She lowered her staff and smiled.“Consider yourself realized. The gods have recognized you as the next true heir to the throne of Wilheim. You are worthy of being called prince and one day king.”
The magic in her garnet stare went out like a flame, leaving me cold and utterly raw.
“Noc?” Leena went to cup my face between her hands and paused. Slowly, she fingered a lock of my hair. One that was now undeniably shock-white instead of raven-black. Unease stirred in my chest. She’d always known me as Noc. What would she think of this frozen shell?
Swallowing the strange thickness in my throat, I met her probing stare. “It can’t be that bad.”
Leena blinked. And then she laughed. Real and honest and true. Reaching her arms around me, she locked her hands behind my neck and pressed a solid kiss against my cheek. “No. It’s not bad at all. I like the real you.”
And so did Zane. The image of a snake surfaced in my mind. It looked at me with knowing, gleaming eyes, and I shivered. I didn’twantthe throne. I didn’t want to be the Frozen Prince of Wilheim. I wanted to be Noc, guild master of Cruor. Leena’sanam-cara. I wanted a life entirely separate from the one I used to live. And yet, no matter how hard I fought against my blood, it seemed the gods and Zane couldn’t be swayed.
Meeting Leena’s gaze, I brushed my knuckles along her jaw. I’d always told her I was dangerous. But being Aleksander Nocsis Feyreigner was so much more than that. It wasn’t just her life on the line, it was the Council’s. All of Hireath. Cruor too. These allies of mine… They were in danger simply because they knew who I was, not because they agreed to support my claim. But none of that mattered to Varek, and the moment he laid eyes on me, identity revealed, he’d come after us with the force of a god.
And there’d be no stopping him.
Twenty-Three
Leena
Before, Noc had been a vision. But now… It was hard to focus when he stood so near. The coal of his former self had been shined down to the diamond inside, and he had the presence of a frozen god. White hair so bright it burned against the backdrop of the snow. Ice-blue stare jagged and sharp. The high angles of his face were the same, but there was something about him that was crisper. As if the glamour of the ring had sheathed not only his hair and eyes, but the true beauty of his appearance. The lithe muscles racing down his neck called to me. I wanted him strewn out beneath me so I could trace my fingers over his skin. Discover if all the grooves and contours were the same or heightened like the glass cut of his jaw.
“Leena.” Oz nudged me with his shoulder. “I know it’s a shock, but it’s time.” With a thick finger, he pointed to the swollen moon above.
“Right.” My skin flushed as heat touched my cheeks. “Stand back. I’m not familiar with an Azad, so it’s best if you leave this to me.”
My assassins retreated to a boulder several paces away and waited, their gazes trained expertly on me. Settling into a crouch, I focused on becoming one with the environment. If Azads were as flighty as Gaige insinuated, no manner of offering would summon them if I couldn’t keep my presence muffled. I’d save the rosewood glow until one went after the fruit, and then it was on with the charm and off with Noc’s oath.
My symbol throbbed with anticipation beneath my glove. Hope. We were so close to ending this. So close to giving ourselves the first real chance at peace we’d glimpsed since our story began.
Time oozed by under the weight of the moon. White light reflected in tiny flecks across the snow, giving the ground a glimmering, diamond-like appearance. Unmoving, I waited, exhaling into the lip of my coat and obscuring the fog of my breath. Finally, when it was nearly too painful to continue to stare at the snowy expanse, my gaze caught on a porcelain form that lacked the same reflective sheen as the earth. I thought I was still before, but I turned to stone in that moment. The Azad had appeared.
Beady eyes the color and shape of pearls stared at me from behind a whiskered nose. Round ears wiggled in time with its swiveling head, and the small creature scampered up the stone. For a moment, it did nothing except sniff the ruska fruit. It sat on its hind legs, inspecting its prize with cautious paws. Then tilted its snout toward the circle of gems and nudged one.
My brow furrowed. Had I not arranged everything according to Yazmin’s instructions? Mind reeling, I recounted the ingredients in my mind. Everything lined up. And yet, the beast seemed unconvinced by my display. A sliver of panic wormed through my gut. If I kicked on the charm now, before it tasted the fruit, would the taming work? Or would it fail? My fingers twitched. Finally, the Azad dug its large front teeth into the sticky hide of the ruska fruit.
Relief raced through me as rosewood light erupted from my hand. The Azad stilled, but didn’t fight my charm. A connection started to form between us, and I nearly yelped for joy.
But right as his tail curled around his body, a strangled gasp pierced the air behind me.
Whirling in place, I barely managed to keep the charm intact. Oz and Kost had leaped a few feet away, and their panicked gazes were stuck on an immobilized Noc. Silky threads wrapped around his arms and legs, cocooning him in place. Unleashing a fury of shadows, Noc struggled against the trap and sent tendril after tendril lashing against the cage to no avail.
“Leena!” Oz cried, frantic. “Is this the Azad? What’s happening?”
I shot a quick glance to the stupefied beast still hovering over the fruit. “No, I don’t think so.”
An enraged howl bellowed from Noc. Heavy skittering shook the ground as a beast crested over the closest mountaintop—a creature I’d never seen before in person but only heard rumors of from other Charmers. Silken threads dripped from her hands and leglike appendages at her waist. She shot them directly at Noc, enveloping him in sticky threads he wouldn’t have the ability to cut. He writhed in her web, hands already immobilized, and tried to disappear into the shadows. But her cocoon held strong.
My mouth went dry. “A Fabric Spinner.”
A woman’s torso covered in errant webbing ended in the bulbous abdomen of a monstrous spider. Wild, matted black hair draped down her shoulders, and gray skin bled into an inky black carcass. Eight legs covered in wiggling hairs dug into the mountainside, and more webbing exploded from her hands.
But I was less concerned with the rapidly growing cocoon around Noc and more frightened by the dewy strand extending from the protruding spinner at her rear.
“Sever the back strand!” The charm beneath my hand wavered, and I cursed, diverting more power back to the beast at my feet. The one we needed to save Noc. Without an Azad, we’d be back to square one.
Oz and Kost lunged the instant I spoke. Shadows flung to their sides and carried them upward toward the beast. A throaty cackle much too high and entirely too grinding ruptured from the beast’s throat, and she leapt into the air. The thread at her rear reacted, yanking her backward with breakneck speed into the dark expanse of the night. And Noc’s suspended body went with her—a trailing, snarling mess that went limp after his head smacked against a boulder.
And then they were gone.
