Page 28 of Wicked Prince of Frost

A truth for a truth.

“Will the dragon kill me, too?” I ask just above a whisper.

He turns his face away to stare out the window as if fascinated by the passing landscape. “We have a bargain. I will do everything in my power to keep you alive and safe until you succeed or our time has run out.”

Safe.

CHAPTER EIGHT

VIOLET

There isa charge to the atmosphere the moment we are well and truly beyond the border. A gentle hum gradually settles over my skin. It’s familiar. Something so light at first, growing undeniable as we travel farther from the mortal lands.

Magic. I felt it the day I trespassed, but I was too distracted to notice at the time.

I peer out the window, curious to see the fae lands.

We’ve left the forest behind for a vast stretch of land. The nearly full moon is high above, lighting the way and bathing the world in hues of silver and blue. Lights of distant cities appear as clusters of fireflies. There are forests and farms and everything else I’d expect to find in the human lands.

I find it a bit disappointing. It’s pointless to keep us all separated when there is little difference between our lives, and the same crown rules us all.

After a little over an hour more of traveling, we finally arrive at the inn at the edge of a small town the captain of the guard had mentioned earlier.

Other than the buildings retaining more of the natural shapes and textures of the source materials, they are not so different from those in human cities.

The prince offers the option to stay the night and resume in the morning. I decline, saying I would prefer to get the traveling out of the way. Even as exhausted as I am, I don’t think I could sleep a wink.

Everything feels like a waking dream as I’m given a small snack of fruit and sliced meat. Nerves have turned my stomach into knots the further we go, and I only manage to force a few bites down.

The tub is more of a small pool than a tub, carved from a flawless pale stone with a plugged drain in the center, rather than an actual tub. Hot, fragrant water is pumped in through a pipe.

A fae woman washes my hair, then afterward helps me into the dress the prince or one of his people picked out. It’s a beautiful blue with a design of winter foliage stitched onto the corset and the ends of the long sleeves, with a capelet to serve as a collar and shoulder covering, all trimmed with white fur.

I expected royal clothing to be confining and limiting, especially those intended for women, but it’s surprisingly comfortable.

Once I’ve been adequately prepared for my arrival, we resume the journey. Neither the prince nor I attempts to fill the silence.

I blink and sit straighter, wondering when I had drifted off.

Across from me, the prince is asleep with his arms crossed over his chest. His features are relaxed, making him look a few years younger than when he’s awake and scowling. It occurs to me that I don’t know how old he is.

The carriage has come to a stop. Voices come from outside, too muffled to make out what is being said.

When I reach for the curtain to look, the prince’s fingers wrap around my wrist. Our gazes meet and hold as I allow him to lower my arm.

I don’t see what harm there could be in looking, but I am not curious enough to argue.

A light knock sounds on the door a moment before it opens. The prince releases me, drawing back as if burned.

“Your Highness, dinner is prepared and waiting under the pavilion in the Western Court,” Mingi says.

“Thank you, Captain.”

The prince steps out, and this time, he offers me a hand down. I accept the help as I take in the sweeping palace before me.

It is not the towering fortress I imagined but a sprawling estate surrounded by a solid wall.

The moment my feet are planted firmly on the ground, the carriage turns around and vanishes back through the gate.