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“I want this for breakfast every day,” Hector professed, holding aloft his cone of shaved ice.
I chuckled, licking my strange dessert on a stick. I twirled the stick again, looking at the sugared frozen cream.
“When I was little, we would bring in a scoop of snow and drizzle syrup over it.” I hummed as the sweetness melted on my tongue. “But it was nothing like this.”
“One of the many magical things of Taigoska,” Ora said, leading us toward the open markets.
Benches and tables sat around a fountain, cascading into a frozen waterfall. Ice sculptures lined the plaza, each one more intricate than the next. I peered at the nearest sculpture—the Goddess of Home and Hearth. The details of her face were so intricate I wondered what tools they used to carve the lips and eyes, so lifelike, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she blinked.
The buildings were made of cream-colored stones, several stories high. Colorful signs caught the eye amongst the white and gray. A rainbow of pennants and banners waved along strings tied to a center pole shooting from the top of the fountain, creating a moving ceiling like a canopy of leaves rustling in the wind.
There were stores of every sort, from candy shops to fortunetellers, and it was clear this was the plaza where the humans came for entertainment.
We walked in pairs, Sadie and Hector in front, Ora and I behind. Strolling down the icy paths, we passed a bright purple sign readingFlorist. I narrowed my eyes, staring into the shop window to see bouquets of delicate paper flowers.
“Sweet Moon.” Made in beautiful, vibrant colors, they were styled like roses, cosmos, and lilies.
“A beautiful solution made out of necessity,” Ora said. “They even spray them with perfumes, so they smell like fresh flowers.”
“If they can’t grow flowers here, how do they grow food?” I asked, peering into the bakery window filled with spun sugar treats and spiced fruit buns.
“They grow flowers here, and many crops, actually.” Ora pointed to the steeples peeking above the distant rooftops. “The Wolves have these glass houses they use for growing, but the flowers and crops are very expensive. Most humans can’t afford them.”
We walked past a grocer, the store lined with jars of pickled vegetables and baskets of salted fish.
“I see.” It was hard to hide the shame in my voice.
The Wolves only grew and hunted as much as they needed for themselves, feeding even the lowest ranked amongst their pack. And for my entire life, I hadn’t questioned it. Wolves took care of their own, and it was the humans’ own fault they didn’t do the same was how I’d always thought. Never mind that they didn’t have the glass houses to grow or enough coin to build one. My naïveté hit me like a slap in the face and, though the logical part of me already understood, I felt even more acutely about how wanting something didn’t translate to having something.
“They also trade with the other kingdoms for certain spices and sugars.” Ora wrapped their shawl around them, the metal beads clinking together. “It’s beautiful, but I wouldn’t want to stay in the cold forever.” They huffed, their breath coming out in steaming whorls as if to emphasize their point. “There’s only so many ice blocks and pickled carrots one can eat.”
Sadie laughed, her footsteps lingering at the front door of the swordsmith.
“You don’t need any more knives,” Hector scoffed, steering his sister away by her elbow.
She frowned. “I was just looking.”
“Oh really? Where did you get that?” He pointed to the belt circling her right thigh where a needle-like dagger was sheathed.
“Hengreave,” she muttered, and Hector rolled his eyes.
My feet stalled as I spotted a silver and white flag waving in the far distance. Upon it, two swords crossed behind the silhouette of a howling wolf.
“Is that the castle?” I pointed to the flag with the Ice Wolf crest. I could only make out the tallest spire disappearing behind the brick buildings of the human quarter.
Ora paused beside me. “It is.”
“I didn’t realize Taigoska was so big.”
“It’s the biggest of all the capital cities,” Ora said, following my line of sight. “You need a sleigh to get from one end to the other. I haven’t explored the Wolf part of town much though. They only let us down Servants Row to reach the backs of the houses we play in.”
Sadie and Hector stilled in front of us, clearly hearing what Ora had said. I wondered if they felt the same pang of guilt, the same unraveling awareness, the longer we spent around humans. When did we stop being their protectors? Hearing all this, it seemed the only monsters humans needed protection from these days were the Wolves themselves.
I glanced around the plaza, searching for a charcoal gray cloak and the tall, muscled prince who had been avoiding me all day. I hated to think Grae was mourning somewhere, punishing himself over what had happened to Aiden. Was he not just devastated, but mad at me, too?
I clenched my fists in my pockets as another terrifying thought speared into my mind: If King Nero disowned Grae, would Briar still be safe? Every second I left her in that castle was a risk. Itried to distract myself with other things, but that undercurrent of fear remained. I needed to get Briar out of Damrienn before she became a hostage. My stomach clenched. Gods, she already was. Our whole lives we’d been used for our kingdom’s gold. I wondered if we brought back enough gold, if we could trade it for Briar . . .
I doubted it. King Nero wanted control of Olmdere, but Aiden’s death would force his hand. He’d need to win Olmdere through his possession of Briar now, not through Grae. Enemies seemed to be closing in from all sides, and here I was, trapped in my own mind.
