Page 9
Valen
One of the plant-beasts lunges closer, and Tania dances out of its path. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The creature tilts upward, and the center of its flower yawns open to reveal several rows of jagged teeth. Then it hisses .
Because razor extensions weren’t enough?
About knee high, the group of new plants—seven total—chitter all around us.
Kopic kicks at another creature. This time, it dodges, then snaps at his boot, grabbing hold and shaking it like a wild animal. “This is druid magic,” he says. “It has to be Aphelian!”
“She gave us three months,” I insist, yanking Kopic from the snapping jaws of another plant.
The two guards that came with us—I don’t recognize them—are overrun. The first goes down easily, his scream drowned out by the chittering beasts. The second gives more of a fight. He stabs at one of the plants, managing to fell it, but another, slightly larger, comes up behind him. A razor tendril shoots from its maw, spearing the guard through his midsection. Blood trickles from his lips as he collapses.
Kopic swings his blade in an attempt to intimidate the creatures, but they growl and chomp, ignoring the action and moving in closer. “And villains never go back on their word,” he snarls.
That’s a fair point. But I really didn’t think Aphelian would—
The closest plant tries to bypass Tania and get to me, but I kick it away, making sure to keep clear of the razor-sharp petals. It shrieks and rebounds almost immediately.
I extend my hand, forming a wicked, serrated sword of ice. With a grunt, I swing hard and slice the thing in half as it comes for me again. It falls and goes still, then shrivels into nothingness. Along the vine, more bulbs form.
“Fuck! They’re going to keep coming.”
They drop and bloom and…swarm me.
“Move!” I shout, stumbling back and dragging Tania along. The attack doesn’t deter the plants.
Behind us, several Winter Guards charge from the estate. They work together to pry the gates open, and when that doesn’t work, they draw their swords and start hacking at the vines through the metal bars. For every stem they cleave, three more form, twisting through the wrought iron like living chains.
Kopic cuts them down as they swarm, but as quickly as he fells them, more drop and form. The plants snap and chitter at Kopic and Tania, but they aggressively attack me , chomping and herding closer to the tree line, away from the estate.
“They’re only interested in Valen!” Kopic shouts. “We need to get him back inside the gate!”
Back inside the gate…
Kopic doesn’t know this, but that’s the key. That was my deal with Aphelian. She can’t attack within the Winter Court. Which means, even though it wasn’t explicitly said, outside the estate—beyond the gate—is fair game.
I planned to use that against her, but she beat me to it.
Tania dives between me and the plants, swinging her sword and lopping off flowers. One gets through and bolts forward, its petals easily slicing through her leathers and into her thigh.
She cries out, and I grit my teeth through the pain—her pain—trying not to give us away. “Fuck.”
Kopic lets out a feral snarl and swings, taking out a large chunk of the plants. This only makes things worse, as even more crowd in to take their place.
Tania cuts down three more, fighting her way to me. She might be able to concentrate enough to shut me out under calmer circumstances, but fighting splits her focus. Blood runs down her leg, and I feel the wound with every move, but the only choice is to ignore it. We’re being overpowered. “There’s too many of them.”
Kopic growls and decapitates another plant. The newly arrived guards aren’t having any luck dislodging the vines, either. “You’re right,” Kopic says. “The main plant keeps spitting them out. We have to stop that vine at the stalk!”
It’s a great plan, but what if cutting it causes the original vine to divide like the smaller ones? The last thing we need right now is two of them pumping out chomping, bloodthirsty plants.
There’s only one option. It needs to be frozen at the root.
The cold builds inside me, and I bend closer to the ground—but the plants change tactics. Several thick vines wind around my shoulders and torso, keeping me upright and unable to touch the ground. It’s like they can read my fucking mind.
With me subdued, a section of the swarm divides and heads for Tania. She dodges chattering teeth and wicked petals, then dives for the stalk. As she hits the ground, several inches too far from her mark, teeth puncture her good leg. I bite down hard to keep from yelping as she screams and stretches outward, the tips of her fingers falling just short of the vine.
“Shit!”
The ground! Use magic. Send it along the ground.
“But Kopic…”
Her hesitance makes sense. The chance that Kopic sees her use Winter magic is a problem, but the druid magic is an issue, too. She hasn’t broken the tear yet, so anything she can reach is through me. That always comes with the possibility of being tainted by frost.
