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It was too cold for a human, particularly one who had spent most of her life in the Blood Kingdom’s relatively mild climate.

It was cold outside, even for me. The temperature had dropped precipitously last night and hadn’t risen again after the sun rose. The frost and ice that my burst of magic sent crawling across the outside of Riis Tower hadn’t melted yet either. Though the cold was a way of life in the Winter Kingdom, to me the recent changes toward deepening cold, more snow, and ice and frost, felt ominous, like twilight descending much too quickly.

I glanced back at Riis Tower again, for the first time taking in the building as a whole. It was, as the name implied, one circular tower, large enough for a family of about ten and a few servants. The middle of the tower boasted a courtyard. While I’d been told I could practice there, I’d opted to distance myself, just in case my magic got out of hand again.

The Tower was so plain that I couldn’t imagine Lord Riis growing up there. It wasn’t a home made for a lord, but a wealthy merchant, which was what the Riis family had been, once upon a time. And aside from the Tower’s size, the only other thing that spoke to their wealth was the freestanding log sauna nearby. Public saunas existed in cities, maybe even in larger towns, but few could afford such a private luxury.

“I think this is far enough, Prince—Neve.”Clemencia cleared her throat. She had difficulty doing away with formalities.

“Sure.” I stopped. “First step, make a clearing.”

“Perhaps a path too? For the way back?” Clemencia’s cheeks were pink from the effort it had taken to trudge through the snow.

“I’ll try my best.” I inhaled deeply. “Remember, I’m new to all this.”

Even though Clemencia understood that and didn’t expect a grand spectacle from me, the admission still had the power to shame me. As a slave, my master had proclaimed my name day to be on the first day of each new turn. Now, I knew that while he had gotten the correct turn and the day had been a good guess, it was also incorrect. Queen Revna’s diary had stated that her twins had been born on Winter Solstice, which was in nearly two moons’ time.

I was twenty-three turns old—nearly twenty-four—and I didn’t know a thing about my magic. No matter how you looked at it, I was very far behind, and though I had no power over that, a mixture of negative emotions, mostly shame and fear and resentment, still rubbed me raw.

“I’m here for you,” Clem assured me.

I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten so lucky to have her as first my tutor, then my friend.

“Stand back a bit?” I waved.

Even though she’d already endured my frozen bedroom, she indulged me, taking a dozen steps back.

Ideally, I would have had Vale with me. He was theonly one in Riis Tower who had winter magic. But we weren’t speaking, and despite Luccan’s reassurance, I wasn’t sure we ever would again.

A lump rose in my throat. Reflexively, I swallowed. Stars, I needed a distraction.

Time to work magic.I rubbed my hands together, unsure how to start and hoping it would flow.

“How about you focus on directing wind, like Prince Vale does, to make your clearing?” Clemencia offered, ever the helpful teacher, even when she didn’t know a thing about the subject.

“Sure,” I said because it made sense. Winds were part of winter storms. Plus, I didn’t have any better ideas.

I closed my eyes and sank deep into myself, seeking the power I’d felt rushing through me the night before. The magic that, had I not chosen to meet it, rather than succumb to it, would have taken my life.

It didn’t take long for it to awaken. All morning, my magic had lain inside me, dormant. Or perhaps I hadn’t known how to feel for it until now. After all, I’d seen a light come from me a few times but didn’t have a true release until the night the assassins came for me. I still wasn’t sure how that had happened, when my magic should have been bound by the potion.

But today, the power inside me hummed to life, filling me in such a way that my eyes flew open.

Clemencia was beaming. “I can sense it! And you haven’t created a storm yet, so that’s good!”

“Small miracles.” I focused on that hum, on that vibration inside me, and marveled at it. All my life I’dwanted to feel the thrum of my power in my veins and for the first time, I was about to control it too.

To my right, unbidden, snow swirled, creating a funnel that reached my hips.

Or maybe not. But a random swirl was much better than a room filled with frost, ice, and snow. Right?

I could work with this, something smaller and less life-threatening.

Hand twisting, I directed the swirling snow up, and to my great delight, it did as I requested. For the next few minutes, I moved the small vortex around, practicing, flexing my muscles. When I’d gotten a handle on it, I released and focused on the ground at my feet.

Using one’s hands wasn’t necessary to work magic. Other fae didn’t, though it did feel intuitive for me to practice using them, and as I was just beginning, I’d allow myself a crutch. I faced my palms to the ground and called air.

The northern winds, much milder in the midlands compared to Avaldenn, redirected, but with far more force than I’d intended and slammed into the ground. An explosion of snow filled the air.