Page 47 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
George nodded.
Nalari grumbled but remained quiet.
“Share my magic with her,” I said.
George whooped in the air, and when Brenton raced into the woods, George followed. There was a loud crash before their laughter filled the crisp air.
How I wished I could join them for a few hours of fun. Instead, I went inside and crawled into bed.
I blinkedinto the dim surroundings, heart pounding and my head foggy but reeling from whatever woke me.
“Elias.” The urgency in Brenton’s voice jostled me as much as the way he shoved my shoulder down against the firm mattress.
“I’m awake,” I groaned and rubbed my dry eyes.
“Commander Hudson’s here,” he whispered.
Commander...my uncle? “What?” I sat upright, scanning the small quarters of my mostly empty room.
I jumped out of bed but stumbled on my feet a little, so Brenton gripped my elbow to keep me steady.
“You good?” he asked.
“Why’s he here?” My voice came out rough, and I cleared my dry throat.
“He just told us to get you,” he answered. “Didn’t say much else. Looks pissed, though.”
I huffed, running a hand over my face as I stepped out of my room.
Uncle Hudson could be pissed about a lot, starting with me and ending with the people of this realm. I was doing my best, though, while the humans seemed to only want to make things harder for themselves.
On a groan, I walked through the narrow hallway that led to our living quarters. Above me, the lights were too bright for my tired eyes. I rubbed them again before blinking a few times and nodding my head in greeting toward my uncle.
“Snap out of it,”Nalari growled in my pounding head.
“Trying to,”I replied.
“I told you giving your magic to your friends was a bad idea,”she said.
I grumbled an incoherent thought I couldn’t decipher. The warm sensation of her magic coursing through my veins filled me enough to snap me out of my stupor. Enough for me to face my uncle without further disappointing him.
“Thank you, Nalari,”I told her.
I stepped into the living quarters, finding my uncle leaning a shoulder against one of our walls. His assessing eyes passed over me, and he shook his head in disappointment. I gritted my teeth as I stopped and folded my arms across my chest with Brenton standing beside me.
“Don’t thank me,”she growled.“Next time, listen when I tell you something is a bad idea.”
“Did they have fun, though?”I asked because if they did, it was worth it.
She grumbled in reply.
“What can I do for you, Uncle?” I asked.
Uncle Hudson pushed himself off the wall and stalked toward me. “Something seems to be ailing you, Nephew.” He raised his head and sniffed.
“Seeing as the Elder stripped my friends of most of their magic, it is up to me and my Guardian to supply the fae and humans with food as well as melt the snow so that we can all live.”
“Are the fae I sent you not proving themselves useful?” he asked.
