Gathering Frost (Once Upon A Curse Book 1) (15 page)

Kill the queen and the magic transfers to her heir.

To Asher.

An alarm goes off in my head, pounding, ringing so loud that all of my other senses are blocked off.

He can't mean…

But he does.

All defenses down, I see the real meaning of the words in his eyes, in Asher's sorrowful, apologetic eyes. And suddenly I'm falling. My grip is loosed, I'm tumbling over the cliff, and there is nothing I can do to stop it.

When he inherits the power, Asher means to do the one thing no one else in his family ever could. To give up the power. To let it all go. To kill himself.

My fingers tighten on his.

I won’t let him do it. I won’t.

"Ash—" I start to plead, voice shaking as dread floods my system. But the words are cut short by an alarm blasting through the air, reverberating around the room so loud that I know the ringing is no longer just in my head.

The beeping grows closer, quicker.

Echoes drift down from above, loud booms that sound almost simultaneously, that shake the room around us.

The general has moved into motion, shouts commands, and subordinates run to do his bidding. But I am stuck. Asher is stuck. In a frenzied room, we remain alone at the center, the eye of the storm.

I have not released his fingers. He clutches onto mine.

The alarm continues to scream, but time is halted. Everything is about to change, is about to end. I know it. We have reached the peak, Asher and I, our climb is over, our highest height has been met, and now all that remains is the drop.

So we hold onto each other, to this last moment. I remember the lake, where everything seemed so perfect, the future limitless, the possibilities endless. From now on, the course is set. Unchanging. Doomed.

The lights in the room die out, slowly fade until it is dark and the ghost of a glow remains in my eyes.

All sound stops.

All movement.

And then a crash sounds from directly above our heads, sinking through the ground, muffled but more menacing in the ebony that surrounds us.

Time rushes forward.

The moment has snapped. It's over. And I know we will never get it back.

The lights switch back on and it is chaos. People run in every direction, turning the machines back to life, trying to determine what waits for us above ground.

I have a guess, but I can't be certain.

"Asher!" The general's voice calls and we both turn. He charges through the crowd, face determined, and grabs Asher by the shoulders. "It's time."

"Yes, sir." Asher nods, mission completely clear to him. "How long do I have?"

"A week, no more."

I'm not sure what just transpired, but I know I cannot leave Asher alone, not now, not when I know his real plan.

So when he turns to run from the room, I follow, feet pounding down the empty halls to the same beat as his. He knows he cannot shake me, so he doesn't try. The stomping above our heads continues, shaking dusty particles free from the ceiling, and I become more certain about what waits, but push the images from my mind. I have room for only Asher. After a few silent minutes, we slow and enter a new chamber.

Weapons.

All along the walls are guns, knives, swords, even arrows. We've reached an armory, and my fingers itch to curve around the hilt of a blade, twitch to pull the trigger of a gun. I miss the fight. My muscles ache to be used.

"Jade." Asher's voice pulls me away.

I turn to him, anticipating what his next words will be. "No."

"Jade, I'm going back to Kardenia. It's too dangerous for you to come."

I raise an eyebrow. "Too dangerous? I lived there longer than you did. I know exactly what waits for me."

Asher steps closer, warm hand cupping my cheek, eyes begging me to listen to him just this once. "You only just escaped, freed yourself from my mother. You'll lose everything if you go back."

I'll lose you if I don’t.

But I can't bring myself to say the words out loud. They are too bare, too raw. So I smile encouragingly, warming my features as I lift myself an inch higher, closer to his lips.

"Then it's your job to make sure I remember," I whisper just before our lips meet, soft and tender, barely grazing. When I pull away, it is Asher who digs his fingers into my hair, urging me closer. His lips are ferocious, pressing hard against mine, hungry.

Passionate.

Desperate.

My balance fails, but he holds me up, arm wrapped around my waist. And then another crash sounds, reverberates around the room, and the weapons jingle on their hooks, reminding us both that there is no time. Asher lets go and I drop back to my feet, breathless.

"I'm coming with you," I force the airy words out. "You can't stop me."

Asher pauses, squints, and then releases a prolonged exhale. "Grab whatever weapons you can. We don't know what waits for us above ground."

