Page 28 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen (The Heartless and the Wicked #4)

“It’s a huge responsibility.” Her fingernails scraped against the stone window sill as she clenched her hands into fists, using it to steady her weak knees.

“I’m terrified of that ruinous sword, and I’m also terrified that if I use it properly, she’ll be freed instantly.

I don’t want to be responsible for all the death and bloodshed that will come with her awakening. ”

A gentle hand rested on her elbow and when she craned her head up, there was only compassion in Blár’s frigid gaze. He eased her hands into his own, and tightened them. “I will free you from here, Kolfinna. You won’t have to worry about freeing her, or being responsible for all of this.”

“But Blár …” Her lower lip wobbled and she couldn’t keep the uncertainty out of her voice. “She’s … she’s my mother .”

“I know.” He wrapped his arms around her and tucked her in for another embrace. He gently ran his hand through her hair while a sob rattled from her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut and clung to him, her anxieties and desperation taking hold of her. “We’ll leave this place before that happens.”

Moments passed and when Kolfinna finally calmed down, Blár captured her chin and tilted her head so she was staring up at him. “Are you well enough to think about an escape plan?”

She nodded, sniffing and wiping the remnants of her tears away.

“Gunnar plans to …” Blár sighed and shook his head. “It sounds ridiculous, but know that it isn’t my plan, it’s his .”

That piqued her interest. She canted her head to the side as Blár raked a hand through his midnight hair. “What is it?”

“He plans to …” He glanced at the doorway, as if expecting someone to burst through, before he turned back to her.

“He plans to seduce one of your guards. With one—or both—of them distracted, he will have a better chance at gleaning information, learning about your schedule, and helping you escape when it comes the time to do so.”

Out of all the things he could have told her, she was the least prepared for that.

She almost wanted to laugh. Gunnar, the cheerful, dimpled young man, wanted to seduce someone?

Sure, he was handsome enough to play that part, but she wouldn’t have thought him capable of coming up with a plan like that .

Upon seeing her stunned disbelief, Blár continued, “Ivar and him argued for a bit over it. Gunnar told him that Ivar would do a lousy job at it, seeing as how he’s smitten with Inkeri and yet treats her like the plague.

All he’d do is make enemies here, is what Gunnar said.

And Eluf, well, he’s a bit too depressing to do a good job either.

So Gunnar thought it was up to him to do this. ”

“That … certainly sounds like a plan. Not a well thought out plan, but a plan nonetheless.” She couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of it; she also remembered Astrid’s acidic words toward Yrsa.

“But good luck with seducing either of my guards. Astrid hates humans and Yrsa is hard to please. If I had to choose from the two, I think he would have more success with Yrsa, even if she is a stick in the mud most times. I don’t see Astrid changing her heart for a human.

There is just too much hatred and history. ”

Blár lifted his shoulders. “I highly doubt he will succeed, but I thought I should let you in on the plan. We don’t have much more of a plan right now; do you have any ideas of when you can break free from your guards?”

“We’ll have to choose a time when Vidar and his generals aren’t around,” Kolfinna said, chewing on her lower lip.

Blár had defeated Rakel before, but she had no idea how he would fare against Floki, Agnarr, or Freyja—or all of them combined.

She had no doubt in her mind that they were all easily black ranked, in terms of power.

Not to mention Vidar, who seemed unstoppable.

Even if she managed to get away from Yrsa and Astrid, she couldn’t imagine herself getting far with such powerful people close by.

“Blár, we have to be careful. His generals are powerful.”

“Is there any time when they’re not around? I can’t imagine them staying here when their armies are invading the rest of this kingdom.”

She blinked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t know?”

Anxiety knotted in her stomach. “Know what?”

“At this very moment, they’re battling with the military and the Royal Guards. The generals seem to have stopped by here for some reason—because of you, maybe? But I don’t think they’ll stay here for too long. Eventually, they’ll have to return to their posts.”

Kolfinna should have expected as much; Vidar and his armies weren’t here simply for her—their ultimate goal was to take back their lands, and she was an instrument to help in that cause.

But hearing the words out loud—that they were advancing into Rosain and potentially claiming more territory—made her physically sick.

“Are you well?” Blár touched her arm and she found herself nodding.

“Yes …” She exhaled deeply, her thoughts jumbling together. Through it all, a clear idea formed in her mind; an idea she didn’t like one bit. “Maybe we should hold off on my escape plan.”

“Why?”

“I’m in a unique position,” she said. “I’m able to become close to these people. I doubt they will come to trust me, but I can maybe find out some information that can be helpful. Weaknesses of theirs, their plans, how many men they have, what powers they hold—that sort of thing.”

“I don’t like it.” He gritted his teeth together, searching her face for signs that maybe she wasn’t being serious.

But grim determination strengthened her, steeled her resolve.

They didn’t have much of a plan to begin with, and it wasn’t like they could escape right this second, so it would do her good to gather information in the meantime.

“I’ll be fine; remember, they need me. They won’t kill me.”

Blár opened his mouth like he was going to argue, but another small noise in the hallway had them both jerking their attention to the door. He squeezed her arm gently and murmured, “All right. We will talk later.”

She wanted to spend more time with him, to kiss him again, but he was already heading to the window. Without another word, he vaulted himself over the window sill and landed on an ice platform he must have created. Kolfinna rushed to meet him there, her fingers stretching over the stone sill.

“Blár, when will I see you again?”

Her ears twitched and she could hear faint footsteps from afar.

Her heart raced in her chest; she had almost forgotten that the fae’s hearing was better than a human’s.

She prayed that Yrsa was the one guarding her tonight, because she was sure Astrid would have heard everything if she was guarding her.

What if she was listening to their every word and would relay everything to Vidar in the morning?

The thought sent a shiver down her spine.

“Don’t answer,” she said suddenly, reaching forward to grasp his hand, but the runes kept her from touching him. “I will wait for you.”

Blár reached through the runes, his hand capturing hers. “Soon.”

Tears collected in her eyes and she didn’t bother blinking them away. “I will wait.”

“Good night, Kolfinna.” He looked like he didn’t want to leave her, but it only lasted a few fleeting moments before he ducked down and began scaling down the tower. She wanted to push her head through the window opening and watch him descend, but she couldn’t even do that.

The footsteps drew closer to her room, so she rushed back to her bed. She had just thrown the blanket over her chin when she heard Astrid’s voice.

“I’ll take over for the night.”

Silence.

“Yrsa?” A tinge of annoyance laced her tone. “Yrsa.”

“Y-yes?” Yrsa sounded groggy, as if she had just been jerked awake.

“I’ll take over for the night.” Astrid released a sigh of disappointment, or irritation. Kolfinna strained her ears to hear better, but other than the shuffling of footsteps— likely Yrsa leaving—and the creak of her door as Astrid leaned against it, she couldn’t make anything out.

Slowly, her thoughts drifted and she fell fast asleep.