Winter Queen (13 page)

“I want to speak to Darrien.”

Metha’s finger jabbed the air. “Now!”

Ilyenna stormed back to the river, determined to get something out of Jossa. But as soon as the girl saw her coming, she fled as if Darrien himself chased her.

Helplessly, Ilyenna watched her go. What secret was so dangerous Jossa would run from her, injured as she was? She didn’t get a chance to find out. Hanie brought her supper and the last of the dishes. Ilyenna tried to get information out of the girl, but she claimed not to know anything, though her pained face spoke otherwise.

By the time Ilyenna was finished, her hands were wrinkled and raw, and deep night had come on. Balancing the basket on her hip, she went back to the kitchen. Metha was at the table, patting Harrow’s tiny back. “Darrien’s already gone to bed. You’re to sleep in the hallway.”

Ilyenna stared at the woman’s back, trying to will Metha to tell her something. As if sensing her, Metha half turned. “Don’t, Ilyenna.”

Fine.
She’d ask Darrien herself. Up the stairs, she eased into his room. Drawing her courage, she shut the door. Instantly, she was plunged into darkness. Her heart lurched into her throat.

“Hello, Ilyenna.” It sounded like he was in bed after all.

She breathed a little easier that he wasn’t lying in wait for her. “Why did you beat all the tiams?”

“Come closer and I’ll tell you.”

Her eyes had begun to adjust to the dark. He was in his bed. A warning pounded in her head. Narium, Rone, and Metha had all told her to leave it alone. But she couldn’t. He was hurting her clanwomen. If she could do anything to stop it, she would. She came to the side of the bed, making sure to stay out of arms’ reach. “Why?”

“Why, Ilyenna?” She smelled whiskey on his breath. Cringing, she stepped back, suddenly full of terror.
“Because they disobeyed. Just as you continue to do.”

Faster than she thought possible, his hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist. She twisted and strained. He surprised her then, lunging out of the bed and knocking her to the floor. He pinned her beneath him. She cried out, shoving and beating against his chest.

He grabbed her arms and held them above her head. He pressed against her, his hungry fingers working her dress up. No matter how hard she fought, she couldn’t stop him. He was so much stronger. “Please, no! Please!” she cried out.

He worked faster.

“You swore you wouldn’t!”

He paused.

Tears streamed down Ilyenna’s face and soaked into her hair. Twisting, she strained to get as far away from him as she could.

Releasing her hands, Darrien lowered his head, his breath coming hard and fast against her neck. “You were smart to bargain for that right.
Very smart. But you aren’t the only one I can hurt.”

All the blood in Ilyenna’s body went cold. “No,” she gasped.

He leaned in and whispered into her ear. “I told you I’d make you pay, Ilyenna. And pay you will. I will beat each and every one of them until you marry me or tell me the secret of your healings.”

“I told you. The fairies did it. They gave me a flower, but I used it all.”

Her searching fingers found something smooth and hard under the skin rug. The onyx. She fumbled to pull it out without Darrien noticing. “I’ll kill you,” she said through clenched teeth.

He laughed. “You proved it with Metha. You’re a healer, a clan mistress. Not a murderer.” He took her earlobe between his teeth. “Not like me.”

She clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to see what was coming. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

She felt him smile against her neck. “All my life my mother spoke of the Balance. But she was always so weak compared to my father. I realized the truth when she died. It’s the strong side of the Balance that survives—that leads, that rules. I’m stronger and smarter than anyone else in the lands. And one day they’ll all be mine. Let me hear the words, Ilyenna”

He’d given her no choice. They both knew it. He’d won. Unless . . .

Her finger tightened around the onyx stone. It would cost her life, but so would
agreeing to what he wanted. She slammed the stone against his head. His weight collapsed on top of her, his breath hot on her throat. Wiggling, she managed to get out from under him. Already, he was starting to moan.

Dropping the bloodied stone, she ran.

13. Falling

The clan-house door cracked against the river-stone wall as Ilyenna streaked through. Metha cried after her, but she didn’t stop or slow. She flew down the path, the trees shadowed blurs as she passed. At the river, she paused to catch her breath and listen. Nothing. But he would come.

She ran until the path disappeared. Not much deeper, the forest grew too dense to move through, forcing her to run parallel to the river. Dodging a boulder, she splashed in, soaking herself to her knees. A little farther down, the trees crowded so close to the bank she had no choice but wade in the water up to her waist.
Water that terrified her. But Darrien terrified her more.

Suddenly, she felt the slippery stones shift beneath her. She slid and went under. Immediately, she was ten again, drowning under the ice. She clawed at the water. Her braid came loose and her hair flared around her like a dark sheaf of wheat.

