Everything seemed to glisten and glow in the dim light of afternoon. The silent hush of snow falling illuminated our backdrop as we followed the path to the ravine and set off down the hill. We’d fought a skirmish with Myst and her Hunters here, not all that long ago. It was slow going, but this time, the Shadow Hunters weren’t on the other side, and we could focus on making it down the hill in one piece.
My thoughts drifted ahead.
I was to be the Winter Queen. That seemed so preposterous on one hand, and yet…and yet…it felt like the snow and ice had become my unending home. And from now on, it would be. Winter would be my realm, and I would guard and caretake it like Lainule had been guarding the realm of Summer. I glanced over at Rhiannon and Chatter. So many times we’d joked about being amber and jet, fire and ice. And now it was true.
She looked so much stronger than just a few weeks back. Adversity often brought out the best in people. It formed character. And she was looking strong and confident and determined.
So deep was I in my thoughts that I did not see a stone in my path, and as I tripped over it, I went rolling down the ravine for a good ten feet before one of the guards managed to put a stop to my impromptu tumble.
“Are you hurt, Lady?” He offered his arm.
I took it, righting myself. After a brief check, I shook my head. “I’m fine. But you don’t have to call me Lady…I’m simply Cicely.”
He smiled softly. “Not for much longer, Lady. You are the Winter Queen–elect.” And with that reminder, which also felt like a gentle rebuke, he let go of my elbow and returned to breaking the path through the snow.
I looked over at Grieve. He’d asked me to be his queen, when all of this was over. I’d never quite thought about what that would mean. Now, I began to get a true glimpse into what the future would be like.
Summoning up a deep breath, I forced away thoughts of the years to come. We had to get through this mission first. We had to destroy Myst before any plans could come to fruition. And so I focused on putting one foot in front of another, in the silent march down the ravine to the stream below.
We reached the frozen stream but it would not be able to hold up those of us not of full Fae blood, who could simply glide over the ice. But the warriors picked the rest of us up and, with the blurring speed with which they could run, we found ourselves on the other side of the creek, dry and ready to press on.
Up the other side of the ravine we went, the silent snows so deep around us that should we break through, we could sink to our chests. Grieve took my hand as we walked, and the warmth of his palm in mine shored me up. Whatever happened, we had each other, and Myst no longer owned him, though he would never be the Cambyra Fae he once had. He was a new breed and would rule as king over a new kingdom.
I watched as Lainule and Wrath glided over the snow, dreading the knowledge that they would be fading away into whatever lands they were headed to. She turned, as if she could read my thoughts, and whispered something into the slipstream. I stopped and closed my eyes, listening.
Cicely Waters, it was foretold that you would be my savior and you would be my doom. Do not despair—it is the way of the world, it is my destiny. I am content and will be even more so after we rout the Mistress of Mayhem from my barrow. Wrath and I will live out our lives in the obscurity and safety of the Golden Isle. A smile crossed her face before she turned back to the path.
A good two hours longer, and we were at the barrow. Between twin oak trees, a portal stretched. We would have to pass through it in order to be fully within the realm of the Indigo Court. Only this time, I would not be going in with Kaylin, dreamwalking in the shadow realm.
We approached the towering trees, bare of leaves. The crackle of energy raced between them and I sucked in a deep breath. This was it. We were here.
We waited for the rest of the warriors, the Consortium, and the Wilding Fae to catch up with us. They converged from various parts of the woods, reporting only two Shadow Hunters out and about, and now dead.
“Then we pass through. Remember: once wakened, they are deadly. We will have a short time in which to catch as many by surprise as we possibly can. We don’t know if they’ve had spies out there watching us. However, the light-rage will still affect them, even if they’ve been warned.” Wrath stared at the portal.
“My husband, let us enter and reclaim our home.” Lainule’s voice was light, even as her eyes shimmered and flashed. “Today, we retake what is ours.”
