Page 32 of Winter's Dragons. Frozen Flames
I didn't get the chance to figure out the answer to that question. A black, formless shadow enveloped Snegurka and her body dissipated into a thick, dark mist. It swept forward like a vicious blizzard, heading straight toward me.
Too late did I realize what she intended. Too late did I understand that she had never planned on killing me, and our confrontation had only been a preparation for something far more insidious. The mist struck my chest, and pain exploded through me, sharper and fiercer than anything I'd ever experienced in my life. The last thing I heard was the sound of Emmerich's voice crying out my name, and then everything went black.
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Emmerich
Once upon a time, when I'd been only a dragonet, my father had pulled me aside and told me that there was a reason why we firedrakes acted the way we did. He'd explained that the attitude most people deemed reckless was pure and simple logic, as the worst things in life always happened much too quickly to be rationalized.
I'd never understood that better than the moment I watched my soulmate being possessed by her worst enemy. I simply stood there in helpless shock, my abilities useless against Snegurka's strange magic.
It was over in the blink of an eye. The dark fog hit Cassia, and she collapsed, screaming like she was being torn apart from the inside. Mere seconds later, she went limp, the swirls of magic around her fingers fading like they had never been, her breath evening and all signs of pain dissipating.
She almost looked like she was asleep, but I knew better.
I still rushed to her side, unable to help myself, even if I knew in my heart that it was a horrible idea. I dropped to my knees next to her and gently took her soft, cold hand. "Cassia... Cassia, treasure, can you hear me?"
Cassia opened her eyes and blinked several times as if she was trying to clear her vision. It didn't take her long to gather her bearings, and the first thing she did upon fully recovering cognizance was to get up on her haunches and lean against me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and shot me a seductive smile. "Of course I can hear you. You're right here, and so am I. We're together at last."
Except we weren't, because this wasn't Cassia. I tasted bile in my mouth as the full weight of what had happened finally processed. Reminding myself that Snegurka had possessed Karasu and the tengu had shown signs of recovery before our departure, I did my best not to panic. "Get out of her, Snegurka. That isn't your body."
Snegurka chuckled darkly. "Of course it is. Who else could possibly own it?" She brushed her fingers over my cheek in a parody of the caresses Cassia so tenderly bestowed upon me. "Now, now. Don't look so dour. There's nothing to worry about. I'm right here."
That was exactly the problem, but saying so would not help me in the least bit. Could I convince her to release Cassia? It was doubtful, but I had to try. "I can see that, but it's not the way things are supposed to be. Let her go. Please."
"Please?" she repeated in a mix of disbelief and amusement as she crawled into my lap. "Do you think saying please will make a difference?"
Probably not. Asking nicely never worked out well when dealing with creatures like Snegurka. Nonetheless, she had not left, nor had she attacked the others, so maybe there was still a chance to accomplish something here.
"What could you possibly give me that would make me set the little half-breed free?" Snegurka mused out loud. "Oh, I know. How about... yourself?"
She rubbed her—or rather, Cassia's breasts—against my chest and wrapped her legs around my middle.I hated that she was using Cassia's body like this, but I couldn't do anything to stop her. I feared that if I made the attempt, Snegurka would lash out against my soulmate. "If that's what you want, you can have me," I said between gritted teeth. "Just let her go. I beg you."
"You look good when you beg."
The whispered words were the only warning I received before Snegurka crushed her lips to mine. Stars exploded in my vision, and my awareness of the world, of everything around me, dissipated into a cloud of ice and snow. My beast roared inside me, struggling against the leash that reached into me and tried to take me captive. I mentally flailed, gasping for air, desperate to escape the trap that threatened to shatter my sanity.
The rebellious flame of my essence responded and color flooded my mind once again, bright and furious, forcing back the haze of confusion and helplessness that had almost overwhelmed me. Even so, when I recovered awareness, I found that I had not returned to the amarok caverns like I had expected.
Instead, I seemed to be in Cassia's throne room from The Palace of Serenity. It looked a little different, sharper and colder, but that wasn't what surprised me. Instead, what took me aback was the fact that I seemed to be seated on her throne. It wouldn't have been the first time, as my fellow dragons and I had often convinced Cassia to make use of said seat in ways it had not originally been intended for. However, I did not remember us ever having sex in the presence of her underlings.
All of her lieutenants were lined up in front of her dais, their postures so rigid they almost seemed ice statues. Ded Moroz was by their side, along with a few others I didn't recognize.
Anger rushed through me at the sight of the treacherous old man, but I pushed it back, struggling to focus on my priorities. What was going on? Was this a memory or something else? How had I ended up here? What effects had Snegurka's magic had on me?
I got my answer when one of the men I didn't know took a step forward and broke the thick silence in the throne room. "Your Majesty, with respect, I'm not sure this is the best idea," he said. "I can understand why you might feel that we are worthy to rule The Land of Time, but our creatures aren't truly prepared for a war against The Realm of Eternal Sunlight. It would not end well for us."
"Is that right?" I heard myself ask in a familiar female voice. "Do you deem me so weak, that I would not be able to extend the power of winter over Bast's territories? If that is the case, perhaps you should be serving her instead."
The sharp cold words made realization dawn inside me, and I finally understood what I should have never missed from the very beginning. These were not my memories at all, but Snegurka's. Now that I was paying attention, I could even catch a glimpse of her pale, long-fingered hands and her beautifully embroidered robes, visible despite the fact that the body I was in hadn't been focusing on the detail when this incident had actually happened.
It was odd in the extreme to be in Snegurka's mind, most of all because I could now sense her emotions, everything she experienced as she spoke to her men. Her feelings were a little muted and silent, and I wasn't sure if that was because of the age of the memory itself, or some other reason. Still, the brutal whirlwind of her anger raged inside her, well hidden under her facade of ice, and that, I had no trouble distinguishing.
Her unwise subordinate must've realized the extent of her fury as well because he tried to backtrack and withdraw his previous statement. "Not at all, Your Majesty," he spluttered. "I..."
His sentence ended in an abrupt gurgle, the thin icicle now piercing his throat eliminating both his ability to speak and his life. "How unfortunate," Snegurka said as the dead body crumpled to the floor. "I do hate it when I get blood on the ice. It's so messy."
She got up from her throne and scanned the pale faces of the rest of the occupants of the room. "Any other objections? Tell me now. For the purpose of efficiency, it would be best to handle everything at the same time, so we don't have to clean the floors twice."
