And without deciding to, moved by horror and shock and the unfathomable power reverberating through Lady’ Imogen’s one-word wail, Kai turned and fled. The monster’s call stole his balance several times more; the walls around them shuddered and screeched, ice showering down until Kai was all but blind. The ground beneath him was shifting and thick with slush, andstill he crawled, climbed,draggedImogen’s dead weight until they emerged into watery sunlight.
“Commander!” someone shouted.
Shadows fell over them, multiple hands gripping and dragging them over the sloped entrance to the tunnels. Kai’s exhausted body collapsed in the snow, but the adrenaline saw him quickly to his knees, then painfully to his feet. Without understanding why, he spun to stare at the shuddering cavern. The voice in his head had fallen quiet.Behind him, the Wielders and gards were snapping at one another, Imogen whimpering quietly in their midst—but the low growl that rose from the tunnel silenced them all. They skittered back, Kai sprinted forward—
And with a scream of tearing ice, the unseen beast finally shut its jaws beneath them.
The mouth to the cavern collapsed.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Adeline
She’d been staring at her untouched needlework for what felt like hours by the time Ger came tearing through the door. Adeline noted the way Avette’s eyes slid, for the first time all afternoon, away from Benan and lit with unfettered interest as her attention came to rest on Ger.
Brute though he was, Benan was hardly blind; he noticed, too, bristling all over.
It might have been amusing if it weren’t for the look on Ger’s face. The one that said he was struggling to draw breath, and fighting not to show it. His hand twitched at his side, pinching the hilt of his sword briefly before he swept into a bow.
“Your Majesty,” he began.
“Do you have news from the Laune?”
Ger’s voice faltered, squeezed out between a tightening throat. “The tunnels collapsed on their way out, Your Majesty. Everyone who went in is accounted for—”
“Thenwhereis my Pearl?” Avette cut in, tone flat even as her black eyes roamed Ger’s form.
“Lady Imogen has it, but—”
“Then you may see Lady Snow to my chambers, at once.”
“Your Majesty, she’s with the Healers.”
Ger’s head was still bent in his bow, speaking to his own snowcaked boots. His cheeks were flushed red with the cold and the pace of his undoubtedly frantic heart. Adeline swore she could hear it, or perhaps that was her own. Perhaps it was Mareda’s. On the other end of the settee, her sister had gone as rigid and breathless as Adeline felt. Pale as the walls of their mother’s frozen parlour. Adeline reached tentatively across the cushions and folded Marry’s trembling fingers in her own as she stared at her best friend. The momentary silence that hung over the room was the only indication that Avette was caught in the grip of that same shock.
“Is she alive?” she asked.
There was something to her voice; concern, without the honeyed tone or theatrical gasps. It was almost authentic. It was almost as though she actually cared.
“She’s alive.Everyone,” he added, eyes flicking sideways at Adeline, “is alive.”
Adeline’s breath returned to her in a rush, but the tension did not leave Ger’s shoulders. She squeezed Marry’s hand;It’s going to be alright,her touch said. She was not sure either of them believed it.
“And the Pearl?”
Mareda’s watery gaze flicked up at the tactless question, more steel in her spine than Adeline had seen since she’d come home. Avette, however, was entirely preoccupied with Ger, her neat, black brow tight.Well, there it is, thought Adeline. The concern was authentic—whether it was concern for Imogen was debatable.
“The Healers won’t allow anyone in to retrieve it until morning.”
“I am notanyone,” said Avette, lethal quiet in every word. “Nor are my Queen’s Gard.”
Ger swallowed, straightened, and met the queen’s eye. Adeline’s heart twitched in solidarity, but he forced a breath and set his jaw.
“The Queen’s Gard have tried, Your Majesty, but we’ve been told any further interference could be a danger to Lady Snow’s life. And knowing how important she is to your plans for the kingdom, we assumed—”
“Fine.” Avette cut him off with a flick of the hand and shifted in her seat; Ger’s shoulders visibly loosened at the turn of her attention. “Return to escort me first thing in the morning.”
“I can escort you, Majesty,” said Benan, sullen as a toddler.
