Page 148 of Wicked Prince of Frost

The ash and rust colored demon shakes off the rest of the ice shell and joins the shadouk. Both watch me from identical red eyes.

My uncle’s fingers blacken and stretch, turning into talons. “Before the first kings became kings, they sought out demons and bonded to them. Thus, the fae were born into this world.” Scales, soot gray and coal red, break out across his face and neck. The charred veins spread, growing and cracking hisscales as they pulse beneath his skin. “I realized that if I were to claim my birthright, I must follow in their footsteps.”

I flick a glance at Violet. The ice is thin. It’s only a matter of minutes before it’s gone entirely.

“But upon my return…” His breathing becomes labored, the register of his voice dropping two octaves as he continues, “My dear brother left me no choice—I had to force his hand.”

His arm transforms into that of a dragon. The shadouk takes a jerky step closer. Then another. Some of the ashy scales flake off.

I flex my fingers, feeling my magic spark and dance between them.

“If he had abdicated, then your mother could have admitted to loving me as I knew she did. But he refused—it’s his fault she died!” One eye turns pitch black, with a red slit pupil cutting through the center. The other eye is bloodshot, though it remains human.

“You are delusional. She loved my father. They were happy together.”

What stands before me no longer resembles one of the fae. It is a horrific homunculus made from parts of a dragon and a man, twisted and fused together.

One side of his mouth is stretched wide, nearly to his ear. Razor-sharp teeth push out, sending the others falling to the floor. His left arm is too long and bent in such a way that it appears to be snapped in half, while the opposite is that of the guardian he claimed against the will of the saints.

There is a crack behind me.

Finally.

I drop to one knee as the last of the ice evaporates.

“Enough of this. It is time to send you to the Otherworld and reunite you with your family.” The transformation completes, ripping through him as the grotesque dragonovertakes the rest of him. With a screech that splits the air, he ascends.

Mingi, Iseul, and Imugi reappear in the doorway, stopping short when they see the dragon.

Our eyes meet. I dip my chin. A sign that no matter how things play out, I trust them to know and carry out my will. Then, I send my power into Violet with every ounce of strength I possess.

The violent force of the shadouk’s tail strikes me in the chest, sending me flying. It circles, preparing to swoop again.

Imugi moves in front of me. They would risk themselves knowing they cannot win.

“Protect them,” I say.

My bonded demon, and life-long friend, turns their sorrowful eyes on me. There is no time for argument or hesitation. They bow their head, then cut through the air to do as I ask.

Knowing those I love are safe frees me to fight this battle. I call my dragon to the surface. The transformation is seamless—a sigh of magic tingling over flesh.

I glance at Violet once more. Her lashes flutter open. She sighs. Then her eyes close, and she stills.

No…

It had worked, but only for the briefest second. Now I cannot be with her in these last moments. I can only take some small comfort that the others can offer some comfort as she slips into the Otherworld. If only I had another minute, I could have saved her.

Rage bubbles up, and I turn it on the one who ripped her from me.

Cutting through the air, I aim for the shadouk. My talons pierce his scales and dig in. I drag him with me, soaring higher, through the ceiling and into the night.

He struggles against me as I heave him toward the Maldan Ice Wall until nothing but darkness and barren tundra surrounds us. I fling him, letting the points of my claws rip into muscle and bone as he tumbles into the frozen earth.

Half-clotted blood stains the snow. But the shadouk still lives. He leaps up, taking flight.

We collide. Snarling. Biting. Shredding. Neither of us is willing to concede.

This will only end when one, or both, of us dies.