Another stomp booms.

I jump into action, first discarding my sweater and then replacing it with a bulletproof vest hanging on the wall. I'm back in uniform, back on the guard, and I pull out the black heart pin I had tucked into my jeans. I'm stronger when I wear it, more formidable, more ruthless. Then I strap two handguns to my hips and tuck knives into the open spaces of the vest. The far wall is lined with heavy machine guns, and I throw one over my shoulders, just in case.

When I turn, Asher looks much the same as me. Decorated in deadly metal, ready to fight. Our minds are synced. I can read the thoughts that flutter over his features. Concern. Thrill. Trust. The same things prick my heart as well. Without words, he leaves the room, and we make our way to a ladder leading to the outside.

I wish I could run back to my room and grab the books that Asher gave me. To turn their crisp pages once more, to lose myself in the lives he chose to give me. I wish I could find Maddy, hug her goodbye, thank her for showing me how to open myself up, to be vulnerable. I wish I could visit the missing persons room, glance once more at the people I'm indebted to, the ones I need to free. I'll miss the showers, the lights, the movies. But most of all, I will miss the freedom. My stay here has been a dream. Without the sun, time felt stalled, prolonged as though I were in a perpetual sleep. Forever stretched like a promise before me.

But now I return to the outside world. To the sunrise. The sunset. The never ending passage of time, the undulation from dark to light that whispers I will never be free.

For Asher, I willingly throw myself back behind bars.

It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the sun, to blink away the brightness. When I do, I know the time for thought is over. Queen Deirdre grew tired of waiting for the rebels to act, of waiting for me to bring her son back. She sent us a gift to spurn the rebellion along.

Giants.

Nine monstrous beasts loom before us, taking turns slamming their fists into the ground, trying to break the rebel camp apart, to rip the dirt open and dig their way inside. The stories from the wall were correct, almost. They are not two times the size of any man—they are three. I do not know how the queen kept them contained all of these years, but now that they are released, they are feral. Grunting mouths drip with drool. Hunched backs ripple with muscles. Clawed nails tear through the grass. If they ever looked like humans, they do not now.

As soon as my feet touch the ground, I swing the gun from my back and drop into a kneel. Taking an instant to aim, I pull the trigger. My body bounces with the force of the machine, but I keep my arms steady. Nearly an entire clip is emptied before the giant's head explodes, and he comes crashing back down to the ground.

The other eight stop, wide eyes alert, searching for me.

They land.

We stare at each other and then I run, pulling a shocked Asher with me.

But they are smarter than I anticipate and they divide into two groups of four, prepared to conquer us both as we split into two different directions.

Outrunning them for very far is impossible, so I make for the trees about fifty yards away, hoping Asher is doing the same. But I cannot think about him. My body is alert, and every ounce of effort I have is focused on the fight.

The booms of large feet get closer.

I reach the trees, ducking behind a large trunk while I reload the machine gun in my hand. Barely a second has passed before I peer around my hideout, locating another head, and I fire.

Three to go.

Bullets sound in the distance, coming from more than one weapon, and my heart feels easier. Asher must be safe. The rebels have come to his aid. But for now, I'm on my own.

I reload, peeking around the corner, but the giants have disappeared. My body tightens. There is a blockage in my throat. Slowly, I take an unsteady breath and turn to the other side.

Huge eyes watch me. A smile the size of my arm waits a few feet from my hiding place, and I dodge as branches crunch behind me. I jump, narrowly escaping the giant's fingers, and roll deeper in the trees, shooting blindly behind me. I hear a groan, knowing some bullets hit their mark. But it was stupid. My heart is in my chest, thumping wildly. I'm afraid. It makes me weak. Reckless. But I don't know how to turn it off.

So I decide I must fight it and the giants at the same time.

Reloading once more, I am down to two clips, one short for the number of giants I face. But I never lose. Never.

Bringing the old Jade back to life, the hard one, the fearless one, I charge, abandoning my cover and taking the giants on out in the open. As the trees disappear behind me, panic gurgles into my chest, but I suffocate it. There is no time for that.

