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CHAPTER 29

I pull the mask over my face, the cool edge pressing against my skin as I round the curtain and step onto the altar beside Sebastian. Aidric falls in behind me, silent as ever.

It’s the third Wednesday of the month, which means it’s time for our monthly meeting in The Chamber.

“Decades ago, a man named Edison Einhorn stood in this very spot,” Sebastian says as he looks down at the hem of his sleek black robe settling at his ankles. It’s as if he’s having an out-of-body experience.

“He held this very branding iron as the first Ice Lord took his pledge.” He raises the iron in the air, the same iron we’ve all been branded with. Also the same one Avery was branded with.

She’s not here, though. Just because she’s marked by an Ice Lord, doesn’t make her one. Which I recently learned.

Sebastian’s voice grows louder, booming off the brick walls. “You shall have no mercy on the enemy. Where there is an Ice Lord, there is power,” he howls. “And we are Ice Lords.”

The seated members chant along with him, fists raised in the air as they repeat our motto. “Where there is an Ice Lord, there is power. And we are Ice Lords.”

A moment later, Sebastian raises a hand, settling the crowd, and the room falls silent. His posture shifts, voice taking a serious edge.

“There’s been talk,” he begins, tone even. “Word going around about exclusivity.”

He’s referencing the conversation I had earlier with him and Aidric after I relayed Slade’s concerns. Slade felt like we were keeping secrets, like he and the others were being kept in the dark.

Sebastian continues, voice cool but commanding. “We want to address those concerns. Myself, your Lord speaker, alongside your leader and your council advisor.”

A pause stretches.

“You may have noticed a girl around lately,” he says. “More than once. More than most. And I know how it usually goes. None of you keep women around longer than necessary. They don’t linger. They don’t last.”

A few whispers and laughs rake over the crowd.

“But this one has,” he continues. “Her name is Avery Castle.”

He lets the name hang in the air for a moment.

“And while I won’t get into the specifics of why she’s still here, I will make one thing absolutely clear. Avery is off-limits.” He eyes me, because that was my demand. “No one in this room will lay a hand on her. No one will harm her. If anything, you’ll protect her like one of your own.”

His gaze sweeps the crowd.

“Avery has become one of the few females to be branded into The Ice Society. She may not be an Ice Lord by title, but she is one of us. And she will be treated accordingly. Watch her. Protect her. Accept her.” He pauses. “She’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”

After Aidric spoke with his father, who is a veteran in The Ice Society, we found out the truth. Avery wasn’t the first. There have been other branded women. Some through marriage. others by initiation, and a few through force—like Avery.

We still don’t know exactly what that means for her future. But I plan to do everything in my power to keep her safe. Avery isn’t just some girl to me—never was. I may have shelved the love I had for her in the past, but not anymore.

I can now say with certainty, Avery’s future is with the Ice Lords.

With me .