Chapter 18 Neve
Despite my desperation for answers, I can’t go back to the palace quite yet. Mother and Davina sound like they are on friendly terms, and I worry what that means for me. Instead of going back to face my fears, I leave Ban behind, reroute myself, and climb partway up the mountain.
I’ve never struggled with the Frostlands’ terrains for as long as I can remember. Even in my dreamscape, the snow and ice bent to my will, bowing to my ice powers and letting me glide through the frost with ease.
Now, it provides comfort. I don’t feel Ban’s cool presence nearby, so I decide to pretend I’m alone. If he’s standing out of my reach, just watching me, I’ll give him hell later.
For the first time in a century, I wish I had friends.
Being the princess always came as a lonely role, and I had some ladies-in-waiting, but no one I was close to, aside from Viere.
That’s just how things were. I would speak to my father sometimes when I was distressed, but that’s all I could manage. And now I don’t even have that.
Sitting in the snow, my hands clench together.
The little spellbook and the spinning needle are tucked precariously into the belt of my dress, which has very little storage to begin with.
I’m soaking it through, and even if the cold doesn’t bother me, the dress Mother so proudly handed me yesterday is now unfit to wear to a ball.
“I miss you, Father,” I whisper to myself. My eyes stare down the icy cliffs, wondering if anyone even cares to listen to me now. “I am sorry I haven’t come to see you.”
I asked my mother where Father’s grave was on the first day of my return. My assumption was the royal crypt, but when I went down to check for myself there was no spot for King Andor. There wasn’t even an empty coffin, nothing.
“I had him buried somewhere special, just for me. I was mourning you both for a long time, Neve. Come, we’ll get things in order and then you can go see your father.”
Like most things, it now feels like a lie. I don’t know if Mother ever intended to keep her promise, but it feels like she twists everything to her advantage. All I want is to be able to mourn my father properly. I’m a hundred years late.
“I’ll come see you soon,” I say to myself. After all that time in the dreamscape, I’m used to one-sided conversations. “I’ll make this right. I hope you can forgive me for being delayed. Maybe you could send someone to guide me?”
I almost snort to myself, thinking of Ban.
If that’s who my father’s soul sent to help, he’s got more of a sense of humor than I thought.
I don’t know if he could communicate with Ban or not, or what exactly a Reaper does with the afterlife, but I hope that if my father hears me, he understands how sorry I am.
“Tears are wasted upon the dead.”
I jump up, ready to throw ice if need be. Unfortunately, once I recognize the figure, it doesn’t ease my nerves. I lower my hands a fraction. “Sandman.”
He nods once, peering out all around us. “I heard your voice, Queen Neve. A daughter searching for her lost father. I can say, with firsthand experience, the dead do not benefit from your grief.”
I continue staring, wondering what kind of alternate world I’ve stepped into. I saw the Sandman for the first time in years in my dreams, barely recognizing him until he pulled off his hood. And now, I’m seeing him here? “How… how did you find me?”
He offers me a smile, his gray skin looking even more unnatural against the blue and white clouds. His eyes are dark now, contradicting the gold from my dreams. “You are the Queen of the Frostlands, Neve. It only takes so much looking to find a royal.”
After scrubbing at my eyes, I peer at him again. “I truly thought you were a dream.”
“I’m something like that,” he allows, clasping his hands in front of him as he looks out at the kingdom beyond. “So much has changed in the past century, and at the same time, nothing at all.”
I glance over my shoulder, but Ban hasn’t appeared. I guess he didn’t follow me after all, which is strange given the past two weeks of our proximity. “What are you doing here?”
The Sandman pauses, cocking his head to one side. “I go where the nightmares call.”
“Why does everyone speak in riddles?” I growl, turning my gaze directly to him. “Is nothing in layman’s terms anymore?”
He studies me for a moment, those unreadable eyes assessing me until he speaks again, and it makes even less sense.
“Trapped beneath stone so cold, only here can power hold. From the stone will blades arise, to reap the soul’s last surprise.
From the darkness can come light, to reap the soul’s final goodbye. ”
I throw my hands up, exasperated. “I’ll take that as a no then.”
“Ask your friend, the ice mage, about it,” he replies hauntingly, a shiver rolling down my spine at his words. “He might not know the answer, but he will recall the spell.”
