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CHAPTER TWO

B y the time we reach the forest that marks the edge of the Unseelie Court, I’m shivering from the ice that has spread through more than half of my body, and delirious from the pain killer potions that Isera has been feeding me while we’ve been flying across the continent on Galen’s back.

My head is spinning from the strong potion, and I’m shivering so violently that I’m shaking, but at least my body has managed to heal enough of the damage that I can now speak without coughing up blood.

My chattering teeth still make that somewhat difficult, though.

Three loud thuds sound as Draven, Lyra, and Galen land hard on the grasslands before the forest. Black smoke explodes across the ground as Draven shifts into a half-shift.

He shoots out of the smoke a moment later and flies up to where Isera and I are seated.

Since I can barely manage to stay upright, she has had to hold me in place while we were flying.

Pulling her arms back from where she has kept them around my body, she lets Draven pick me up and fly me down to the ground instead. Then she slides off Galen’s back while Alistair does the same on Lyra’s back.

My body shakes in Draven’s arms as he flies us down.

He presses me more firmly against his chest, as if he can share his own warmth with me.

I let him think that it works and try my best to stop shivering so much.

But the truth is that nothing any of them has done is working.

I’m so cold that I have lost feeling in most of my body.

I know that Draven’s chest is pressed against the side of my body because I can see it.

But I can’t feel it. I can’t feel anything except the bursts of searing pain that sometimes make it through the drugged haze of the pain killer potion, and the devastating coldness that is creeping closer to my heart with every passing minute.

“You’re going to be okay,” Draven repeats yet again as he sets me down so that I’m sitting on the grass with my back braced against a fallen tree. “Just hold on a little longer.”

I manage a nod.

For a moment, he only holds my gaze with those agony-filled eyes of his. As if he doesn’t want to leave me alone even for a second. But then he finally tears his gaze from mine and stands up. Sprinting back towards where Galen and Lyra are waiting, he shifts back into a dragon.

Wings boom through the night as the three of them take to the air. Alistair and Isera stagger sideways and have to brace themselves on the fallen log as the blasts of wind their wings create slam down over us. Climbing over the dark tree trunk, they sit down on either side of me.

After the hours Isera has spent holding me on Galen’s back, she must already know that sharing body heat doesn’t work. But she still sits down so close that her body is pressed against my side. To my surprise, Alistair does the same on my other side.

But before I can say anything, fire roars through the air above us.

I gasp as it barrels towards the trees ahead. My heart thuds in my chest. The moment those flames catch, the whole forest is going to be incinerated.

But right before the dragon fire can wash over the woods, the flames slam into an invisible wall.

Instinctively, I duck my head to protect myself. But the fire doesn’t bounce back towards us. Instead, it washes out along the sides of the curving barrier.

My head is spinning, so I have to blink hard and squint before I can concentrate properly. It’s only then that I realize that the air in front of the forest is rippling and shimmering slightly. Kind of like a thick and clear liquid moving against glass.

“Is it just me or is the air shimmering?” I find myself saying.

“Yes, the air is shimmering,” Isera replies. “I suspect it’s the wards that they mentioned.”

“Oh good.” I giggle. I’m not even sure why. It wasn’t particularly funny. But I suddenly want to burst out laughing for some reason. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m dying or high on pain killers.

Alistair and Isera glance at me, as if they are wondering the same thing, but neither of them says anything.

Winds beat down over the grasslands as Draven, Lyra, and Galen hover at the edge of the forest. Opening their jaws, they breathe massive torrents of fire straight at the transparent barrier.

The orange and yellow flames crash against it and wash out over the rippling surface.

The three dragons simply torch it again.

The flames light up the night over and over again as they continue their onslaught.

Around us, the rest of the grasslands are silent and still. The bright moon shines down from a clear sky to illuminate the landscape in the brief moments between the waves of fire.

The trees on the other side of the barrier are strong and healthy and covered in bright green leaves, despite the fact that it’s winter.

As if those magical wards that both Nysara and Galen mentioned somehow keep out everything else.

Even the seasons. I watch them, wondering what the Unseelie Court is like.

“How are you holding up?” Alistair suddenly asks.

This time, I do laugh out loud. Raising my eyebrows, I turn to meet his gaze. “See? It’s not such a stupid question after all.”

He winces, and embarrassment flits across his face, as he remembers our conversation back in the Ice Palace.

The first time I snuck down to see them, I asked Alistair that very same question.

His answer had been a bit snippy, but given that it had been a stupid question, I hadn’t minded.

Now, it appears as though he understands why I asked it.

