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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.>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.
