Page 98 of Shadow & Stars
“Shit.”
After five more attempts, I hurried back through the door to the outright panic amongst the magic users.
“Did it work?” Xavier asked, a sentinel on the other side.
“No. And something bad is happening over there.”
He followed me across time.
His body language changed the moment we stepped into the frozen nightmare.
“The surprise,” Xavier said, his tone wreathed in darkness. He slipped an arm around me.
“I’ll say.” Condensation wisped out of my mouth with every word.
“Do you remember Tanith’s plan? How we believed there was more to come? Well, here it is. She’s not only been building an army of demons and witches, but also saving the best until last.” He growled, freaking me out.
“Can you reveal what’s behind door number three right now, please?”
“Andri, a demon of ice. From the ancient times. He made the ice of the lake. He hasn’t been seen in centuries, presumed dead. Tanith has been keeping him stored for a rainy day, it seems.”
“Damn her snaky arse. I take it this isn’t magical ice fire?”
“No. It’s as natural as that draconic demon’s fire.”
“Just wanted to check for any loopholes.”
My muscles were twitchy as well as cold, prickles of fear dancing on my scalp. “Is this Ismael’s plan? To make the world an icy wasteland?”
Xavier responded with another growl.
I moved closer to Xavier, wrapping myself in his heat. The cold still clawed at me, barely kept at bay.
“I heard rumors Andri might be living in the lowest levels of the demon realm,” my boyfriend said. “Like Butterfly, his lair was never found.” He sighed, releasing a stream of condensation. “This is bad, Roman. Especially with your power not working.”
I knew something had changed since the dagger’s removal. Damn it.
“We’ll have to hunt Butterfly down,” I said. “Him and Ismael.”
“Yes.”
“Not going to be fun.”
“It never is.” He gave me a warm squeeze. “Don’t go near those flames.”
“Not intending to.”
“You will freeze to death, burn as if they were fire. But in a cold way.”
Yeah. A hard no touchy for me. “Noted. Right, where’s the exit?”
We were trapped inside a blue ring of icy death, cutting the time door off from the city beyond it. Even if I suddenly sprouted wings or springs in my feet, there’d be no clearing the small hole above our heads without the flames touching us.
Make that adomeof icy death.
“Don’t suppose you’re immune to that?” I asked him.
“No, unfortunately.”
