Chapter 2 #3
“The ice dreki are missing?” one of the council members murmured in surprise, his alarm ringing loudly through the gathered group.
“Yes,” Asmund continued. “But is not just the dreki that are of concern; too many of our wild magical beasts have been found dead. All of this has put us at a severe disadvantage, making us too vulnerable to an attack, and not just from Claus—should he choose to retaliate against us as the ancient magic demands—but from other less benevolent kingdoms.”
I bit down on my jaw. An attack from Yulreth was unlikely, but if I said anything, I’d draw suspicion, and I needed to stay as inconspicuous as possible right now.
Still hovering, the orb floated over the table toward Lord Asmund, hoar frost spreading over the obsidian surface like tentacles, the sound of crackling ice echoing in the vast chamber.
Everyone pushed away from the table, fully aware that one touch from my mother’s magic would freeze their body instantly, destroying all living tissue.
“Your concern for Skadgard is appreciated, Lord Asmund,” my mother said, the orb coming to a stop a mere inch from her advisor’s face. “Though you seem to have forgotten I am queen of this land.”
His eyes said what he wouldn’t dare utter out loud. Queen Regent. “I meant no offence, Your Majesty.”
With a flick of her wrist, the orb fell to the ground, the clatter of the shattering ice startling all the advisors.
The hoar frost melted into the table, too.
She gently wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.
The movement was swift—anyone would’ve thought she’d simply wiped a strand of loose hair.
But I’d seen the way her trembling hand had gripped the table as she concentrated on keeping the orb frozen and afloat.
Everyone pulled their chairs in again, though they kept their hands off the table.
No one said anything else, but I knew what they were all thinking.
And as much as I disliked the courtier, I had to agree with him.
In her efforts to weaken Yulreth, my mother had jeopardized our own kingdom.
But what she’d done had caused more damage than anyone here could imagine.
She’d not only poisoned the trees that fed magic and life to our world, but she’d also awakened something that had long been dormant deep in the mountains in the far reaches of our realm.
Dark. Ancient. Sentient. The memory of what I’d witnessed—of what I’d felt out there—made a shudder of spiny dread slide down my back.
Primal fear, unlike anything I’d ever experienced, had coiled around every muscle.
I’d come to this meeting, wanting to keep myself out of this discussion for as long as I could, but I couldn’t stay silent anymore. “Mother, the reports from our western borders confirm what Lord Asmund says.”
She slowly swiveled her head toward me, her lip curling as if it pained her to even look at me.
“Oh, the prince sees fit to speak now. Tell me, Son of Ice, what makes you an expert in the matter of our security when you’ve been absent from court since our forces were forced to retreat to the capital? ”
A muscle twitched in my jaw. “I’ve seen the Isogrim with my own eyes.
Contrary to what everyone might have you believe, I wasn’t hiding out in the forest, trying to abdicate my duties.
I was observing them, and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that something has them organizing.
They’ve moved their troops closer to our borders.
It’s not a coincidence that our shields are weakened now, and they seem to be growing bolder.
But that’s not the only threat we face…”
“Oh?”
The truth of what I’d seen out near the ruins of Dokkvíor sat on my tongue. I curled my shaking fingers, feeling the stir of my magic in my blood. Something out there had awoken, and it had called to me…an impossibly cold, deathly darkness.
Like calls to like…it had whispered.
I shook the words from my mind. Now was not the time to bring this up, not with the entire council present. Not with Sylvi standing in the corner trying her damnedest to puzzle out what I was hiding. I needed to figure out what the Hel was lurking in those mountains before I caused any more panic.
“Jack?” my mother pressed.
“The townspeople,” I blurted out. “They grow restless. They know something is wrong. This unrest could lead to uprisings.”
Without a single sign of acknowledgement, my mother stood from her chair and walked to the window that faced the snowcapped, craggy spires of Iskjold Ridge, the dying sunlight too weak now, replaced by the rising moonlight above the mountain peak.
Her steps echoed like a drumbeat, the faint tremor I’d seen in her hand hiding beneath the folds of her gown.
“While the lot of you have been spying on the Isogrim, dissecting failures, worrying about missing dreki, and speculating about moles for the past week,” she began, her voice calm but stern, “I’ve been upholding my duty to protect this kingdom.
” She turned back to face the council, her violet eyes bright with pride.
“I’ve reached out to my granduncle. He, more than anyone, has the means to truly bolster our defenses immediately.
The Isogrim are no match for my uncle’s full army, should they mount a full-scale attack.
And the townsfolk wouldn’t dare start a rebellion knowing the unseelie are present. ”
A ripple of surprise coursed through the room, the advisors exchanging wary glances. Lord Kaelven cleared his throat, adjusting the collar of his tunic as if it had grown suddenly tighter.
“Lord Kaelven,” the queen said, “Please do me the honor of reading the letter I gave you earlier.”
Kaelven hesitated for a moment before standing, withdrawing a folded parchment from his tunic. The black wax seal of the Unseelie Court glinted in the firelight, though already broken. He unfolded the letter, scanning the page briefly before he began to read aloud:
“To my dearest niece, Queen Virelya of Skadgard, Realm of the Frostbound Court.
It is with great sorrow that I learned of your recent misfortune. To face defeat from a frivolous kingdom ruled by sentimentality and cheer is a stain upon Skadgard’s throne. Yulreth should’ve been an easy target for you…but alas, perhaps I had overestimated your kingdom’s strength.
Nevertheless, I recognize the precarious position in which your realm now finds itself.
As blood binds us, I am inclined to offer my assistance, provided certain conditions are met.
Expedite the union between your son, Prince Jokullson Drakmyr, and my great-granddaughter, Princess Isolde Kaldvalíen.
Through their union, our realms will forge a stronger alliance, ensuring that neither of our kingdoms will fall prey to our enemies.