Page 72 of Fractured
He sounded worried. He soundedterrified.And the feeling of dread that came over me instantly didn’t leave me for a long time.
Then there was the actual Frozen Court.
I don’t know what Vair was thinking when he led me between the first two buildings we came across, when we could clearly hear the footsteps and the sound of chatter on the other side. Surely a lynx made with that fur would draw the attention of anyone, and then they’d see me, but…
They didn’t.
There were fae here, men and women of all ages, but none of themlooked at Vair evenonceas we passed. None of them looked atme.
Buildings of all sizes and towers were around the widecobbled streets. Snow clung to rooftops and edges, piling in every corner. I kept my hood low and my steps light, but as soon as we went deeper into the buildings, the torches and the lanterns and the fae lights trapped in glass became dimmer and fewer and farther in between. The fae, too. Most lights in the buildings were off. The people were sleeping.
Soon enough, there was only silence.
It wasn’t peaceful, though. Not the silence of a sleeping town I imagined. Not at all like back home.
There was something wrong about this. I couldn’t tell youwhy, but just like those shards that walled in the Ice Palace, something here stank. It was too dark and…filthy, somehow. Even the air was thinner out here.
We didn’t say a single word, and I was too caught up in my surroundings to even be afraid. There was nobody around to be afraid of—only the wind followed us, brushing against my cheek every now and again like it meant to caress me.
That’s how we made it all the way beyond the buildings, to the dark trees in the distance between which there was almost no light at all—except for Vair’s fur. I could have sworn that it was glowing from within, and in the dark, he stood out clearly.
I knew he knew where we were going. We’d been walking so long now that it felt like we wouldneverget to our destination, yet my step never once faltered. I never considered even asking him to make sure this was the right way.
I trusted the lynx who’d kidnapped me like I’d rarely trusted others in my life before.
Just as the sky began to lighten up when I caught glimpses of it through the canopy, we suddenly heard asound that seemed to have come out of nowhere—of footsteps and of wheels turning.
We stopped, Vair and I, and strained our ears, our eyes locked.
The sound grew louder, together with my heartbeat that was already galloping in my chest.
Somebody was right behind us.
twenty-one
Rune Kalygorn
Sorcerers stayed away from me.I hadn’t once had to show them why they should, which was a bit confusing if I cared to even consider it for longer than a moment, but I was thankful, nonetheless.
Nilah was nowhere to be found.
I could feel my sanity slipping through my fingers, and I was all out of patience, too. I would not hesitate to kill anyone who stepped in front of me—and the sorcerers knew. Theymusthave known, and that was the reason why not one of them had come close to me in the days I’d been in Mysthaven, searching.
None of the mermaids had come near me, either, when I searched every inch of the Mercove as well. They watched me, hundreds of them close to the shores, yet none spoke a single word.
It had been five days, and Nilah was still gone. Not in the Mercove, and she wasn’t in Mysthaven, either, and Ihad no fucking cluehowshe’d managed to disappear without a trace, so quickly, but she had.
The horse underneath me neighed when I pulled the reins. We were in the middle of one of the livelier Mysthaven towns, the bigger ones close to the border with Blackwater. So many shadows, so deep, even though the sun had just begun to set. This town might have been born into them. Or maybe the night just refused to be erased during the day here.
The streets were narrow and twisted for no reason, even though they had plenty of space. The towers and houses were crooked, built too close together, and I hadn’t been to a Mysthaven town before. Of course not—I hadn’t had enough magic to protect myself against sorcerers. They were dangerous, vile, twisted minds, and one needed a good amount of power to keep them back.
But I never considered that I wasafraidbefore. I was terrified of them, yet I hadn’t realized it, sure that I was simply being reasonable. Now that the only thing to terrify me was the fact that Nilah was still missing, I saw clearly. I saw how truly afraid sorcerers had made me my whole life.
Smoke curled from chimneys, and the smell was heavy, too heavy. I doubted they were burning wood here. Runes were drawn on the doors, symbols and sigils I had no clue how to read. Magic hung in the air like fog—very different from what you felt in fae courts. This was…corrupt. Sweet and metallic—overlysweet. I smelled a thousand different kinds of poisonous plants as I passed by buildings and shops and towers.
Mysthaven had no guards, no bells, no central square, no place for people to gather and spend time as a group. The heavy silence was only disrupted by the footsteps andthe wheels turning and the sorcerers muttering under their breath as they watched me.
These towns had been carved from the bones of old sorcerer magic—this Raja had told me about. I knew exactly what she’d meant now—as I had in the past three days while searching every inch of Mysthaven. Even Hessa had grown tired of it, and she’d left. Had gone back to wait for my return, she said.
