Page 104 of Blood Beneath the Snow

“Revna!” I could hear Frode calling my name, but looking was not an option. If I lost any degree of focus, the Hellbringer’s blade would carve me to shreds. And Volkan wouldn’t come to heal me this time.

“Was it all a lie?” I snarled, ducking to avoid another slice. My knees screamed as I pushed myself back up to full height, Jac’s weight heavy and limp on my shoulders. My anger fueled me, and Iforced it higher, leaving no room for the despair threatening to leave my limbs heavy and evaporating my will to fight. “Did you fake it all to get me on your side?”

His reply was a deep rumble. “I told you, Princess: I don’t lie.”

He lunged, but when I lifted my sword to parry, I stumbled, losing my balance. A flash of panic raced through my veins like lightning.This is it.

But there was a desperate cry and a blur of silver. The clang of metal on metal rang in my ears as I landed in powder, tumbling down a hill and away from the fight, Jac’s deadweight tumbling right behind me. When gravity stopped pulling me, I looked up to see my savior.

Frode stood there, his two knives locked against the Hellbringer’s blade, panting with the effort of holding his attacker back. His red hair shone in the light of the rising sun.

I made sure Jac was breathing, then scrambled to my feet, ready to strike at the Hellbringer again. Crawling up the drift proved harder than it looked. My feet slipped in the wet snow, stained with Jac’s blood. Still, I kept an eye on the battle above me.

But the Hellbringer and Frode were motionless, their blades locked. My brother stared, brows furrowed, into the unseeing eyes of the mask. Why weren’t they fighting?

Frode stepped back and dropped his knives. Even his opponent was shocked.

“Frode, what are you doing?” I screamed. I dug my feet in harder, trying to make it to the top.

“I understand,” Frode called out. The Hellbringer lowered his guard for a moment. Frode glanced at me. His mouth moved, but the words were spoken too low to be heard. My brother held out his arms.

No. No, no, no…I hurled a dagger and it bounced off theHellbringer’s armor. The masked general stared at my brother for a moment, and then offered a single nod.

“No!” The scream echoed from me, shaking the mountains surrounding us.

But it wasn’t enough to stop the Hellbringer from extending his hand, palm toward Frode, and then clenching it into a fist.

27

It took an eternity forFrode to fall backward, landing in the snow like it was a cloud. His eyes were lifeless from the moment the Hellbringer closed his fist, staring straight ahead at nothing.

The world fell silent, only a ringing in my ears.

I arrived at the top of the hill, but the Hellbringer was gone. The smoke from the tents Father and Björn had set alight was a scar across the morning’s perfect sunrise, bleeding orange into the clearing.

Someone screamed in the distance. Feral screaming. Rage filled.

My hands shook as they turned Frode over. I pulled off my gloves. My fingers immediately stiffened from the chill, but they searched my brother’s throat for any remnants of heartbeat.

Nothing.

A hand on my shoulder; muttering voices. My fingers were blue. Was another Kryllian soldier coming to slide his blade softly through my ribs and into my heart? I hoped so.

Where is your heartbeat? Where the hell are you hiding it?I asked him, pressing my fingertips to his throat again.

I could hear his chuckle.You aren’t going to find it.Frode’s voice was clear as day in my mind.

Hands lifted me—a support underneath my arms, pulling me to my feet. Other hands put my gloves back on.

“No,” I whispered, tugging at the fabric. “No, I can’t feel his heartbeat with them on.”

A voice called my name but I ignored it, reaching for Frode again. A hand grabbed mine and pulled it back in.

Erik called my name again. “Revna.”

Reality returned. Time moved normally once more. I could hear birds twittering in the trees, celebrating the morning. Celebrating death.

“I have Jac,” Björn said. “He needs a healer as soon as possible; otherwise he might not make it.”

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