Page 48 of Wicked Prince of Frost

Her eyes narrow as a slow, vicious smile curls the corners of her mouth. “Never do that again,” she says in a low voice.

A twig snaps, breaking the tension between us, demanding our attention. I spot the source—a runt of a demon diving into the nearest bush to hide.What in the Otherworld are they doing out when the sun is up?

Violet inches toward them, bending to peer through the leaves.

I send a jolt of power toward the wild thing. It scurries away with a yelp, exposing itself in the process. “That is no harmless little forest creature—that was a demon.”

She frowns, looking as if she watched me kick a bunny. “It wasn’t doing anything bad.”

“It’s a demon. All demons are dangerous, Violet.”

“Imugi is a demon.”

“Allwildandimproperly bondeddemons,” I clarify through gritted teeth.

A sharp pain pierces my skull, taking me to my knees. My ears ring, drowning out the world.

Violet’s voice distorts, quieting as if she is far away.

When the pain fades, it leaves behind a tug in my chest.

“Joon? Joon, what’s wrong?” Violet’s warm hands hold my face.

It calls to me.

Finally….

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

VIOLET

Joon lurches into motion,leaping into the saddle, then reaches down and unceremoniously drags me onto the horse behind him.

I gasp as the road we took here dissipates in a glittering, whisp of smoke. Another unfurls in its place, turning in a different direction. Like the first, it blends in, as if it has always been a part of the natural landscape.

“Hold on to me,” he says.

That’s all the warning I get. The horse bounds forward at a speed that nearly sends me tumbling off. I fling my arms around his waist and hold tight.

The wind whips through my hair and sends my cloak billowing out behind us. The only thing keeping me from freezing is the warmth coming from Joon as his body shields me from the worst of it. But even that’s not enough to keep the numbness out of my fingers as we continue to race through the forest.

“What did you mean by ‘timeis short’?” I ask.

“Like you, my time in this world is limited.” He pauses. His chest expands with a deep breath. “Unless I break the curse.”

His honesty takes me by surprise. I tighten my arms around his waist, pressing the side of my cheek to his back. “Joon….”

We break out of the trees onto a sprawling expanse of land with mountains bordering the east and south. To the north lies the giant ice wall, which stretches from horizon to horizon.

Joon pulls the horse to a stop. Towns and cities are spread out across the valley. I can even see Firnhallow from here.

He searches the sprawling landscape, reorienting, homing in on a single, massive tree, standing alone at the top of a hill about a mile ahead. Curling roots become a wide trunk that twists upward into long branches that reach skyward. Newly grown leaves bask in the sun to soak up every bit of warmth they can get. Even from here, I can tell it’s no ordinary tree.

“What is that?”

“That is the Guardian Tree. The fae used to come here to send wishes and prayers to the Guardians of past kings and queens,” he says. Then quietly, he adds, “Not all were like the dragon you know and hate.”

The fae road we are on shifts, changing direction toward the tree. Then we are off again, this time at an easy canter.