Fighting the current, she finally managed to get her feet back under her. The river had carried her downstream to where the bank wasn’t as steep. She scrambled out and ran.

The water grew swifter and the crashing sound louder. Just as she was starting to wonder what it was, she leaped over a log and her ankle gave way. With a cry, she crumpled to the ground. She was soaking wet, her dress clinging to her. Now her ankle throbbed. But over her frantic panting, she could hear them.
Dogs barking. She lurched to her feet and began hobbling as fast as she could.

The river narrowed and deepened. The air was thick and heavy with the smell of moss. With a sense of foreboding, she climbed up the bald expanse of a flat boulder and looked down.

A waterfall crashed down a cliff, hurtling into a deep pool. Rocks and boulders ringed the pool like the teeth of a hungry maw. An updraft blew against her. For leagues in either direction, the cliff went on. She had nowhere to go. The dogs were very close now. She was trapped.

She stared at the pool, her whole body screaming to live.

The dogs crashed through the trees, baying happily when they found her. She turned. Darrien was astride his gelding. What would he do to her?

He rubbed the back of his head. “That’ll cost you.”

He was going to take everything she held dear. By the time he finished, she wouldn’t be Ilyenna anymore. Yet if she didn’t bend to him, he’d destroy her clanwomen. Only one choice remained for her now. She peeked over the edge and looked down.

“Come here now,” Darrien said softly.

She turned. From the look on his face, it was clear he knew she planned to jump. She closed her eyes. Drawing every ounce of courage, she inched backward. She was the clan mistress. She protected her clan, no matter the cost. With each step, she expected to feel nothing but open air beneath her.

“Ilyenna, no!”
Rone came crashing through the trees, his face white with fear and exertion.

She gasped out the breath she’d been holding. Her heart leaped within her. Why couldn’t he have loved her?

Darrien made no move to stop Rone as he cautiously approached her, his hand outstretched. “Come with me, Ilyenna.”

She shook her head violently, tendrils of her damp hair swaying. “I can’t. I have to protect them. Protect myself.”

Rone’s eyes were filled with pain, taking her back to when she’d teetered on the edge of the ice. “We’ll find another way.”

She smiled at him, trying to ease his pain. “There is no other way.” She stepped back, and this time, her foot caught nothing but empty air. She pushed off. Rone reached for her, his face twisting in despair. She heard his scream as she fell. Her heart plunged in her throat as she watched the ground rush up to meet her.

Suddenly a blast of hot wind slammed into her body, tossing her end over end. Instead of crashing into the rocks, she plummeted into the pool. The impact drove all thought of duty and honor from her mind, consuming her instead with pain. All the air burst from her lungs. She desperately wanted to live, but no matter how frantically she clawed at the water, she still sank.

Against her will, her aching lungs drew in water.
Her throat spasmed. She coughed and gagged. Her lungs screamed for air. Her eyes lost their ability to focus. She concentrated on a grainy point of light as the water grew dark and deep.

The last thing she saw before slipping into unconsciousness was the moon exploding.

***

The water was so cold it drove the breath from Ilyenna, sending her whole body into a cramp. Her lungs burned with fire. Trapped beneath the layer of ice, she slammed into the riverbed before hurtling into the ice. The water dragged her along its jagged surface—so close she could see the pale winter sky, the dark trees framing it like lace. She clawed at the ice, numbly aware of the sting as one by one, her fingernails were ripped off.

Then, by some miracle, the ice broke above her. She bobbed along in the water, too weak and cold to fight the current. She bumped against another sheet of ice, and the water started sucking her down. Clawing at the icy snow, she bent herself in half over the ice. She couldn’t pull her legs from the river. She dug into the crystallized snow with her blue hands, trying to call for help. Her voice refused to work.

This is how I’m going to die, she thought.

***

Over and over again, Ilyenna coughed up water. Finally, her throat and lungs opened and she struggled to draw a deep breath. Her body devoured the air greedily, screaming for more. Ever so slowly, her mind cleared. She
lay stomach first over Rone’s legs, his hand pounding her back.

“How could you?” She heard the tears in his voice.

She remembered the blast of hot wind slamming into her body. Somehow, the summer queen had saved her.

“How could you do that to me again?” he asked.

Again. Rone must have jumped into the water after her. They were lucky he hadn’t been killed.

She stared at the waterfall without really seeing it. Memories as painful as frostbite swelled in her mind. The first time Rone had pulled her half-frozen body from the river, he and Bratton had covered her in their clothes. Bratton had held her skin to skin and practically in the fire while Rone went for help.

Over the following week, Ilyenna’s sick mother had nursed her back to health—at the cost of her own life.

