Chapter 46
Forty-Six
Finding Schula
“Are you ready?” Thain asked.
I nodded. We were hunched behind a large outcropping of rock, downwind and a good minute of running to the steps that led down to the Icehold gates.
“Let’s go get her,” I said.
Stepping out from behind the rocks, I carried a large basket with jars of sap that we had spent the better part of the previous day collecting.
It had been no small feat in the midst of winter.
I kept my eyes turned down, watching so as to not spill anything and conveniently hiding my face from anyone who might recognize me.
Not that many had seen me, but just in case.
I walked carefully in the snow: my new tight-fitted boots were a bit too short for my feet, and the matching white-and-blue servant’s dress was uncomfortable and exposing.
A small pouch hung from my neck, a common token from what I’d been told, but this one held a mix of magic and spices to conceal my scent, which would surely arouse suspicion.
Thain would remain some distance behind me and sneak in another way when he could.
He was too recognizable to disguise, and one lone servant would more easily be allowed inside without question than two of us.
Besides, splitting up would double our chances that at least one of us would get to Schula.
I steeled my nerves as I approached the warriors guarding the entrance to the steps.
“State your business,” one of them grunted.
“Supplies for the bow-makers,” I mumbled, trying to add a tremble to my hands. I remembered the skittish nature of the common people here as I had first passed through Icehold and tried to mimic it.
The shorter fae leaned in to glance through the jars for a moment, then waved me through without another word.
I thought my heart was going to burst through my skin waiting to be let through or discovered, but I managed to hold myself together as I began my walk down the long, carved staircase.
The gate at the bottom was no different, to my relief. Once I was waved through, I found a secluded tunnel that would lead me to the servants’ hall.
I pulled out a scrap of parchment on which I had written notes and a rough map.
Nassir, who had helped design much of the layout of Icehold as it stood now, was able to give me quite a bit of useful information.
I was sure much had been added on over the years, but the base of the plans would still get me where I needed to go.
Nassir was frustrated that he couldn’t come but agreed it was for the best. I frowned at the thought of him putting himself in harm’s way. He had been trying for days to reach out and find any family he might have left, but his connections weren’t as strong now, and he hadn’t gotten anywhere.
I looked at my map and ensured I was on the right path, then hid it once more and walked with purpose down the corridor. Thain had told me if I walked as though I belonged there, no one would question me. I had passed very few other creatures so far, but as of yet it was working.
I kept a good pace, occasionally double-checking my map. There were indeed new halls and rooms carved that weren’t included in Nassir’s descriptions, but thankfully nothing that he’d expected to be there was missing or boarded up, and I was able to go swiftly to my designated meeting place.
I reached a carving of a beautiful fox sleeping in flowers and smiled at Nassir’s handiwork. Then I ducked into the doorway beside it. The old washing room looked like it had gotten little use in recent years. There was dust everywhere, and the lone wooden stool that remained was rotting from age.
“Little bird?” whispered a shadow from the dark corner of the room.
“Washing maid?” I replied.
A short sprite danced from the shadows with a sly smile. She did in fact wear a washerwoman’s apron and carried a basket of laundry.
She quickly set down her burden and began pulling garments loose from the pile. I set down my own basket and began to undress.
“Down the hall and to your left you will find a stairwell that will bring you up to the training fields. You will find her there, but you must hurry. There are many eyes on her.” She spoke quietly and rapidly, and I had to concentrate to hear her.
She helped me strip and quickly outfitted me with a padded training uniform. It disguised me nicely, and the smell of sweat was already on it. I nearly gagged as she pulled a stained leather gorget over my head, but it would help to further mask my scent.
“Do not—do not—stray from this path.” She looked sharply into my eyes, pressing the importance of her warning on me. “This corner of the holding is as far from the ballroom as you could possibly be, but we still do not know how far he can sense. The moment you remove her, you must prepare to run.”
“I understand,” I said firmly.
“I hope so,” she said. “Blue one should be arriving at his own designated point shortly, if he hasn’t already. Find each other on the training grounds and judge your options from there.”
“All right.” I nodded.
“And, little bird,” she said slowly, “tell the burning one that my debt is repaid.”
“I will,” I promised.
She nodded curtly and rushed out the door with my basket of sap.
Fully dressed and with my face mostly covered, I walked with confidence to the staircase she’d indicated. The itch to find something grew more desperate with every step, making my pulse race in my ears. I breathed rhythmically through my nose just to calm down.