He motioned to the warriors. All but twelve took up their place in front of us. Next came Ysandra and her crew, then us. The rest of the guards moved in back of us to watch the rear. Without further ado, the front line plunged into the portal, and we all followed. This was it. We were going in.
As we entered the portal, two things became apparent. Some of the Shadow Hunters were waiting for us. And they were in a frenzy. The light-rage held them in thrall, so they were in terrible pain, which made them only that much more angry. They fell on the guards with horrific screams, but the warriors were ready and the fray was on. While the Fae guard took care of them, the rest of us slid out from behind and moved over to the barrow.
Grieve motioned for us to follow him, and so Kaylin, Peyton, Rhia, Chatter, Wrath, Lainule, and I plunged into the barrow. I motioned to Ysandra to bring several of her witches and she nodded, trailing behind us, along with a handful of the Fae warriors.
The barrow was familiar—we’d rescued Peyton from here not that long ago—but it was a confusing labyrinth of tunnels, and there was no way I could remember where we’d been. Grieve, however, seemed to know directly where we were going. And so did Lainule and Wrath. As we passed chambers, several of the guards split off and we heard muffled screams as they slit the throats of the sleeping Shadow Hunters.
And then we were in front of a large chamber door, and Lainule let out a low laugh. “The halls of my barrow ran red, and so shall they again this day.” She slammed open the door.
There, a hive of Shadow Hunters awaited, and I could see on the other side of them, Myst, a pained look on her face as she barked out orders. I could not hear what she said, though. The slipstream was running wild here, and the screams of pain from the light-rage were ricocheting like bullets through the room.
The room became a blur of blades and blood. I found myself facing one of the Vampiric Fae and had no more than dodged one blow when one of the guards shoved me out of the way and took my place. As I stumbled back, I caught a glimpse across the room of Myst. She was heading toward a door behind her. I dodged through the battle, through the clashing blades and gnashing of teeth and spraying blood, managing to skirt the room until I came to the door.
As I peered down the hall, I could see her at a distance, with two of her guards. And then Grieve and Kaylin were with me, and we were racing after her. I couldn’t let her get away—couldn’t let Lainule down.
At the sound of footsteps on our heels, I glanced over my shoulder. Luna, Rhia, and Chatter had noticed where we were headed and they were behind us. We raced through the passage, the glowing tiles shimmering as we passed, for what seemed like hours. As we began to make headway on Myst and her Shadow Hunters, she broke through another door and we could see the glimmer of the outdoors shining in.
We slammed through the door after her and spread out, trying to circle her. The Shadow Hunters began to transform and I did the only thing I could think of doing—I summoned the wind.Ulean was with me. Call the hurricane…it will knock them off their feet.
And so I raised my hands to the sky and summoned the winds to sweep through me. As the raging gusts began to swirl around me, I dropped my head back, laughing.
“Do not run. You will not survive my storm.” I turned toward Myst. “Surrender now, and we will make it easy on you.”
She cocked her head, her face a mask of pain as the light hit her eyes. “Do you really think I’d surrender to you? I have no intention of letting you capture and kill me.” And as she spoke, she began to grow, stretching up and over the woods, shimmering in a cerulean shadow.
I cast out, grabbing hold of the winds and sending them swirling out in front of me as I began to move forward. Trees began to shiver and, in a fury, I uprooted a small one and sent it hurtling toward one of the Shadow Hunters, hitting him square on with it. His partner began to howl and moved back, eyeing me cautiously.
Myst hissed, reaching out with one long, thin arm. “I am the Queen of Winter, not you, my girl. You will not usurp me, long-lost daughter of mine. We are not done yet.” The snow began to pour so thick and fast we could barely see. The flakes caught in the vortex of wind I was spinning, blinding the world, clouding it with a fury of white.
Cicely, let go of the storm. Myst can traverse a blizzard and while you will soon become the Queen of Winter, right now she has the power to command the weather in a way that you don’t.
I didn’t want to listen to Ulean, but I knew I had to. I pushed one final gust toward the last place Myst had been standing and then released the winds. As they died down, I glanced around anxiously. The blizzard was raging now and it was impossible to see beyond my outstretched hand.