We’ll tell them it was me. Just do it!
Still, she hesitates.
A handful of the plants are on her, teeth slicing through her leathers in various places. The pain she’s enduring makes it hard to concentrate, and I grit my teeth. I know how she feels. The risk of someone discovering our secret is terrifying. But if we don’t survive this, what will it matter?
There’s no other choice, Tania.
She slams a hand into the dirt and draws on my magic. My whole body chills, and the power flows outward, toward Tania, toward the vine. A thin layer of frost covers the ground. It thickens, turning the vine—and all the plants—to solid ice in seconds.
“What the—” Kopic looks from Tania to me, eyes wide.
“Great job, Valen.” Tania climbs to her feet, doing her best to keep her still-frosty fingers hidden from view. “Without your magic and quick thinking, we’d be done for.”
Kopic just stares, waiting for an explanation neither of us intends to give.
She brushes the dirt from her pants, and I feel each and every stroke as I pivot in an attempt to hide our matching injuries.
The guards rush through the newly freed gate and crowd around me, checking to make sure I’m unharmed, but I shrug them away. “I’m fine.”
I take Tania’s arm and drape it around my neck, forcing her to put her weight on me. “Come on. You need to have those wounds looked at.”
Kopic watches us as we walk away but says nothing.
The nurse in the medical wing finishes tending to Tania’s lacerations and steps out to check on other patients while Daroose snores in the corner, slumped in a chair. Delkin and Benj hover by the bed, quietly watching over her.
Tania is bruised and bandaged but seems otherwise fine. I do my best to cover my own wounds, but it won’t be a concern for long. I’ll heal on my own faster than she will with treatment, so no one is likely to notice.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
She slides off the bed and bends to pull on her boots. Her leathers are trashed and covered in blood, and she winces with every move. The link is quiet again, and no matter how hard I push against that invisible wall, there’s nothing from her.
“Of course I’m okay,” she says. “It was only a few bites and scratches. I’m hardly a baby—unlike some people.”
“Are—are you implying that I complain when I’m injured?” I clutch my chest in mock horror. “I’m offended.”
“What else is new?” She tries to hide another wince. When she shakes it off, she squares her shoulders and stiffens her back. “It was just a few bites.”
“By magically animated plants,” I remind her. “Is there any chance of infection? Toxins?”
Tania rolls her eyes. “I said I’m fine.”
“Well, then is there a possibility it will give you a sense of humor? Maybe cure your inability to have fun?”
“You have enough fun for the both of us.” She stands and sheathes her sword, then grabs one of the two daggers sitting on the table beside the gurney.
“And you carry enough weaponry for the entire Winter army.”
I grab the other dagger as she reaches for it. It’s from a set I gave her a few weeks ago. The blade is forged from a rare green metal, and the handle is made of carved marble etched with vines. I commissioned a merchant in the city to make them the day after we returned.
She takes the blade from me and sheathes it inside her boot, then looks around at the group of us. “First a tree in the throne room, now attacking plants?”
“If you’re sure of your decision, Valen,” Delkin says, “then we need to send out the emissaries. Now.” He glances from me to Benj. “Aphelian will stick to her timeframe—”
Benj laughs at his brother. “I hate to be the one to say this, Del, but did you miss the fact that she just attacked us? She’s already gone back on her word.”
“Technically, she hasn’t,” I say.
Benj snorts. “She—”
“Valen’s right.” Delkin sinks into the chair beside Tania’s bed. “As long as she doesn’t attack us outright, inside the gates, then she’s within the confines of the agreement. This attack never made it to the actual estate. And, if I had to guess, that three-month timeframe is for her benefit rather than ours. She’s up to something far worse than revenge.”
There’s still plenty of harm she can do without outright attacking us. There are hundreds of Fae in the village at the bottom of the mountain—outside the estate. All unaware. All vulnerable.
“She’s trying to force my hand,” I say, glancing at the door to make sure we’re still alone. “To see if I’ll act against our deal.”
From the corner, Daroose snores loudly. Benj picks up a package of bandages from the medical cart beside the bed and throws it at him, jarring him awake. Daroose snorts and blinks, looking around. “What did I miss?”
“The council will meet in an hour to decide who’s going,” I tell everyone. “The emissaries will leave at first light.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9 (Reading here)
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59