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Changelings. “Fuck!” Morozko roared, pulling his linen shirt on, then his doublet. The seal had already broken, or at the very least, weakened enough to let a few slip out. In the past few days, when he wasn’t with Eirah, he’d tried sacrificing a lamb, a calf, and a bloody cow, yet nothing worked. His visions were growing more vivid, indicating they were about to come to fruition.
Xezu grimaced. “I take it you know what I speak of?”
He shot an icy glare his way. Of course he did! He’d only seen it over and over… “Frosteria is about to change, and I don’t know what that means, Xezu. If it’s for the better or worse.” Morozko yanked his trousers on, then shoved his feet into his boots.
“What of Eirah?” his steward ventured to ask and grabbed the red cape hanging on the coat rack. Xezu then stepped behind Morozko and draped it over his shoulders.
He recalled his vision, played it over in his mind, and homed in on the moment she leaned her forehead against his. Morozko’s heart galloped wildly, and it had little to do with the news. No, it was the fluttering in his chest, the terror he experienced knowing thatshewas in danger. The troubling thought was he wasn’t sure why he cared. Perhaps it was only the visions confusing him and having him reconsider reality.
“Your Majesty…” Xezu prompted him.
Morozko squeezed his eyes shut. “All I know is that she’s at the center of this madness. Savior or undoing, I don’t know.” When he turned to look at Xezu, the man was already backing out of the room. “Alert Captain Andras. Have him ready a small party—we’ll be heading to Vinti.”
Xezu rapped his fingers against his chest. “Now, Your Majesty?”
He lifted a brow, brushing past him. “Yes, now.” Now, because he wanted to see the destruction himself. Right now, because Eirah would bear witness to what happened when the ritual didn’t take place. But why did the notion of her being punished grate on him? It hadn’t when she’d first arrived.
Morozko all but ran down the hall. He didn’t greet Kusav or knock, only flung the door open and crossed the threshold to Eirah’s room. He snapped his fingers, and flames leaped from the candles, offering a warm light. When he approached the bed, Eirah was fast asleep on her stomach, cheek pressed against her pillow and hand dipped beneath it.
He sat on the edge of the bed, contemplating leaving her behind, far away from what awaited them in Vinti. Yet, would that only be delaying what was to come? She already possessed the magic he’d seen in his visions. How much longer would it be before what he saw came to pass? Morozko clenched his teeth, reeling his frustrations in.
Asleep, Eirah appeared to be at peace. At that moment, he could see hints of the female in his visions, the softness and worryfor him.
Wake and bring her. You’re only delaying the inevitable.
“I know,” he murmured. “But I’m not ready for what’s coming yet.” And he wasn’t. Not for what awaited them, not for what Eirah could mean to Frosteria—to him.
Morozko leaned over, his hand brushing Eirah’s shoulder. “Wake up, little bird,” he said, dragging his knuckles down her arm. “We need to—”
“What hour is it?” She blinked, her eyes like daggers piercing into him.
Morozko’s hand stilled on her. His lips twitched but didn’t form his typical smirk. “There are pressing events in Vinti that require our presence.”
“Vinti…” She sat up, clarity touching her eyes. “What is going on?”
He stood from the bed, motioning to her wardrobe. “Dress quickly, and I’ll tell you about it on our journey.” Morozko crossed the room and paused at the door. “Unless you choose not to come.” A part of him hoped she wouldn’t join him because he knew that by the time he returned to the castle, he and Frosteria would never be the same.
14
EIRAH
Something had happened in Vinti, and by Morozko’s expression it wasn’t pleasant in the least. Eirah’s village, herhome,was in trouble. How could this be? Her village had always been safe, except for the night Morozko had come to claim a maiden. Eirah’s mind whirled in every direction imaginable, every possibility. Had her village caught fire? Were her father and Saren all right?Please, please, let them be safe.
Eirah’s hands trembled as she changed out of her nightgown into a simple pair of trousers and a tunic. She shoved on her boots and fastened her cloak as she headed out of her bedroom.
Morozko wasn’t outside her door as she’d expected—only Kusav stood waiting, his muscular arm outstretched for her to grasp.
“What happened in Vinti, Kusav?” she asked, taking his arm and guiding him toward the stairs.
“I know as much as you do on this matter,” he said, his expression neutral. “Word hasn’t traveled this far into the castle yet.”
Eirah’s chest tightened—that wasn’t the answer she was hoping for. Not at all. At the moment, she truly felt like a bird in a cage, except not physically. Morozko kept so many secrets from her, yet wouldn’t confess any.Why? She hadn’t given him a reason to trust her, but he made it difficult. Eirah could have ventured to his room like he’d said, demanded answers, even though there would be a taunt first that she’d wandered to him. She didn’t want to come at his beck and call, didn’t want to play any more games with her shifting magic.
But underneath it all, the true reason she hadn’t gone to his room that night was because of what had happened earlier outside the palace, his firm and taut body atop hers, caging her in. The delicious way he’d flicked his tongue beneath her ear, how he’d hardened against her. The way he had looked at her with hunger, the way no male ever had. If she’d gone to his room, she feared she might have given into temptation—the feeling that continued to bloom within her day after day. She couldn’t decide if that aching desire was a thorn or a rose.Bah! She needed to stop thinking about this.
Once Eirah and Kusav reached the end of the staircase, Morozko stood in the center of the room, instructing Xezu to watch over the palace and to keep the doors sealed until he returned.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Fist to his chest, Xezu bowed his head and turned to Eirah. “My condolences about your village.”
