Page 5

5

BESSA

Eska bounded down the icy alley, her dusky fur ruffled in the breeze. Her long red-gold tail with a black tip swished back and forth as she ran. So far, she’d managed to avoid all human detection by slipping behind various objects, a slop bucket, a broken wheelbarrow, and a frozen pile of icicles stuck upright from where Noll, the Dancing Snowflake’s innkeeper, had no doubt stomped his boots before entering his inn and sent them spearing into the ground.

I, however, was beginning to get annoyed.

“I have things to do, Eska! In case you don’t remember, I’m the queen now.”

Her little black paws skidded to a stop, but she wasn’t stopping to chide me. She stared at a shop, her ears forward and flicking with intensity. A sharp bark escaped her mouth.

Furtively checking each direction, I scooped up my fire fox kit and arranged her around my neck. “Shh. You’re supposed to be a scarf, you know. A dead one.”

For my cheek, she nipped my ear once and then lay flat, instantly bringing added warmth. I stroked her tiny black nose before giving more thought to the shop. Why did she want me to come here? What was special about it?

It looked like a regular candle shop, one that had been here for years, albeit with an odd golden hue it didn’t possess under the previous chandler.

Everyone had long since packed their thatched homes and shopfronts with thick layers of snow for insulation. They hardly needed maintenance, as Frostvale never unfroze. If one trekked up the mountain and looked down, which I had many, many times, the buildings covered the whole valley in translucent pearls.

I started at the top, examining the candle shop. A thick fringe of icicles hung from the roof, and the snow was packed hard around everything except the door. It seemed exactly like the old one—but wait. My brow furrowing, I moved closer.

Eska yipped once and lifted her nose, her whiskers twitching as she inhaled deeply. “You’re right,” I murmured, realizing what she was getting at. The stench of rendered beef fat was missing. The new chandler wasn’t using tallow for his candles, but even more perplexing was the fact he’d managed to scrub away the smell after centuries of use. There was something else, too. Eska was positively vibrating, she was so excited. I could tell she wanted nothing more than to jump down and run in circles, chasing her tail and rubbing her chin against everything.

Carefully, I pulled my glove off and stretched out my fingers. I put my palm against the wooden door. It was cold, as expected, but still unreasonably… golden. Hmmmm.

Glancing over both shoulders again, I leaned my ear and cheek against the door. Completely quiet. It shouldn’t be strange, but it was. I could feel something. I had the strangest yanking sensation just under my belly button, as if a fishhook had embedded itself there and wanted to pull me forward. It felt utterly irresistible inside, and it made me desperate to get in. I wanted to bang on the door and pry the chandler from whatever workroom he had ensconced himself in.

Patience, I reminded myself, curling my fingers into my palm and backing away. Patience had always served me well. I would do a little research, learn more about this new chandler, and then return. One thing was certain. He would have a lot of explaining to do when I came back for a candle.

I tapped my finger on my chin. A show of force, perhaps. It worked for most. I could ask my brother Wyot to don the old Frostguard armor he’d found in the dungeons and accompany me. He’d been a soldier under the king, but soured on it as a profession once the realities of war hit. He continued on for me, and I was forever grateful for that, but even I couldn’t convince him to join my retinue as the head of my personal guard. Actually, I couldn’t convince anyone, so I had nothing beyond myself and Eska for protection. As the Glacial Council had informed me at our first meeting, there wasn’t a budget for a personal guard, and anyway, there were no more pretenders to the throne, and furthermore, who would want it?

They had a very good point.

I gave one last sharp inhale, breathing in the rich scents of the candle shop, before turning on my heel and making the trek back up the hill to the castle. I had some books to find and a chandler to surprise.