Page 49 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
“Uncle Hudson. . .”
This time, when my uncle bared his teeth, his canines grew. A deep growl reverberated from the back of his throat, and his eyes blackened. “We will meet at the town square for our first trial.”
My mind swirled at his words. At the notion.
I wouldn’t have it. Couldn’t.
These were my people. I oversaw them and took care of them the best way I knew how. It was my duty to protect them.
My nostrils flared. “Uncle?—”
“Commander!” He slammed a fist against the wall by my face. “I am your commander, and you will treat me as such.”
My knees buckled beneath me, his authoritative power over me forcing me to bow, but I kept my feet grounded and glared into his onyx eyes.
Uncle Hudson pulled back, running a hand over his shirt to smooth out the wrinkles as he stared at each of my friends. “I expect all of you at the square.”
When he stormed out of the room, George and Brenton hesitated before following him, shooting me wary looks as they stepped out the door. Everly rested a weighted hand on my shoulder, and I nodded at her in a silent thank-you I hoped she understood.
“We’ll get through this,” she whispered, shooting a glance through the open door.
“I don’t know how,” I answered.
Already, Teddy and her people hated me and those from my realm. I didn’t know much about humans, but I was pretty sure beating them wouldn’t earn me any respect. And that gave me a grave sense of foreboding.
Chapter
Nine
ELIAS
Walkingthrough the snow took more effort than it should have. My feet felt leaden with each step throbbing everywhere simultaneously.
A few steps ahead of me, my uncle cast me a disgusted look while George tried to keep him engaged in conversation. I shoved my hands in the pockets of my pants and watched each step I took to avoid stumbling and disappointing Uncle Hudson further.
My uncle’s Guardian, Sama, and Nalari walked behind us, making the ground unsteady as they shook it with their heavy footfalls.
Everly tucked a hand through my arm. “Almost there,” she whispered.
My heart thudded loudly in my aching head, and with every step, each breath, I used up more energy I simply didn’t have. “Is it this hard for you when you go into town to work every day?”
One side of her lips quirked up in amusement. “You’re doing a lot worse than I ever have,” she teased.
I nudged her side with my elbow.
“It’s different having some of my magic stripped from the Guardians,” she said. “It’s not as draining as when I’ve depleted my magic. It’s more like... something inherent is missing, but I don’t feel tired without it.”
I nodded in answer. With George keeping my uncle busy with whatever they spoke about, I took the opportunity to thank my friend.
“Nalari told me you didn’t take any magic,” I said.
She waved away my words as if they were nothing.
I braced a hand over hers and squeezed, making her face me. “I mean it, Everly. It wasn’t fair for me to ask you to give up your magic entirely. You did it without question, and then you turned down the chance to have magic back for a few hours.” I shook my head. “I don’t deserve your friendship.”
Her smile grew, and she tucked a strand of her silver hair behind her ear. “I didn’t need magic to play with those two fools. We had fun today. Maybe George and Brent needed magic to enjoy themselves, but I didn’t.”
The closer we came to the town square, the more people I saw standing around. It wasn’t just the people of Colina Verde but those from the surrounding towns. Thousands of people in one small spot, reminding me just how insignificant all my efforts had been. There were too many, and despite how much Nalari and I grew and hunted, we couldn’t feed them all as well as the fae that policed their towns.
