Ice Burns by Charity Ayres

Author:Charity Ayres [Ayres, Charity]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Epic Dark Fantas
Published: 2016-08-16T06:00:00+00:00

20

Chandra snorted and shook her head. “Funny. I really hadn’t thought you had such an outrageous sense of humor, Matta.”

Matta's expression didn't change. If anything, her gaze locked more tightly on Chandra. Her eyes were steady and humorless as though they were discussing something significant and Chandra was an idiot who couldn’t see the horse charging toward her.

“It isn't a joke, and it isn't something I think you should take lightly.”

“I would take it seriously if it weren't such a preposterous idea," Chandra coughed out the words and Matta got the pot and poured more tea. Chandra took it with a muttering of thanks as she and the old woman watched each other.

She was more than a little disgusted at Matta for acting this way and telling her such a load of ordure. She drank the tea too quickly and burned her tongue to soothe her throat.

“The royal line is a very cloistered group. They do not leave their homeland, nor do they associate with people outside of it. The history books say they are aggressively protective of their line, so what you suggest is completely impossible,” Chandra rasped out, reciting information that had remained unchanged between the many books she read about Faust.

“Calm yourself, child,” Matta said, her hand outstretched, patting the air as though it would somehow soothe her. “In historical terms, that is true. In the present reign, it is not. In fact, there was an event that happened about twenty years ago that almost undid the current line. An intruder attempted to take the baby princess from the estate home where the queen had moved for the birth. Several guards were killed in the attempt, but somehow the princess stayed safe.”

Matta paused her speech and continued to pace as though she were looking to step on the correct spot on the floor that would allow her to continue. When she reached the hearth, she paused with her face away from Chandra before turning back.

“When Prince Dezmon and his betrothed, Adeena, were married, there was a bloody coup in which Dezmon killed his brother Rawlund and his line in order to take the throne. When they became king and queen, they scattered the family. Most of the royal Winterbourne family was afraid that King Dezmon would make a clean sweep of it by getting rid of them all.

“Once the rest of the family was gone and his bride pregnant, King Dezmon did not bother to seek out lost family members, though he did leave a bounty on their heads as magic users. The decree against magic now included all Winterbournes."

"So, I may be related to them by some random cousin who hid away or died?" Chandra still found this to be unlikely, but she was willing to work with what Matta believed until she could prove otherwise. Being some random cast-off in hiding didn't seem as implausible as when Matta had first suggested her connection to the royal family.

"It's actually pretty likely that's true of many of the hidden mages," Matta lifted one shoulder and quirked a smile.

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