Heart of Ice (The Snow Queen Book 1) by K. M. Shea

Author:K. M. Shea [Shea, K. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2015-12-16T19:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

PARANOIA CONFIRMED

When Rakel awoke, every part of her screamed with fear. She snapped her eyes open and sat up in bed—the blankets icing over in her terror.

“Rakel—it’s okay!”

Rakel ignored the assurance and threw up a shield, her breath feeling short in her panic as she blinked and tried to clear her vision.

“Little Wolf—listen to me!”

Finally recognizing Phile’s voice, Rakel paused, allowing herself to regain her bearings. She was in a darkened room, which she recognized as her encampment quarters. It possessed a bed, two packs containing her dresses, and a book on castle architecture she couldn’t bear to leave behind. The room also contained a chair swaddled in blankets, which—Rakel could see through the hazy distortion of her ice shell—held a frowning Phile.

“What happened?” Rakel asked, letting her shield crack and disintegrate.

“You fell unconscious.”

“What did the soldiers do?” Rakel asked, her voice tightly coiled. She was still in her dirty and torn dress, but her arm and side were wrapped and treated.

“They brought you back. Well, I lent my horse to Oskar so he could ride back with you sagged against him. I wanted to take you, but Captain Halvor told me I would have to give him Foedus because he didn’t trust me to ride with both you and it. I was having none of that, so Oskar got to bring you.”

“And the soldiers just let him? They didn’t riot?”

Phile’s forehead wrinkled. “Why, for the love of a king, would they riot?”

“Because we lost, and I injured some of them.”

Phile rolled her eyes. “Little Wolf, you are the most paranoid person I know—and I’m a thief. No one is going to turn on you because of a lost battle. In fact, I think it is unlikely that anyone from this camp will turn on you ever. They already call you their Snow Queen. If you declared yourself the Empress of the Continent, they would ask what you wanted on your coat of arms.”

Rakel shook her head. “You cannot fathom the distaste and fear they hold me in.”

“Distaste and fear? Have you lost your mind? You have saved them from destruction, slaughter, and slavery. They revere you like a saint, and their children want to be like you!”

“The children are a different matter. It is the adults who pose a threat.”

“And you have decided this because…?”

“Experience. Twice since I was first approached about saving Fyran, I would have been harmed if I hadn’t defended myself. Whenever they see my magic, they cower, and I can see the fear in their eyes.”

“Because you are scary when you use your magic! If you had more emotional expressions than a rock, it might be different, but you wear the same expression whether you are eating your meals or putting down that weather-boy. Who does that? I’ll tell you—no one but you and that Farrin Dimwit.”

“Graydim.”

“Sure. Look, you are icy calm no matter the circumstance. In some cases, it is good. You show no fear, so the people believe you can do anything—but it is also a little daunting.

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