I turn, still running backward, and lift my weapon as a giant runs from the trees, breaking branches on his way out. I fire, aiming at his head as best I can, satisfied when red rains down from the sky moments later. The ground below my feet rumbles when his body falls, and two more appear from the forest before me.

I grab the last clip, prepared for a standoff, but the giants do not wait. They run at me full speed, closing the distance in no time at all. I raise my gun, choosing one at random, firing with every ounce of control I have, keeping the moving target constantly in my aim.

He goes down.

But before I can move, a beefy hand grips my torso, squeezing tight as my arms are crushed against my sides and I am lifted into the air, feet swinging. One move and the giant will slam me into the ground, cracking my skull, ending my short life. I have no time to spare. I need to act. My right hand lands against the hilt of my handgun, and I slide my fingers down into the belt loop, pointer just barely reaching the trigger, but it will do.

I might shoot myself.

I have no other choice.

As I fly up and over the giant's head, I realize the only place left to go is down. I can either fall on my own and risk the injury or slam down with fatal force. Without hesitation, I fire, releasing all six bullets.

One of them grazes my thigh, stinging, drawing blood, but the rest hit their mark, tearing through the nerves of the giant's wrist, and I am free. The grass provides no cushion as I thump against the ground, crunching, yelping in pain.

I have no time to think as the giant's other hand reaches for me. I run through his legs as my muscles scream. But there is only one way I can think of to bring a giant down. One weakness I can exploit. I need to remove its height.

Gripping my knife, I slash the thick tendon above the giant's heel. His skin is dense, tough to break through, but my blade cuts true. A pop fills my ear as the tendon gives way and the giant screeches, suddenly unsteady on his feet.

He tries to move, but his foot is no longer useful. He wobbles, confused, and I use the time to snap his other tendon. Unprepared, the giant falls, slamming into the ground. I pull my second handgun free and shoot.

I'm almost sorry as I watch the life leave his eyes. We are all pawns in the queen's game. But a sense of relaxation falls upon the giant's body as his last breath is exhaled, and I wonder if he finally feels free. What must their lives have been like, trapped underneath the castle, far too big for a place so small. Cramped. Broken. Then finally released only to be killed. Did he think he was finally escaping? Did he even know his mind was never his?

Is mine?

"Jade!"

Asher's arms come around me, crushing me into him, and my emotions come flooding back, no longer held off by the fight. My fingers grip his shoulders, holding on for dear life as I ride the torrent. Heat stings my blood, pricks my heart. A heavy weight fills my chest. And I cannot stop the dread from filling my mind.

As my eyes peer over Asher's shoulders, at the curved eyes of the giant lying limp, I cannot help but wonder if I am any different. Have I not been feeling finally free of the queen? Am I fooling myself? Have I walked directly into her plan, falling for the prince, making him trust me, now bringing him to her ripe for the slaughter?

In a few days, will it be Asher's empty eyes I stare into?

I dig my hands into his skin, refusing to let go as that dark image invades my sight. Of his indigo eyes, empty, devoid of stars, lifeless.

I won't let it happen.

I can't.

"Are you hurt?" Asher asks, pulling back, searching my eyes.

Pain flares to life in my leg, and I look down as red expands against the fabric of my pants. The bullet took a little more skin than I realized, but nothing that won't heal.

"I'm fine," I say, but my voice does not do a convincing enough job, and before I know it, I find myself swooped into Asher's arms, weightless while he holds me close.

"Asher." I squirm, comfortable in his embrace, but uncomfortable with being rescued.

"Don't worry, you're too heavy to carry all the way to Kardenia," he says, smirking, "There's a medical cabin nearby."

"I can walk."

"Just let me help you," he urges, and because he needs it, I let him. I put my arms around his neck, resting my head against his shoulder, and before I know it, the trip is over.

Asher sets me down gently on a stool inside the small cabin. There is one dirty window bringing light inside, but it is barely enough to see with. Yet Asher seems to know where everything is. A backpack is pulled from the corner, already stuffed full with supplies he gathered in advance. The rebels have been waiting for this day for a while, but I will wait before pestering Asher with questions. We need to be far enough away that he cannot leave me behind. Then I will demand answers. For now, I sit patiently as he grabs extra supplies from the shelves around us.