Ilyenna dug her palms into her eyes, wishing she could darken her memories as easily as her vision. In seventeen years, she’d nearly died three times. But someone always brought her back. With the exception of Rone, her rescuers had perished. Perhaps she really was marked. Perhaps she wasn’t meant for this world. And anyone who tried to cheat death only ended up dying in Ilyenna’s place.

Suddenly, she was afraid for Rone. “You should’ve let me die.”

He didn’t answer for a moment. “I’m going to pretend you never said that.”

Weakly, she rolled to her back, her head on his lap. She couldn’t meet his gaze. “He was going to beat my clanwomen until I agreed to marry him. How else could I protect them—protect myself?”

Rone’s face darkened. “I told you we’d find another way.”

“He’s going to kill us all, body and soul.”

“He’ll be coming for us, with more of his clanmen.” Rone gently lifted Ilyenna’s head and upper body until she was sitting on the ground. “Can you run?”

She surveyed herself. Her ankle throbbed dully. “I think so.”

He stood, then grabbed her under her arms and heaved. Once on her feet, she collapsed against him, her legs as weak as a newborn lamb’s. Her ankle stung when she put weight on it. Already she could feel her boot digging into the swelling skin. But after a few wobbly steps, her muscles seemed to remember what they were for.

Rone watched her until she steadied. “We have to put as much distance between ourselves and Darrien as we can before the dogs catch our scent. It’s one of the only hopes we’ll have of losing them.”

Limping, Ilyenna followed him.
“One of the only?”

Rone grunted. “Oh, there’s lots of ways.
None a sure thing.”

With that, they started running. They followed the river, neither speaking. Trying to ignore her throbbing ankle, Ilyenna listened for the baying of dogs.

As streaks of morning light strangled the last of the stars, Rone stopped and said between gasps, “That’ll have to do. They’ll have horses. From now on, we’ll have to outsmart them.” He pointed across the river. “It’s rocky and shallow here. Run across. Touch things, leave your scent. Run until you find a barren place—somewhere that would hide tracks. Then double back. Step in your own footprints or on a rock. Don’t leave any backtracks. When you return to the river, wait for me. Understand?”

She nodded. Rone turned and disappeared inside the trees, leaving Ilyenna alone. It was terrifying.

Squaring her shoulders, she forced herself to do as Rone asked. She stepped into the trees and crossed the river, then kept walking. She kept her arms out, touching things and hoping she’d find a rocky place soon. Every moment she spent searching gave time to Darrien and his pursuit. Finally, she found a rocky knoll. But she didn’t relax. She still had to find her way back to the river, and she was no woodsman.

She tried to keep to the rocks or step in her own footprints. It was time consuming and difficult. Day deepened, bringing with it heat and insects. Sweat ran into her eyes, while midges feasted on her blood. Ilyenna nearly cried out in relief when she heard the river.

She stumbled out of the trees and looked about. Rone was nowhere in sight. What if Darrien found him? Other unwelcome thoughts assaulted her. Determinedly pushing them away, she examined her ankle. It was worse from all the running, swollen tight inside her boot. She ate some wild rhubarb, swallowing the sour stuff as quickly as she could.

Something white caught her eye.
A patch of snow. She suddenly remembered the winter fairies. Were they coming back for her? She stepped toward the snow, but instead of frozen granules, her fingers brushed the soft petals of a small cluster of white flowers. Her breath coming fast, she shook herself.

The winter fairies are gone, she reminded herself.

She looked around for Jablana or the others. There was no sign of them, and still no sign of Rone. Ilyenna sighed. Her skin itched where the midges had bitten her. She listened, but all she could hear was the river.

She smelled of sweat and fear. With nothing better to do, she stripped off her clothing and scrubbed it clean. After laying it out over a bush, she scoured herself with a patch of soapwort and sand.

The water should have been cold, but it felt oddly warm. Not daring to wade any deeper than her knees, she lay down, letting the current take the rest of the sand from her hair. But she’d never liked this much water—more so after last night. She burst up, water running in rivulets down her skin, and froze.

Rone stood at the edge of the river, his eyes burning bright and his chest rising and falling hard. He took a long, ragged breath. “We have to hurry,” he said.

Feeling shy under his penetrating gaze, she kept her head down as she walked past him. Just before she drew even with him, he reached out, the backs of his fingers moving down the curve of her hip. He pinched his eyes shut as if in pain. “You’re beautiful.” He said it with a regret and finality that sent an inexplicable sadness through her veins. He gently pushed her away. “Hurry.”

She shivered as a feeling of loneliness overtook her. Quickly, she tugged her damp clothes over her head. Rone led her downstream. “We’re downwind of the trail I created,” he said. “I’m hoping the dogs will get confused and lose our spoor. We need to put some distance between our false trail and our real one to ensure they don’t find it.”

Then they were running again.