, hunter.”

“Obviously,” he muttered.

His grumbling only incensed me further. “Gods, you are such a child.”

He snorted. “I’m a child? You’re like a toddler, with no reason or concept of danger. I’ve met goats with more sense than you.”

In spite of the situation, I laughed. He whirled to look at me in incredulity and surprise. His expression was so bewildered that I only laughed harder. Something sparked in his eyes, an emotion I hadn’t seen before, and it melted some of the tension between us. I could only grin as his bewilderment grew.

“You’re insane,” he said slowly.

“I’m just picturing a goat… tricking you with… a fae bargain,” I said between laughs, tears streaming from my eyes.

His brows knitted together, but that new emotion brightened his eyes. Something very close to amusement. “It would be far more preferable to our current arrangement.”

“I doubt that. A goat can’t possibly be as nice to look at as I am.”

Theron rolled his eyes. “Far less of a torment, though.”

“Ah, but tormenting you is such fun,” I said, drawing closer to flick his nose.

He blinked, then jerked away from my touch, rubbing his nose like a hurt child.

“Aw, you really are a child,” I crooned. “Did I hurt the poor little assassin?”

I expected him to scowl at me or turn away. But to my surprise, the barest of smiles lighted his face. His eyes crinkled slightly, all wrath and accusation from earlier vanishing entirely.

“I’ve never encountered a target as thoroughly irritating as you, princess,” Theron said, though he said the words with a fondness that startled me.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said.

“It’s not.”

I shoved his arm playfully, unable to look him in the eye. This warm banter between us was unsettling. I enjoyed angering him, testing his limits, seeing how far I could push him. But this? Our exchanges only seemed to fuel each other. It was still enjoyable, but it was… something else now.

And I wasn’t sure what that meant.