Page 20 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen
“Do not forget that we are working together, Blár Vilulf.” She turned her smile to Ivar, Eluf, and Gunnar. “We will see you all shortly after it’s been decided what Commander Bernsten wants from us in this war. Good evening.”
With that, she strode out of the room with her entourage of soldiers and Mímir. When they were all gone, the only people left were Gunnar, Ivar, Eluf, and Haakon—the last of whom seemed a tad bit confused about the whole thing.
“Do you think—” Gunnar started.
“No,” Blár snapped, exhaling loudly. The tent was so cold now that their breaths formed white clouds whenever they breathed. His hands fisted and he slowly released his hold on his magic, taking the worst of the chill with him.
A frown twisted Gunnar’s lips. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“I know.” He shifted his attention to his best friend since childhood. They’d known each other long enough for him to understand the uneasy question in the air. He slowly turned to the others. He could read it on all their faces. The doubt.
He slammed his fist on the table, a string of curses escaping from him.
There was absolutely no way Kolfinna was the heir. Blár was certain of it.
7
SEVEN – BLÁR
Blár’s breathmisted in front of him like pools of white fog. He flexed his fingers and inhaled the frigid air surrounding him. His hands were itching to spread ice to the cursed fortress looming above them ominously. Kolfinna was inside there somewhere. He had parted with her from this very place; the earth remembered his battle, and even from this distance, hidden in the wooded area, he could see the sunlight glistening off the still-frozen chunks of his ice. It was a small consolation that even the powerful fae couldn’t break or melt his ice.
Bitterness creeped in the back of his throat and he clenched his teeth so hard his jaw throbbed. He didn’t know what the fae were doing to Kolfinna. He didn’t want to admit that there was a possibility that she was the heir and she had kept it from him. He didn’t want to think that she had lied this entire time.
“When should we strike?” Ivar was crouching beside him. Water rippled from his hands in a small circle in front of him, creating a magnifying lens for him to peer into. “They’re just about to change guards for the afternoon.”
Out of all the water elementals Blár had met—and he had met countless—Ivar was the most powerful and the most innovative. He had never heard of anyone doing such a thing with water;it required an immense amount of control, which Ivar was a master of.
He turned back to the fortress. Fae flew above the building with colorful wings. It was strange to see them appear exactly as the monsters in legends were described—winged, with sharp ears and dangerous magic.
Behind him, Haakon shifted in his hunkered position, and someone coughed.
They were only a small group—about two dozen of them. Normally, such an operation could be done with fewer men if Blár was involved, since he was the equivalent of a medium-sized army. But considering that the last battle had ended in Blár’s defeat, it was wise to go with as many men as possible: thus the larger than normal party size.
Blár was actually surprised their numbers were low. He had expected more men, but he could see their side of it too. Most of the men in the military, no matter how much they respected Blár, were not willing to commit insubordination, since the higher-ups hadn’t exactly given them orders to infiltrate. In fact, they had simply asked them to stay put. An order Blár couldn’t follow anymore, not with Kolfinna trapped within the fortress, likely being tortured. He had waited long enough, and he was done being passive.
After the meeting with Hilda, he was sure that wretched woman was concocting a plan to have Kolfinna murdered if the half-elf didn’t kill her first. He needed to save her before that happened.
The fae guards began transitioning into the new group, and a grin worked its way up his face. They were tired and not exactly paying attention right now, not when their shift was just changing.
“Now,” he said, signaling Haakon since he couldn’t hear him.
They moved quickly as a group through the wooded area and toward the fortress. Keeping themselves low to hide in the gnarled bushes and barren trees proved to be easy, since the guards weren’t paying attention as keenly as they should have been. In minutes they reached the far wall of the fortress, their backs pressed against the cool, gray stone. Blár’s ice spread on the wall, sending fissures along the stones until the cracks deepened, and then fractured completely. He ushered them through the hole, and then entered himself.
The plan was simple: sneak in and find Kolfinna. If the half-elf commander was still at the fortress, then it was best for them to avoid a full-blown confrontation, since Blár wasn’t certain he could defeat him on equal footing. It pained him and filled him with bitterness at the thought of accepting defeat. But he didn’t want his pride to get in the way of rescuing Kolfinna. He wanted to give her the best shot at freedom, and that meant he had to put his ego aside.
Ivar took the lead; water remained suspended around his curled fists. It was better for him to go first, since he could drown any unsuspecting guards that might stumble upon them. All it would take would be his water filling their lungs so they couldn’t make a noise.
Inkeri took the position directly behind him. She was the best when it came to sword combat, but she was the weakest in terms of magical prowess; it was why Ivar wanted her so close, so he could protect her.
Then it was Haakon, and then the rest of the soldiers, and then Blár at the rear to protect them all.
The first fae soldier to come across them at the bend of the hallway barely even noticed them before Ivar’s water whipped out and slashed his throat with pressurized water. The brutality surprised Blár; Ivar preferred filling his victim’s lungs, but maybe he was feeling impatient too.
In seconds, guards filled the hallway, and Blár cursed softly as Haakon’s lightning struck one of the fae guards and they all erupted into movement. Inkeri fought with her sword, wind bursting off the sharp edge of it, and Ivar took a place close to her, his own water lashing out at the flurry of fae and elves alike. Gunnar punched through walls and crushed any fae that drew near him. Blár’s ice snapped from his fingers and he froze the guards closest to him.
How had the fae noticed them? Was their hearing far superior? They had been sure to be quiet.
But it didn’t matter, because everyone began fighting their way down the hallway. An hour must have passed with their fighting. Blár barreled through the fortress, his ice cutting down foe easily, but his attention flicking from room to room. He departed from the group and went through the rest of the fortress, half-expecting the half-elf commander to pop up and defeat them all. But none of that happened. In fact, there were less forces here than he remembered.
