Page 11 of A Bond of Ice and Glass
“Okay,” he says, leading me back towards the carriage. “Let’s get you home.”
Inside, I rest against the window and let my eyes drift shut, unable to keep them open any longer.
Before I know it, we’re back at the castle. The carriage swaying. Lochlan steadying me with his hand when we went over a bump. Noble humming under his breath. It all comes to me in fragments. But Lochlan carrying me in his arms—that I’m fully aware of.
Because I don’t lean into him like I thought I would.
Like I used to do when he held me.
All I want to do is push away from him… but I’m tired… so tired…
He places me gently on my bed and brushes a lock of hair off my cheek.
“Rest easy now, Lena. Erax can’t hurt you here.”
His hand lingers on my face, his silhouette flickering in the candlelight.
I want to tell him that I know that and to stop fussing over me so much, but my lips don’t move. My eyes dip over again, and I barely manage to keep them open long enough to watch him leave. He pauses in the doorway—a soft, crimson light surrounding him—before he slips outside.
Under the warmth of my blankets, something inside me claws for air.
Even though I feel safe… even though Lochlan says Erax can’t hurt me here… Somewhere deep inside me, I’m screaming for help.
But I’m too tired to listen.
Chapter 4
KING ERAX
“Your Majesty, your invited guest is here,” my messenger nervously offers from ten feet away. The rest of my staff are either dead or hiding because they’re scared of me.
They should be.
This world should be shaking because my wife has been taken from me, and right now she could be hurt. They could be doing anything to her. If I had bothered to eat this morning or last night, that thought alone would have me emptying the contents of my stomach. I’ve failed my wife. I swore to protect her and keep her safe from harm, and I’ve failed her.
I’m a fuckup. I’ve always been one. But I’ve never let someone I love down like this.
The throne room is the last place in the castle that is still in one piece, that isn’t covered in burn marks and shattered glass, stone and broken expensive ornaments. I couldn’t bring myself to lose control in this room, not when I designed it for her.
I glance at the thrones she never saw—the ones I had built for her as a surprise after the ceremony. The tall, rose-gold chairs that have dragons of both ice and fire carved into the wood, nowstand alone and vacant. The giant stone wall behind the thrones holds a large tapestry, one I also had commissioned as a gift to her. It’s of us, standing on top of this castle, with our dragons flying high across a peaceful realm.
It almost seems like a giant joke now that she isn’t here. Like the gods are just laughing at me. I lost my wife. I lost my closest friend and advisor… and I nearly lost my life.
I wanted to give up for a second. Just for a second, and I might have done if I hadn’t met Maelena. If I hadn’t tasted my queen and known I’d fight a million enemies just to touch her one more time. I fought to stay here, to find her, even if I’m just able to chase her in her dreams at the moment. Dreams where she doesn’t have a clue who I am, and she thinks I’m the enemy. She will remember once I get her to safety.
Once I find her, I can use my plan.
The first part of my plan is inviting my long-standing enemy into my castle for a talk.
“Send the witch in.”
I stand by the window, choosing not to sit on my throne. It feels empty, pointless without her here, and even now as I stare out the window across my kingdom, I want absolutely fucking none of it when I don’t know where my wife is. Fire burns around my hands, almost dancing like it’s mocking me, and I struggle to get it under control. I crack my neck and refocus. Now is not the moment to lose control.
Mist needs me. Even if she might hate me for what I’ve become to find her again.
The shadow powers I get from Cyrsí took me many years to fully control, but this is worse. These fire skills are powerful, and it’s so easy to slip, to let my anger fuel the fire. Even my reflection is mocking me, my now white hair a very reminder of the price I paid to the dragons for them to save me. My grandmother, Zepheira, said it was the only way… and fate wassinging to my soul. My soul belongs to my queen. That’s the only truth I know for certain. Without her here, it’s like I’m half a man. Half a king.
Flashbacks of that day are hard to ignore as I watch the messenger scurry to get the witch. Running away just like Noble did with my queen. The pain of all those arrows hitting me was nothing in comparison to the pain I felt when I knew she was gone.
