Chapter 9 Neve #2
Nyra isn’t a talker, and I’m too lost in my head to ask her anything. I’m now realizing that no one bothered to correct Mother when she said a century had passed. No one looked confused or shocked, either. They all acted as if it were a fact.
I’m still hoping to learn this is my mother’s poor attempt at a joke.
While I was lost in my dreamscape, the Sandman hinted at this. Ban said the same thing but I trust the Sandman more than the King Killer. And now Mother has confirmed it.
It doesn’t feel like I’ve aged by a century. Even Mother seems to have retained her youth, which gives me more pause than the sleeping for a century remark, considering her curse.
“If Your Royal Highness needs any assistance, I am here to serve,” Nyra says, and I simply stare at her. None of this makes sense, and the last person I want to ask for anything is my strange new attendant. I wish my old friend Viere was here to be my last-in-waiting instead.
Studying the room, I take in the bed, coated in dust with a blanket that appears musty and moth-eaten. My wardrobe is closed, the books I once treasured in my rooms are probably beyond disrepair, and all the sheet music I kept on my drawing table is gone.
We might live in the Frostlands, but this is the coldest room I’ve been in since my return.
There’s a haze near the farthest window, and I glance in that direction as misery eats away at me.
I can’t decide if the lack of caring or endless mourning allowed Mother to let my former suite slip into such a state.
I’m worried about what my other rooms hold.
At least most of my personal items were here, or they were last time.
My gaze snaps to the window again when a figure takes form, and my hands tighten into fists as he comes into focus. I’m tired of fighting today.
But, surprisingly, his gaze is on the door instead of me. “An Icebound spirit who can be seen by the living. What kind of trick is this?”
To my surprise, Nyra turns and bares her teeth at him. That’s the most life I’ve seen from this girl the whole time. “A Reaper.”
“A what?” I ask, looking between the two of them.
The more I jerk around, the more my shoulder throbs, and I find myself gripping it instead of hiding the hurt.
Before, I wanted nothing more than to blast the man’s head clean off his shoulders.
I still very much want to do so, the burning ache at losing my father rawer than before as I look at the state of my room. It’s depressing.
Not just my room, but my memory. My place is the palace. It’s all been cast aside and left to collect dust. Who allowed this?
Ban’s eyes settle on me, and as I feared, he’s cataloging every detail about me. “Hurt your arm in the fall?”
He doesn’t guess at anything else, and I bite back my pride at how easy it is for him to read me right now. “None of your concern, mage.”
Ban shrugs and turns his attention to Nyra.
I pause and take a moment to look between the two of them.
He doesn’t appear to be threatening her, but his response is strange too.
I’ve never heard of a Reaper before, and the Icebound are supposed to be legend.
“Relax, spirit. I’m not going to reap you, at least not before I understand you. ”
What in the world is he talking about? “Did you say reap?”
Ban’s gaze slides to me, giving me all of two seconds of his attention before he surveys the room. “I hate to say it, Your Majesty, but your cabin on the mountainside was nicer than this.”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” I snap, embarrassment hardening my voice.
“And what a splendid way to welcome home the reigning queen,” Ban says dryly, looking at me quickly before his eyes glance back to Nyra. She’s just standing there, eyeing Ban, her expression blank. “You won’t breathe a word of me being here to anyone, will you? Especially not the Dowager Queen”
Nyra hesitates, her eyes darting between the two of us. She certainly doesn’t look like a spirit, but she still has little expression on her deathly white face. “My allegiance is to the Queen.”
“Which queen?” he asks, the hint of a tease in his voice.
Nyra darts her eyes to me. “The true queen.”
“Hmm.” Ban wisely keeps his distance and I wiggle my fingers to call my ice magic forward just in case. He’s too relaxed, too cocky, and it makes me nervous. “If you speak of seeing me, spirit, I’ll send you into the next life. Make no mistake about it.”
“I answer what is asked of me,” Nyra says, folding her hands in front of her. “Nothing less, nothing more.”
“I suppose you might not blab then.” Ban sighs, turning his gaze to me. “We don’t need Ronnie knowing I’m here yet.”
“Ronnie,” I squeak, my ice fading as shock hits me. “Did… did you just call my mother, the Dowager Queen, Ronnie?”
“It’s fitting.”
“It’s an insult,” I hiss. “Snedronningen is the former Queen of the Frostlands. Show some respect.”
Ban shrugs, and the itch to strike him returns. If he tries to get closer, I will. This monster shouldn't be anywhere near me. Swallowing, I try to switch topics. “How did you get in here?”
“Magic,” he replies vaguely.
I hesitate, glancing toward Nyra. She’s watching our interaction but her eyes seem unfocused. “That will be all, Nyra. Send Kael to find me when my room for the evening is prepared. Do not breathe a word of this to him.”
Nyra bows, her eyes still cloudy. “Yes, Your Majesty."
She leaves the room, closing the door with a quiet click, and I’m once again alone with Ban. I cross my arms before throwing them out to either side, letting my ice magic roll through me. “What kind of magic, mage?”
He smirks, crossing his arms. “I’m not just ice anymore, Neve. I’ve gained the power of the shadows too.”
As though to prove it to me, he holds up both hands, and, like on the mountain, snowflakes dance atop one and in the other floats a black haze. I stare at his hands a beat too long before changing the subject.
“I’ve never heard of a Reaper before.”
“A hundred years changes things,” he replies, dropping his hands. Both types of magic fade with the movement. “Perhaps tonight while you… adjust to your accommodations, you might question some of what you see.”
“Like you?”
“Like your mother, sitting proudly on your throne until you walked in.” I open my mouth to argue but he keeps talking. “You’re weak from sleeping for a century, Neve. You need some time to heal while you seek out the truth of what’s happened here.”
“That’s Queen Neve to you, King Killer,” I spit. “Do not speak as if you are familiar with me.”
“I know you better than you think,” he says with a sigh, pivoting to look around the room. “In fact, once upon a time, I think there was a spinning wheel in the corner. Somehow, a trinket you held so dear traveled far away to Midas’s kingdom.”
Growling with frustration, I throw my arm forward and shoot ice across the room. It only serves to damage the wall as Ban vanishes, my attack striking nothing but my old memories.
How does he know what was once in my room?
And Midas… His name sounds familiar, but I can’t seem to recall why I know it.
In my frustration of being unable to remember, I find myself spinning around slowly, watching for the mage to come back.
Which of his powers allows him to hop in and out of existence at will?
I’m about to start screaming into the room like I did my dreams, when a knock sounds at my door. An unfamiliar voice calls to me, “Queen Neve?”
I take a deep breath and smooth my hands down my skirt to center myself before opening the door a crack. Kael is standing outside, his expression respectful, his eyes not quite meeting mine. “Yes?”
“The royal guestroom has been set up to the Dowager Queen’s approval for you to stay in until your suite is restored. I’m here to escort you.”
“Thank you, Kael. I am ready.” I sneak a glance behind me as I shut the door, checking to see if Ban has reappeared.
I’m surprised to realize I almost feel disappointed that my room is empty.
He might speak in riddles, but at least he provides some answers.
That’s more than I’ve gotten from anyone since I arrived.
And once he’s answered everything, I’ll strike him dead.
As we move down the hall, I swear, for just a moment, I feel the calming breath of a cool breeze. It’s just enough to center me, and lets me focus on the big picture.
I need to figure out what’s happened over the last hundred years, and who my enemies truly are.