Page 36 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
If I fell, she would live.
Clara had enough patience and sharpness to guide my father through his pain to protect the Clan.
I swerved from corner to corner, the arrows haunting me.
No matter how many moons I’d get to see in this lifetime or how much laughter I’d have the good fortune to hear, I would never forget this sound. It was now seared deep inside me, as if their blades had scraped against my bones.
Fewer bodies here.
No survivors.
I swallowed my own despair and pushed further.
The air turned colder.
Tenser.
Quieter.
Just as I rounded a corner near the middle of the maze, where the ancient olive tree planted by Dria Vegheara herself awaited, cries from my right stopped me.
Children.
Frightened children.
Three of them.
I’d never moved so fast in my life.
Chapter
Eight
ALLIE
I’d barely dashed onto the path, legs screaming under the strain, mind already rushing to the grimmest outcome, when a gruff voice resounded, halting me in my mad dash.
“Getdown!”
To my bewilderment, I stared at the fearsome Blood Brotherhood warrior who’d tried to crack my protective ward, the only spell I’d managed to cast before my powers had failed me.
The ghost.
The one who’d crashed Evie’s wedding and froze some of our best warriors in their seats before the massacre began.
He’d let them go as the arrows had started to fall, but he’ddareduse his powers on them in the first place.
He seemed so out of place in this lush maze, like a glacier come to numb us all.
He’d definitely frozen me, mid-crouch, mid-breath, and mid-shot.
I had my arrow aimed straight at his skull.
No magic in this world could save him if I decided to launch it.
But I didn’t pull the string.
I watched in amazement as he used his large body to shield three frightened children behind him–two Serpents I didn’t recognize and little Eric, whose big blue eyes were reddened with tears. Their shirts were stained with dirt. No blood, thank the gods. They were all frightened, but unharmed.
