Heart of Ice (The Snow Queen #1)(10)

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

Rakel opened her mouth to say more, but she jumped when Captain Halvor appeared in front of her, plucking the dagger from the villager’s fingers.

“Idiot.” He head-butted him, and the man went down, held up only by his arm.

When Rakel released the wall, he hit the ground with a splat and was out cold.

“Are the invaders gone?” Oskar asked, stepping up to Rakel’s side. Although his words were light, his eyes swept the crowd with an unusual intensity.

“They fled the mountain,” Halvor answered.

“Do you think they’ll return?” Oskar asked.

“For certain, though I do not believe it will be for the villagers, nor do I believe they will come alone.”

Rakel clamped her hands around her pale hair, attempting to keep it from flapping wildly. “You think they will seek me out.”

The captain said nothing and eyed the villagers.

Few celebrated like Gerta and Kai. Most watched Rakel with wary eyes, murmuring and whispering to each other as they pressed away from her.

Though she was loath to, Rakel nudged the little girl away. “Is your grandmother safe?”

Gerta’s smile dimmed. “She didn’t get hurt, but the soldiers scared her.”

“Real bad,” Kai added.

“I’m fine, children. There is no need to act as if I am tottering upon death’s doorstep,” someone chuckled. A pudgy, elderly woman with a button nose, gray hair, and beautiful, vivid blue eyes stepped out of the house. “My name is Hilda—this little trouble-maker is my granddaughter. Princess, I thank you for saving us. No one else could have driven them out.”

Rakel blinked, surprised. “You’re welcome.”

“While I cannot repay your generosity, I ask that you would stay in my home for the night.”

“It is getting awfully late to travel,” Oskar said glancing at the pink sky. “Do you want to go get your men, Halvor, or should I?”

“No,” Rakel said. She cleared her throat and repeated in a calmer tone, “That is unnecessary. I mean to return home tonight.”

Oskar stared at her. “You want to drive in the coldness of the night instead of sleep in a warm bed?”

“The path is clear, and with the moon shining on the snow, one can see clearly,” Rakel said.

“I won’t deny that, but are you certain?” Oskar asked.

Some villagers shifted behind her. “I am certain.”

“Halvor, help me reason with her,” Oskar said.

“As you wish, Princess,” Captain Halvor said, bending in a bow.

“You two have picked the most inconvenient time to join forces. Halvor, I’m going to hold you responsible if she catches a cold or chill,” Oskar sighed.

A chill? Me? In spite of our many years together, he has odd notions of my supposed humanity.

“At least allow me to give you food for your journey,” Hilda—Gerta’s grandmother—said.

“If you are willing, we would have you accompany us, Mistress,” Captain Halvor said.

“To watch the children?” she guessed.

Captain Halvor inclined his head.

“Very well. If you can haul my old bones up the mountain, I have no objections—though I still insist you let me gather food.”

Captain Halvor turned expectantly to Rakel.

Rakel blanched when a villager shifted his grip on the sword he had swiped from one of the fleeing invaders. “If you wish. I will wait for you at the sleighs,” she said, moving to get her back to a wall.

“I’ll see to Granny and the children. You’ll go with the princess, Captain?”

Captain Halvor nodded. “If you will follow me, Princess.”

Rakel trailed the captain out of Vefsna with relief, glancing over her shoulder. The villagers said nothing in parting, and they watched her go with grim mouths and lowered brows.

Sadness threatened to stab her heart, but Rakel shook it off. I should be used to it by now, after all these years. Perhaps, for once, the terror everyone beholds me with will work to my advantage, and the invaders will leave Ensom alone.



Farrin Graydim tapped his fingers on his desk as he listened to a soldier repeat his report of the attack on Vefsna.

“She’s like, like an avalanche, sir,” the soldier reported, shivering. “She’s wild…and powerful. I ain’t never seen raw power like hers.”

“She killed no one?” Farrin asked, struggling with the idea.

“Yes, sir. Our only casualty was Major Efisco, and one of her guards killed ’im.”

Farrin narrowed his slate-colored eyes. What sort of powerful magic user doesn’t kill their enemy?

“Did you know Verglas had a pet magic user, sir?”

Farrin made a note on a scroll. “No, though I heard rumors.”

The soldier hesitated a moment when he didn’t continue. “About what, sir?”

“The Princess of Verglas locked in a tower of ice on a mountain peak,” Farrin said. Was King Steinar hiding her from us? Though my scouts returned with stories and local legends, they never collected a solid report of her.

“Sounds like a fairy story, sir, but…”

Farrin, sensing his soldier’s unease, leaned forward. “Yes?”