Page 5 of A Bond of Ice and Glass (Crowned By Wings #2)

I shake my head and focus ahead. Although I’d rather walk to the village and stretch my legs more, something tells me by the way Lochlan’s jaw keeps clenching and twitching that he’d refuse it.

I bite my tongue as I follow him down the steps.

I don’t want to start the day off arguing.

I want to enjoy every moment while my body allows.

The footman stands by the opened door, dressed in a similar navy uniform as the guards.

Several of them stand mounted behind the carriage behind him.

As we make our way forward, I feel their gaze on me like prickling knives.

Only one of them offers the barest hint of a smile, but it quickly vanishes when Lochlan gestures to them with a gloved hand, and the young warrior quickly diverts his attention ahead.

Lochlan climbs into the carriage first. He then lowers himself down to offer me his hand.

Just as I’m about to take it, Noble grabs me by the waist and lifts me effortlessly inside.

Lochlan pulls me down onto the dark velvet seat.

The interior is covered in the same rich fabric, which seems to shimmer in the sunlight pouring in through the circular window.

A small black curtain covers half of the window.

I pull it aside, just as the door closes and Noble drops into the seat opposite me.

He grins as he crosses a leg over his right knee.

There’s a carefreeness about him that takes me a little by surprise.

In comparison, Lochlan’s tense body pressed against me couldn’t be farther from carefree. Why is Loch so worried about me?

He catches me looking at him, and I offer him a reassuring smile.

“I’m okay,” I whisper, touching his hand gently. “I feel great.”

It’s not quite a lie. I do feel better, albeit still tender, but I don’t want Lochlan to worry.

He nods and seems to visibly release some of his tension in an exhale through his nose.

Still, he doesn’t say anything, but I notice his hand stays clenched underneath mine, straining the fabric of his gloves.

It’s like he’s expecting Sister Gabriella to pounce out on us at any moment.

It hurts to know he’s still so anxious over me, even outside of the convent.

I clasp my hands in my own lap and turn my attention to the window.

It’s a short journey to the village, the ploughed roads making it easier for the carriage to pass on through.

Some of the villagers walking along the road stop to make way.

I peer through the window, surprised to find blank and gaunt-looking faces staring back up at me.

The clothes hanging off their bodies have clearly seen better days, reminding me of the rags I was forced to wear at the convent.

Why do they all look so… sad?

“It’s been a tough winter,” Lochlan explains, following my line of sight out the window. “Harvests have been poor after Erax burned our fields.”

My stomach clenches at that. “He burned your fields?”

“Every last one of them,” his brother answers bitterly. “We rely mostly on imports now. Until we recover, which should hopefully be in the next year.”

I look out the window, my eyes stinging while I try to pull myself together. With all the snow covering the land, it’s impossible to see the fields, but the devastation is clear from the faces passing by the window. The same devastation fell upon my home, too, when Erax burned it to the ground.

“You can always tell when Erax has paid his enemies a visit,” Lochlan snarls. “He leaves a trail of scorched ground and starving infants everywhere he goes.”

Two things he left in my kingdom, too.

Silence fills the carriage for a moment.

I glance out the window again, where a small boy clings to his mother’s leg by the side of the road.

His tattered shoes barely cover his feet.

Why did Lochlan never tell me this? All those years I was forced to study my so-called fiancé, he never mentioned the destruction of his home.

He said he was sent to the convent after his mother died because he was a bastard and his stepfather didn’t want him.

“I didn’t know about this. You never said.”

Lochlan reaches over and pulls the curtain over again. “What good would it’ve done, Lena?”

Noble stretches out his long legs. “It would’ve just frightened you. And from what Loch tells me, you were frightened enough by those whore sisters.” His eyes flick to the curtain and back to me again. “This is just one of the many atrocities committed by your husband.”

An old, familiar fire lights in me again, a pain I’ll never be able to extinguish.

“Erax is not my husband! He never was, and he never will be.”

Beside me, Lochlan smiles for the first time. I can’t bring myself to smile back, my excitement all but vanishing. Gods above, I wish I’d brought some food with me to give out.

The carriage lurches to a halt. Lochlan quickly throws open the door and jumps out.

This time, he takes my hand to help me down.

My boots slide into the slush on the ground, turned brown from the traffic.

Crumbling cottages lean into crooked fences, their chimneys coughing thin trails of smoke.

Mud smothers every surface. Even the air feels like it hasn’t drawn a clean breath in years.

Despite all of that, there’s a quaintness about the village that stretches back hundreds of years. Everything is old and rustic, reminding me a little of home. At least the little I was allowed to visit growing up.

Brushing something off the side of his cloak, Noble joins us by the sidewalk. Many of the villagers stop to greet him as well as Lochlan. Nearly everyone stops to gawk at me walking between them, nearly half the size of them.

It hurts my heart to see so many people looking gaunt in the face.

Even all the animals are on the thinner side.

The pigs shuffling around in the stye squeal loudly as they search for food, while dogs bark and beg outside the butcher’s.

Mange-covered cats drink from slush-filled puddles in the gutter. And the smell coming from there…

I’d gag if I wasn’t so relieved to be outside.

“You’ll get used to the smell,” Lochlan says from my side.

“It doesn’t bother me,” I lie, not wanting him to change his mind about the visit. “My parents took me to visit the slums once. I think I told you about it.” I glance around, my heart breaking just like it did all those years ago for the suffering. “This is nothing.”

I can still remember the way my parents held handkerchiefs to their noses, terrified they might catch a disease, and the absolute terror on my mother’s face when a child grabbed the bottom of her dress, begging for food.