The stairs wound up. And up. And up. Few other doors opened into the stairwell as I climbed higher and higher, and I didn’t see any other living thing. At the top, a heavy wooden door opened over my head into sharp wind and snowflakes.
I opened up just enough of my magic to keep me warm and stepped into the air.
It would have been breathtaking if it weren’t for the reason I was up there.
A portion of the mountaintop was flattened.
There were long stretches of stone courtyard for running and sparring.
There were targets for the archers, and wooden dummies for weaponry.
A few strategically placed firepits attempted to warm some of the area but failed miserably under the falling snow.
I needed to act like I belonged until I could find Schula and hopefully Thain. Searching a nearby rack with wooden practice weapons, I grabbed a war axe. Now was as good a time as any, I supposed, to start learning how to properly fight with one.
I went to the most unoccupied area I could find to try to strike at a dummy while watching the field. A few warriors sparred, stripping off their shirts and practicing hand-to-hand combat. Others stretched or shot arrows.
But one knot of soldiers on the far side of the field was not training. I narrowed my eyes and tried to see what it was they were doing.
My jaw went slack, and my stomach twisted.
A snow-white figure had been tied to a small watchtower, arms and legs spread as they were chained to the cold stone.
Bright red splatters stood stark against the white skin around her wrists and ankles where the chains were cutting into her.
She wasn’t far off the ground, her stomach about head height for the warriors standing around her.
Her head lolled to the side, but my breath caught as she snapped it up in a heartbeat and our eyes locked.
I thought my heart would burst. Schula, I had to run to her! I had to—
A hand grabbed my elbow, and Thain’s low voice murmured in my ear. “Not yet, let’s talk.”
I shook my head; my heart was beating hard, and I couldn’t take my eyes off Schula. I struggled in his grip to step forward, but he wouldn’t budge.
“Please,” I begged under my breath. “I have to go to her! I have to get her down.”
“Look at me,” he snapped.
I ignored his demand and tried again to walk forward. Schula was little better: she struggled weakly in her chains as the fae around her laughed. She had her eyes shut tight, but her ears were trained on me. I realized she was trying to break free without tipping off the warriors that we were here.
“Schula,” I hissed, and Thain had to catch me from moving forward.
His face changed to puzzlement. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Please, just let me go to Schula, we need to get to her!”
He cursed and pulled me back to the stairwell I had come from, dragging me as I struggled.
“N—” I tried to cry out, but Thain’s hand cupped my mouth and held my screams in place. I continued to watch Schula as I was pulled off the grounds and shoved inside kicking and struggling.
“Wren, listen to me,” Thain demanded. “Stars, your pupils are huge. When did this start? This feeling about Schula?”
“What? I’ve always liked Schula. We need to help her!”
“Wren, listen to me,” he ordered again, gripping my face in his hand so I had to look at him and not at the door that stood between me and Schula. “I know you like Schula, we all like Schula. Tell me when this desperation started. You feel the need to run to her?”
I whined as I struggled in his hands. “She needs me.”
“Wren.” His grip held me in place as another tear fell down my cheek. “I know she needs us, but if you show up like this, you’re going to get her killed. I need to know, when did this feeling start?”
I took a shaky breath and closed my eyes with some effort, trying to remember. “As soon as I saw her just now.”
“And when Schula released your seal? What did you feel then?” he asked.
“I was overwhelmed by the fire then, I don’t remember anything else,” I answered.
“And Schula, what did she do after she released your seal?”
“She gave me a strange look and left to see who was chasing us,” I said.
Thain huffed. “I’ll bet she did.”
“I think she could tell then that I wasn’t a fae,” I said sadly. “But I don’t care if she hates me for it, we need to help her!”
Thain gripped my shoulders and looked me in the eye again as panic rose in my chest. “Wren, listen. She doesn’t hate you, but I need you to calm down. This pull you’re feeling, do you think you can resist it? Can you stay here, right here in this spot, until I get back?”
“I can try.”
“Good.” He nodded, slowly letting me go and watching for me to bolt for the door. “Change of plans. I’m going to get her for you right now, okay? Then we are going to need to run like hell, understand?”
I nodded and bit the inside of my cheek, clamoring for the distraction of pain.
“Good, now stay here, I’ll be right back.”
A heartbeat later, Thain was out the door, and I was staring at my white-knuckled grip on the railing as though Schula’s life depended on it. And right now, it did.