Is she here? Where is she?
She is gone. Ulean let out a long sigh. She has vanished for now. The other Shadow Hunter went with her.
The snow began to die down, and we were standing there alone but for one crushed Shadow Hunter. And Myst was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 21
“We lost her.” I stared at the woods. “She’s gone.”
“There’s nothing we could have done. But we can help back in the barrow.” Kaylin shook his head. “We will find her again. Or…she will find us.”
“He’s right.” Grieve put his arm around my waist and turned me toward the barrow. “Myst will not forget that she has you to thank for this. And she will wish to return the favor. We are in far more danger now than before. But come, let us return to the others and see if they need our help.”
As we reentered the passage, I tried to put the sting of defeat out of my mind and hoped that the others had had better luck than we had. We hurried back to the main chamber, shutting the door to the outside behind us and locking it. Myst might’ve been able to break through, but Luna sang a charm to trigger an alarm should the door be opened from the outside. It was the best we could do until someone with stronger powers could get to it.
When we reached the main chamber again, I feared what I would see but took the lead anyway and marched into the room. There was plenty of carnage, but it looked like our warriors were on the winning side this time. The room was slick with blood and dead Shadow Hunters. And a handful of our own, as well.
Lainule and Wrath looked up from where they knelt over one of the warriors. He was dying, and as Lainule murmured something in his ear he closed his eyes and let go.
We stood, waiting. A group of guardsmen came in from the passage leading into the main chamber. They were covered with blood—and some were hurt—but they knelt before Lainule.
“Your Majesty, we have routed the enemy. The barrow is clear. There are still more outside, but we’ve sent word to the realm of Summer for more volunteers to come scour the woodland and find the rest. We killed over three hundred Shadow Hunters this day, and more.”
Lainule smiled softly. “You have done well. Have my guard comb the forests. Be cautious, Myst is still on the run.” She looked over at me.
“We could not catch her. She is still out there, but she had only one Shadow Hunter with her. She’ll likely gather the remnants of her people to her before she makes another attempt. Is there a way to guard the woodland so she can’t summon new recruits?”
Ysandra, who looked weary beyond belief, nodded. “We can set a ring of wards around the Golden Wood, but it will be a great task. We need a treaty with the Queen of Rivers and Rushes before we can set to such an undertaking.”
Lainule let out a small laugh. “I will make such a treaty as one of my last acts here.” She turned to Rhiannon and me. “You must undergo your initiations as soon as possible, so that Wrath and I may take our places with the others who have reigned and passed out of this realm.”
I stared at her. “It’s all happening so quickly.”
“And so it must. There is no time to process the journey, owl-daughter. If we had time, I would willingly give you more. But so it must be…and so it will be.” And with that, she dropped to one of the divans that had escaped being splattered with blood. “I already feel my power beginning to wane. Night is coming for me, at least here in this world.”
Lainule and Wrath sent us back to the mansion for the night while their people cleaned the barrow. Myst had vanished, and no one knew where she was. Ysandra and her squad from the Consortium returned to Lannan’s estate with us. We reached the gates late—and apparently every vampire on the premises was out looking for us.
As we wandered through the doors, blood-soaked, cold, and exhausted, Lannan was standing there, waiting. He stared at me, his gaze holding me fast. After a moment, he scanned the rest of the crowd.
“Get them clean clothing, showers, and food. Cicely, you will attend me in my office when you are warm and clean and dressed.” And with that, he turned and exited the room.
I didn’t have the energy to argue. So much had gone on that I almost welcomed the chance to sit and talk about it with someone who wasn’t entirely involved. Grieve glowered, but I just shook my head as we trudged up to my room.
“Don’t even go there. Just don’t. All I want to think about right now is a hot bath and clean clothes, and to feel like maybe, for just an hour, we can breathe without something else happening.” I kissed him on the nose, then stripped off my clothes.