I’ll never forget the way a guard kicked the child off before my mother dragged me back into the carriage.

“Plus, we were like this,” I say, looking up at Lochlan. “Not too long ago.”

“It’s why I wanted to visit. Help where I can, you know?”

I smile and press my head against his shoulder, letting him know that I understand. I just wish I had the means to help. I feel as powerless as I did when I was little.

“The market’s down there,” Noble says, pointing at the cobbled road. “Are you sure you still want to go? We can turn back if it’s too much for you.”

A tinge of annoyance flares through me. I know he’s just trying to be kind, but his remark rubs me the wrong way. I’m not as weak as he seems to think I am.

As they both seem to think.

Lochlan slides his arm around me before I can say anything. “Quit fussing. Maelena’s made of strong stuff.”

I smile at him, instantly soothed by his reassurance, and let him lead the way to the market.

Snow covers the wooden stalls. Droplets splash my body as children race by, chasing after a hoop that rolls through the snow.

I wipe my face and smile at the sight of them playing.

The noise here is much different. Quieter, less chaotic.

Although, there is a lot more foot traffic here, which has resulted in more snow turning into slush.

The entire ground is covered in it, but no one seems to bother.

There’s just less chaos and suffering in this part of the village, and more… enjoyment?

Especially from the children.

They join a group of others standing by a fountain in the middle of the square. They begin to play a game which involves who can throw the hoop over the statue quickest. Neither Lochlan or Noble seem to mind their game, even if it risks damage to the statue.

One of the children slips on the slush. The others laugh at her. I clench my hands at my side and glare at the boys. Something flares inside my chest, warm at first, then it turns cold, like icy tendrils curling around my ribs. It spreads down my arms and into my palms, numbing my fingers.

And then it spills out of me, covering the ground in sheets of glittering frost.

Everyone falls silent, as if a blanket has been draped around the square.

Until the frost reaches the fountain, and the water turns to ice, freezing in place. My fingertips tingle, and the smell of magic invades around my senses. Did I just… do that?

I stare at my hands like they belong to someone else.

Then, slowly, I lift my gaze back to the fountain, the ice glinting in the sunlight.

The children are all cheering and skating after each other.

The girl who fell laughs as she picks herself up and follows them.

Villagers stare at me, half-startled, half-impressed, and then they clap their hands like I just performed a trick for them.

But it wasn’t a trick. It was magic. I don’t remember learning this. I don’t remember asking for it. So how is it mine?

I look up from my hands to find Lochlan staring at me, his expression a mixture of awe and confusion. That makes two of us. A tutor once told me my family had magic in their blood but that it hadn’t been recorded in over a century.

Does that mean that I have magic?

There’s no other way to explain what just happened.

“You did that,” Loch says, so low it nearly vanishes in the excitement.

“I… didn’t know I could,” I say quietly.

“Look how happy they are.”

I follow his gaze to where villagers have joined their children on the ice.

A white dog barrels after them. At least, it tries to.

The poor creature ends up slipping and spinning on its belly, making the children laugh, before it shakes itself and tries again, its tongue and tail wagging.

A young woman waves at me, calling me something I can’t quite make out, before she leads her small child behind her out onto the ice.

Whatever she said sounded grateful, like I just gifted the village with something they haven’t had in a long time.

A moment of joy in a harsh, unforgiving winter. I just don’t know how I did it.

“Maybe I should start calling you ice queen,” Noble says, somewhere behind me. “They love you already.”

I don’t know how to respond. I’m not his queen. I’m not anyone’s queen. Just a girl with frost in her veins and no idea how it got there.

I stare at the ice I’ve created around me, at the joy it’s brought to his people. At least it’s made them happy. From the looks of things, they really needed it.

Lochlan’s arm slides around my waist again. “Still want to look around?”

I shake my head. I suddenly feel tired, like the ice in my veins has melted into exhaustion.

“I think I’ve had enough fresh air for today.”

“You sure?” His palm rubs the small of my back. It’s meant to be a comforting gesture, I know that, but it irritates me. I try to pull away, but his grip tightens. He’s too protective of me sometimes. “We could go ice skating.”

“I just feel a little tired,” I snap at him.

Noble snorts under his breath, joining me. He says nothing.

Lochlan keeps his eyes on me, though something in them shifts.

“Okay,” he says, leading me back towards the carriage. “Let’s get you home.”

Inside, I rest against the window and let my eyes drift shut, unable to keep them open any longer.

Before I know it, we’re back at the castle. The carriage swaying. Lochlan steadying me with his hand when we went over a bump. Noble humming under his breath. It all comes to me in fragments. But Lochlan carrying me in his arms—that I’m fully aware of.

Because I don’t lean into him like I thought I would.

Like I used to do when he held me.

All I want to do is push away from him… but I’m tired… so tired…

He places me gently on my bed and brushes a lock of hair off my cheek.

“Rest easy now, Lena. Erax can’t hurt you here.”

His hand lingers on my face, his silhouette flickering in the candlelight.

I want to tell him that I know that and to stop fussing over me so much, but my lips don’t move. My eyes dip over again, and I barely manage to keep them open long enough to watch him leave. He pauses in the doorway—a soft, crimson light surrounding him—before he slips outside.

Under the warmth of my blankets, something inside me claws for air.

Even though I feel safe… even though Lochlan says Erax can’t hurt me here… Somewhere deep inside me, I’m screaming for help.

But I’m too tired to listen.