Page 92 of Wicked Prince of Frost

“Next time. I promise. In the meantime, take Imugi and do what you can to quell the unrest.”

Imugi glides from the shadows and hovers at Mingi’s shoulder.

There’s a knock on the door half a second before it slides open. Violet enters, flinching when she sees Mingi.

Mingi bows to each of us in turn, then hurries out to do as asked.

For the first time, I notice she has lost weight since she came to the palace. Not quite enough to be worrisome yet.

The toll my siphoning is taking on her is already showing. Until I regain my full powers, there is only so much I can doto heal her. But that only reminds me of what Uncle had said—what the people are saying about her.

Part of me wants to present her when we return for no reason other than to prove their cruel words wrong.

There will be time for that once the curse is broken.

Except then, our bargain will be fulfilled, and she will return home, healthy and alive.Where she belongs.

Which is all the more reason to end this curse as soon as possible.

“You’re early,” I say.

She shrugs one shoulder and smiles warmly. We meet in the middle of the room as if drawn by a magnetic pull.

Since the morning after her fever, dark circles have gradually appeared under her eyes. Shadows that have nothing to do with the long hours of practice or the hours of searching she spends in the library afterward. Not enough for most to notice unless one is looking for such signs.

“Does this mean…?” Violet’s honey eyes shine as bright as ever.

I nod.

In moments, we are outside, moving unnoticed along the back wall of the Northern Court. I lift the hanging vines out of the way and allow Violet to enter first. She moves through the glamour covering the door without hesitation as if seeing past it.

Violet holds my hand as we traverse the passage to the forest beyond the northern wall. I sneak glances at her, trying to discern if she is doing so because she wants to or because my conjured light isn’t enough for her human eyes. We are out before I can decide, and her hand slips from mine.

Mingi arrives at the meeting spot right as we do. He hands over the reins without a word, though his thoughts are clear as day on his face.

I climb into the saddle behind Violet and turn the horse toward the pull in my chest.

When we are a few miles from the castle, I summon a road, crossing large swaths of land in a fraction of the time.

We emerge on the other side, and my stomach sinks when the pull changes. Reorienting, I summon another road. I push the white mare onward as fast as it can run.

Violet is silent during the whole ride. I am so wrapped up in locating the shard that if it weren’t for the warmth of her body, I might not notice her at all.

Again, the direction changes. I curse and call yet another road. Again, and again.

We ride for most of the afternoon, crossing from one corner of the kingdom to the other. The landscape changes from the open tundra plains to forests to rolling hills and valleys to the wide roads that stretch from one town to another.

Each time, it is the same: the moment we are nearly upon it, the pull changes, moving to a completely different direction, farther away.

How is this possible?

This time, when I summon a road, I don’t dare to hope. Yet, disappointment finds me as we come out on the crest of a hill overlooking the small town of Kassia, nestled just northeast of the Shadow Fields.

Before the road vanishes, I know luck has run out.

Rather than changing direction again or gradually fading, it is simply…gone.

Frustration burns sharp and white hot. Violet will end up getting burned if I do not put some space between us. I pull the horse to a stop and dismount, striding away from her, up the hill ahead.