Clearing his throat, he drags a hand through his curly blond hair and then gives me a small nod. I’m not sure if it’s the pain killer potion making me hallucinate, but I swear I can almost see the hint of a smile tug at his lips at my playful jab.

Above us, fire roars through the night in endless torrents.

Isera discreetly wipes her temple where a bead of sweat trickled down.

I watch her, my teeth still chattering and my body almost entirely numb from the cold, wishing that I could feel the heat of those flames too.

She tugs at the collar of her tunic as another wave of fire crashes into the barrier before us.

Both she and Alistair are still wearing those silver garments that the Icehearts made them wear in the castle.

Though I suppose we’re lucky that they were allowed to even wear these fancy tunics and pants rather than the underwear-like garments they were forced to wear earlier.

But still. I can tell that they would much rather be wearing their own clothes.

“What happened to your clothes?”

Once again, the words are out of my mouth before I even know what I’m doing. That pain killer potion sure has loosened my tongue.

Alistair’s expression darkens. “They burned them. The first day we woke up, Jessina and Bane cut our clothes off our bodies and burned them in front of us. Then they tossed us those ridiculous silver undergarments and told us to wear those or nothing at all.”

My heart squeezes. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Dark clouds start gathering in the sky above us.

Storm winds rush through the night, making the clouds spin and ripple violently, as Draven gathers his magic.

A bolt of lightning splits the air. It cracks into the transparent barrier ahead, but the wards merely ripple, as if it had no effect at all.

Draven lets out a deafening roar. I wince, clenching my chattering teeth. My body keeps shaking from the intense cold that now feels like a permanent part of my soul.

Without a word, Alistair and Isera shift closer to me. Even though it does nothing to chase the coldness away, I still appreciate the gesture.

“Is it true?” Alistair eventually asks.

Dragon fire and lightning and winds crash against the wards before us, turning the night into a raging storm of flames and white lightning.

Turning my head with some difficulty, I meet Alistair’s gaze. “Is what true?”

“That Draven planned to make you leave without us and that you forced him to buy you time to get us out.”

I turn my head back so that I’m watching the dark forest before us instead. “Yes.”

For a moment, only the roaring of fire and zaps of lightning from above break the silence.

Then Alistair asks, “Why?”

“I promised that I would get you out.”

“That’s not reason enough. You wasted several minutes you didn’t have getting us out, which caused the Icehearts to catch up, which led to the fight, which in turn is why you’re dying right now.”

I lick my numb lips, trying to figure out how to contradict him.

But the truth is that he is right. If we had left straight away instead of spending several minutes sneaking Isera and Alistair out of the ballroom and then going by foot to the Black Dragon Clan’s barracks instead of simply flying there, we would have been able to leave before they figured out where we were.

“I would have left you,” Isera suddenly says from my other side. Her voice is calm. Simply stating a fact. “If it had been me, I would have left you without looking back.”

Alistair flicks a glance at her before returning his attention to me and lifting his toned shoulders in a shrug. “Me too.”

I laugh. It comes out sounding weirdly genuine. Because for some reason, I really can’t find it in myself to be offended.

“So why didn’t you ?” Alistair presses.

And once again, those damn drugs make me answer before I even know what I’m saying. “Because you’re the first friends I ever made. The only friends I’ve ever had.”

Alistair jerks back, his mouth dropping open, as he stares at me with wide eyes. Even Isera blinks in what looks like stunned shock.

“Why are you—” I begin, but pain suddenly spikes through the back of my skull.

I suck in a sharp breath between my teeth, and the forest sways before me. That searing coldness burns through the back of my head.

And a sudden realization pulses through my whole soul. As clear as day and as natural as the rising sun.

I am going to die.

There is no way that Draven is going to be able to break through the wards around the Unseelie Court before the ice has frozen my body.

This was a desperate hope. A stupid hope.

I knew it the moment that they suggested it back in that small nameless village.

No matter what we do, I will never reach a healer in time.

A steady sort of resignation settles inside me. Because at least this is better than Draven and all of them dying while trying to fight their way back into the Ice Palace.

“What is it?” Isera demands, her sharp gaze assessing me.

With great effort, I force my eyes to focus through the searing pain at the back of my skull. Unclenching my jaw, I drag in a deep breath. “Nothing. I just have a little headache.”

She and Alistair exchange a glance.

Then both of them are on their feet.

“No, don’t—” I begin protesting as they no doubt get ready to signal to Draven.

But before I can even finish the sentence, there is movement inside the forest.

My stomach lurches as a tall man walks out of the shadows and comes to a halt right inside the barrier.

Dragon fire glints in the spiky black crown he wears on his head.

The Unseelie King has come.