Sneering, I plant my hands on my hips. “I’ve heard whispers of sand used against me. Got anything to say about that, Sandman?”
All he gives me is a grim look, and after long moments of quiet, I realize he’s just not going to bother to answer. Right now, I could scream. It’s just another riddle. Instead of falling into it, I change tactics. “Are you a guest of the Mad Queen’s?”
He shoots me a knowing look. “No one is a guest of the Mad Queen. Her new lover will soon learn that.”
Frowning, I follow his gaze to the palace and the surrounding city again. I like standing up here and staring at my home, but now, with my present company, it feels strange. “So, you are…”
He chuckles, glancing my way. “My dear, we’ve known each other long enough not to be awkward. You can call me by my proper name. I heard you telling that ice mage all about me.”
It takes several moments for the details to click together. “Hans.”
“That would be me. Hans Traum.”
Okay, well, at least he’s not being totally evasive. “So, Hans, if you are alive and well, couldn’t you do something about the Mad Queen? I never knew how you felt about her in the past.”
“Do you know what she’s done?” he asks, glancing my way again. There’s sadness in those endless eyes that has me taking a small step back. “Or what she’s about to do?”
I do a double-take, peering between Hans and the kingdom below. It still looks the same, chilly and isolated, but untouched. I don’t know what would have to happen for me to actually be able to see all the way up here.
Shaking my head, I peer at him again. “I don’t understand.”
Hans offers me a smile, but it’s completely empty. Devoid of emotion, empathy, and answers. “I told you, Ice Queen. I go where the nightmares call.”
He disappears then, my eyes widening as he simply slips away. For just a moment, inky blackness surrounds him before he winks out of existence. It reminds me of Ban’s shadow magic.
But that can’t be right.
Glaring down at the kingdom again, I try to see what he alluded to.
Is it a warning, or another trick? I haven’t mentioned anything to Ban about seeing the Sandman, just the details about him being Jasper’s brother.
I really thought he was just part of my twisted dreamscape.
And other than a history lesson he didn’t feel important enough to bring into our discussion. Maybe I was wrong.
The longer I stare at the kingdom, the less I see. Unless the palace erupts in flames or collapses, I’m not going to see anything new from up here.
Glancing around, I debate going to look for Ban. Will he know anything about the Sandman if they have similar powers? He looked truly stumped when I mentioned him, so I doubt Ban knows much of anything about those powers. It’s just another mystery to add to the basket.
Creeped out, but drawn out of my pity party, I smooth my hands across my face to erase the last traces of my tears and shove down the depression that threatens to bubble up. I miss my father, but those feelings won’t help me now. At the moment, I have a kingdom to save.
~~~
I knew something was wrong the moment I returned to the kingdom’s outer walls. Without Ban’s helpful shadow magic, I have to make my way back the long way. Even though I doubled back to see if he was waiting for me, I didn’t find him. Who knows what he’s up to?
Getting from the outer walls to the palace will be tricky.
Security has changed in the past century, so there are more guards on watch and fewer weak points to slip through.
If all else fails, I suppose I could reveal myself and walk back to the palace with ease, but I don’t particularly want anyone knowing I was gone or where I went.
Ban dragged me from my room without being seen, and if I can reappear without being caught, no one will be any the wiser.
My concerns about slipping home unnoticed disappear when I finally reach the gate and see what’s happening for myself. At first, I think maybe my chat with the Sandman drew me back into the dreamscape.
This can’t be real.
There are two guards at the outer gate, the entrance to the capital city. It’s not the same gate that allows access to the palace, but a gate all the same. There are usually a few guards at ground level and more along the upper wall.
When I see that one man is dead, lying with blood frozen to his chest, and the other guard is actually frozen, my heart stalls.
What is this?
The man covered with dried blood has lifeless, dead eyes. So dead, they’ve sunken into his skull, which seems really weird. When I dare to look properly at his chest, I acknowledge one glaring detail. His heart is missing.
Spinning, I stare at the other guard. He’s frozen solid, a block of ice, and when I tap my finger on his frozen hand, he doesn’t even blink.
He’s not moving or breathing. He’s not doing anything. Dread settles in my chest as I peer down at my hands.
