Page 165 of Autumn Queens & Shadows

“Dead. Serious.”

“The hells are you?” he snarled.

“Only gods know.”

Chapter thirty-nine

White Poppies

Thora

There was nothing in sight beside white frost and grey skies. The elders from both the Islines and Isjord had chosen the old ground where Tenebrose had fought Isline as the place where Iskyla and I would reenact our own dispute.

Voices began filtering in the boisterous white wind filled with thick flakes of snow and howling sounds. Isjordians and Isliners alike had chosen to witness today. Remaining at a distance, I saw a few of the students from the academy push to the front lines, still in their uniforms. It took barely a full minute for those front lines to fill with more students, until the Isjordian side was just a wall of navy.

Elias and Snow followed right behind me, while Kilian, Oryn and Alaric remained somewhere in the distance where they had promised to only watch. From the corner of my eye, I could see Lilith’s billowing golden hair and a taller figure beside her belonging to my brother.

The wind howled around us, the heartbeat carrying with it. Steady. Not loud. Not hindering. It was almost comforting. It was also distracting me from my erratic one.

He wasn’t there.

I’d told him to go, but I had not expected he’d listen so easily. All which told me he’d probably been waiting for me to give him that permission. It was only a matter of time.

Through the blurring periphery, I could see Iskyla and her four sisters making their way to where I stood at the centre of the field.

Iskyla switched to glaring from me to Snow who had not left my side yet surely to just watch the Isline queen shake and shiver a little. “Are you here to make sure she kills me?”

Snow let out a little chuckle, patting her belly. “I don’t want you to die, Iskyla, I want you to suffer. I’m here to make sure she doesn’t kill you. At least not enough. But then, I only need you just a tiny little bit alive.” My sister leaned in my ear to murmur. “Kill her. For her sake, kill her good. I’m not in the mood to be polite and I’m attempting to set my children a decent example.”

Snow gave Iskyla one once over that had her looking away, before she bolted to stand beside Kilian.

Throwing me a confident smirk she asked, “You don’t look like your usual self. Afraid?”

“And you look very much like your usual self,” I said. “Very much afraid.”

“No matter the power you possess, winter would only choose a true heir. One who could match to its name, to its strength, its demand. The one you can never be because of your soiled blood.”

“Tell me you don’t really believe that bullshit.”

“Your lack of belief is what brought you to these odds with me.”

“No, Iskyla. It was my kind and patient soul.”

Behind her lined four other girls who looked almost identical to her. Four Krigborn princesses who without doubt had already planned the best way to tear me apart.

“This is a game of ice,” Iskyla loudly called as she moved back, addressing the crowd as if she were some entertainer of sorts. “For a throne of ice. Let the best Krigborn win.”

My eyes had frosted a little so they couldn’t roll back, but I did sigh.

It was never about power to Iskyla.

She knew she didn’t have it in her to defeat me, so she’d brought the next best thing. A crowd. Somewhere I couldn’t hide behind my tricks. Somewhere where I’d be laid bare to show what I was capable of—she knew I held back on showing just what I was capable of, she’d seen what I was capable of.

“All the old gods are gone and so are their kings,” a girl shouted from between the crowd surrounding us, and I turned to look back at the students that had joined in, their teachers following along.

“All the old gods are gone and so are their kings,” another shouted even louder.

Then another.