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Screams had filled my ringing ears, and I’d stumbled, slipping on the ice. When I’d whirled to search the room for Garrick, sure he’d been the cause of the strange winter magic, Charles had been there instead, seizing my arm and whispering furiously into my ear. “Walk. Now.”
The people of Altidvale had panicked, fleeing the ballroom as if they were under attack. And no one was searching for the gold-eyed fae I’d danced with, the one they hadn’t even noticed. No, their horrified, accusatory gazes had all pinned onme.
Now, teeth chattering and breath steaming before me, I stared down at my bleeding hand. The cuts were shallow, but they still stung.I didn’t conjure that ice,I thought, even as another shiver rippled down my spine. I’d been afraid and consumed by cold, but I was sure that was due to Garrick’s presence. For the past year I’d been accused of being part-fae and dangerous, but I’d never manifested any magic before, never had any reason to suspect I could do anything unusual.
It wasn’t mine,I insisted to myself again, trying to nudge aside all lingering doubts.
The rattling of carriage wheels and the clop of horse hooves echoed through the street, but they were all heading the opposite direction that Charles and I walked. While the rest of the townspeople hurried toward the warmth and safety of home, my brother was dragging me to the foot of the mountains, toward the barrier that marked the gap between our mortal world and that of the fae. If Charles threw me beyond the border, he’d be leaving me for the fae. Altidvale’s agreements would bar anyone from coming for me—not that anyone would want to. And I could try to return—if a fae didn’t find and claim me first—but what would I be returning to if Charles refused to let me go home?
“Please, Charles—” I began again, my throat already raw from pleas and sobs that had fallen on deaf ears.
His jaw was rigid, and his eyes remained straight ahead, dark and fuming with the blackest emotion I’d ever seen from him. The final threads of his vow to Father—the last of his restraint that kept him from tossing me out—had frayed.
“I knew you were a monster,” he growled, but he seemed to be speaking more to himself than to me. “Perhaps you spent all this time glamouring everyone to love you.” He sneered. “You’re a danger, and you betrayed us all. Did you always plot to takeus lowly humans unaware with your deadly magic? Have you always hated us?”
“Charles, I would never—”
“I’m marrying Miss Eggerton, and you will not live under the same roof as her, terrorizing and threatening her with your dark magic.” His fingers dug in deeper, and I yelped in pain, thrashing in vain against the strength of his grip.
“I’m yoursister!”
“You arenotmy blood!” Charles screamed, the words louder than the pounding of my own pulse in my ears. “We might have shared a mother, but that’s not enough, not when you’re clearly more fae than human. You’re not one of us—you’re one ofthem.”
Tears burned my eyes. I knew better than to cry. I’d grieved the loss of my brother months ago, as he’d grown more suspicious of me and all the ways he claimed I was different. Somewhere along the way, his fear had transformed into loathing. But once, he’d been my younger sibling. The one I’d tucked into bed at night and read stories to. The one I’d looked after.
Now, it was his turn to look after me, and he found the task to be a burden.
Charles dragged me toward the outskirts of our town, winding past shadowed buildings and up the incline that marked the edge of our world and the beginning of Brytwilde. The scent of evergreens enshrouded us, coming on a gust that rolled off the snow-capped mountains.
“Think of this as my last duty, my last act to protect you,” Charles bit out as he finally stopped, his own breath clouding the air. He loosened his hold on me, only a little, as he cast a glance over his shoulder. The warmth of candlelight gleaming through windows danced like distant fireflies, and my heart ached. “Altidvale will never accept you after your dangerous displayback there. You belong intheirworld, in Silverfrost. That’s your home. They’ll accept you.”
My eyes burned. “That’s not true. That ice wasn’t from me. There was a—”
“Goodbye, Florentia,” Charles said, and he shoved me, hard.
I choked back a scream as something in the air flickered and a pulse of warmth, of power, flowed through me. When I struck the ground on the other side of the invisible barrier, I landed on a worn dirt path that wound upward, into the mountains.
With the air knocked from my lungs, it took me a moment to move, to even breathe. Struggling to inhale, I gaped up at Charles, whose expression changed for the briefest of seconds. Something wide-eyed, almost like regret, filled his eyes, and then his face became stony once more. “Never threaten us with your magic again,” he said, his voice low. “Go home. Leave us in peace.”
Charles lifted his gaze to the mountains. “Here is your gift!” he shouted. He knew the Silverfrost royalty would hear, whether through magic or spies, as he launched into the terrible words we’d been taught to recite if ever we sacrificed one of our own to the fae. “Rulers of winter, accept my offering freely and generously given, and in return, I plead your graciousness and goodwill upon my household and my town.” I knew what he would expect—to return the next morning to find a pile of gold awaiting near the barrier, or even a fae servant waiting to grant a single wish or blessing upon him as a sign of gratitude. “Come yourself or send one of your humble servants to fetch her, and may you welcome her warmly into your kingdom, where she belongs.”
Silently, he turned, stalking back toward home without glancing back.
“Charles!” I screamed, launching to my feet, determined to race back into Altidvale with him. If a fae didn’t murder me outhere first, I’d freeze to death. Surely I could find someone in my mortal town who would take pity on me.
But when I charged forward, my hands struck something solid and hard, despite the fact that there was no visible wall. Staggering backward, hands smarting, I choked on a sob.The border.The fae must have enchanted it, ensuring that mortals who crossed into their world truly belonged to them. It wasn’t simply that our people were forbidden to retrieve their lost loved ones—they couldn’t do it without belonging to the fae as well. Icouldn’treturn to the human world.
A new chill swept through me, having nothing to do with the temperature.
Whether he knew it or not, Charles had left me to die.
I lost track of time as my brother’s form faded down the street. My mind whirled with panic and desperation. I pounded my fists against the barrier to no avail.
There was nothing to do but accept that I was trapped in Silverfrost, a fae kingdom known for its cruelty toward humans. I could lie down and wait to freeze, or I could turn and face my fate.
For a wild moment, I wondered if dying of exposure would be more peaceful than venturing deeper into Silverfrost and braving the fae. But I shook my head, refusing to entertain the notion. I couldn’t give up that easily. I had to search for shelter, and then I’d try to formulate a plan.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I trudged up the path, my slippers dislodging rocks and roots. Soon, evergreen boughs swayed overhead, blocking out the grey sky. In the thickening shadows, the cold grew icier, and my tears froze to my lashes. I swallowed back my mounting terror. Somehow, I had to find a place to wait out the frigid night.