Ice is my element… and snow is Mother’s. Both are Ban’s. Surely one of them didn’t do this?
Holding out my hands, palms down, I decide to free him at least. There’s nothing I can do for the other guard, but at least this way I can save one and hopefully get some answers.
With the gates wide open anyone or anything could walk through, and since no one’s rushing up here to help, I have a bad feeling about what that means for the other guards.
Slowly I slide my hands downward as I focus on the ice surrounding the guard, pulling and melting it away. It’s a task I can’t say I have much practice with, so when I reach the top of his head past the layer of ice, and his skin, hair, and brain matter begin melting, too, I scream.
My hands drop as the body remains, now with a missing section at the top of his head, like someone lobbed it off.
Breathing hard, I press a hand to my chest and stumble backward.
It just causes me to step on the other guard, the one missing a heart, and I look down to see that I’ve stepped on his lifeless hand.
Do not have a meltdown right now. Screaming is bad enough.
“Neve?”
I spin around in time to see Ban step from the shadows. He’s got his staff with him this time, a concerned, pinched look between his brows. He appears on the other side of the two dead guards, further into the kingdom, and I waste no time scrambling over to him.
He attempts to grab my arm to steady me, but I shake him off. “What happened?”
Ban gives me a grim look. “I was speaking to one of my Hell Brothers when I felt a pull toward the kingdom. Usually, near the palace, there’s significantly less death than in the small surrounding villages here in the Frostlands. But there’s a lot of death here right now.”
I don’t know if I’m still processing the two dead guards, but his words sound like nonsense. “What?”
“Reapers help guide the souls onward,” he explains, gesturing to the two bodies.
I can’t force myself to turn back and eye them right now, so I nod stiffly instead.
“When there’s a surprise pull, it means there’s a large group of spirits.
The tug happened all of a sudden, which is how I knew something just happened.
I came this way because the pull was strong. ”
Panic hits me. “How many people have to be dead for a pull like that?”
He grimaces. “Enough. Come on, we should move.”
“Where are the guards?” I ask, and slowly I realize it doesn’t matter. If the enemy right now is death, Ban’s the only one who can do anything about it. I’m kind of worried to ask how. “There would be more than two at the gates.”
“It looks like the guards around the perimeter were taken out first, and the further into the kingdom that we get, the stronger the tug is.”
That means he’s drawn to the palace. It’s in the center of the capital city with the docks behind. “Could it be someone trying to attack our guests? Mother said the guests are special. Maybe having them here drew enemies.”
The look Ban gives me tells me I’m incorrect. “I would be more worried about what the Mad Queen will do to people than what anyone may manage to do to her. Come on, it’s not safe here. I haven’t seen any civilians. Let’s go into the shadows until we figure out what’s going on.”
“But we can’t talk in the shadows,” I argue. I tried to stab this man less than an hour ago, and yet he’s inviting me in close again. He should be more concerned about me turning on him again, given how heavy my heart is.
Ban surveys me before he holds out his hand. “We can talk when we get there. I sense and see dead, but not as many as I should. Come on.”
A shiver dances through me before I can help it. No matter how you twist it, that sounds weird. Reluctantly, I grasp Ban’s hand and let him drag me into the shadows again.
The last few times this has happened, the only difference between being in the shadows and real life was that I couldn’t talk. This time, there's a bunch of hazy, floating shapes that resemble people. I try to scream, smacking Ban in the chest.
He immediately moves us out of the shadows, eyes widening as his other hand keeps hold of the staff. “What?”
‘W-what?” I gasp, trying to catch my breath. “What are those… those things?”
He frowns, staring at me before resignation lights his eyes. “They would be spirits, Neve. I didn't think you would be able to see them since you never mentioned being able to.”
He glances around, and I realize they are here. I just can't see the dead unless I'm in the shadows.
Until now, I guess there haven't been many dead around for me to see. It just doesn't bring me any comfort.
“We'll figure it out later,” he says again, his tone almost kind. “Right now, we need to get to the palace. Hold on tight and close your eyes.”
I stare at his hand, afraid to grab on. I don’t want to go back, but there's a very real chance the dead might be my people.
I hug his arm instead of taking his hand, squeezing my eyes shut. I want this over as fast as possible.