My friends would never forgive me. If we survived.
I’m not picking Darren over Jerar. My fingers curled around the stolen map. It would never come to that. This was about giving the king a chance.
Ella finished adjusting her scabbard, and then we were off.
The stars lit the way.
*
Two miles in the dead of the night and all around us the granite glittered with ice, sharp and translucent. It was almost ethereal to be someplace so deadly and enchanting in the same breath.
We took the ridge slowly as we began our descent. The pass had been aptly named. Snow compacted into ice, frozen solid by years of neglect in a land with only one season. The summit sloped down and led to a cavernous passage littered with glaciers.
Everywhere we turned, there were beds of black ice and snow-dusted rock. It would have been so easy to fall and slip, impaling oneself on a jagged rock or, worse, over the ledge. We couldn’t spot anything from the top of the pass; the mountain descended steeply into a second, lower peak where the overlook was kept. It was there we would finally be able to see the war waging below.
By the end of the second hour, we were numb from the waist up. Even with the constant movement and the heavy furs lining the inside of our cloaks, it wasn’t enough. The temperature had continued to plunge, and we needed a moment to reheat our limbs or risk losing them to black frost.
Ella and I took turns casting heat—there was no wood nearby for a fire as the top of the mountain and its passage were treeless—as Alex set to work treating our skin. My twin did the best he could with the supplies he had in his pack—birch leaf and the remains of valerian—but he was holding off magic. For now.
We were sore, hungry, and tired.
The one thing I wasn’t? Thirsty. Thanks to the abundance of snow.
Once again, we shared a meal of boiled water, only, this time, there wasn’t even an old bone to give it the semblance of broth.
My stomach felt like a ravenous pack of dogs. Every step took twice the energy as that morning. A part of me wondered what it would have been like if I had succumbed to a night of rest.
“How much further?” Ella cupped the steam from her mug so that it heated her face.
I squinted at the map. The wind was blocked from where we stood; jagged walls of granite and ice kept the worst of it at bay.
“If this boulder is the one indicated here”—I pointed to a little dot on the scroll—“then we are close. A half-mile from the overlook. We’ll have to keep a lookout for—”
The sound of ice splintering behind me was all the warning I needed.
I spun. Two balls of flame hovered above my palms as I faced the sentry head on. Alex had a broadsword, and Ella provided a glowing sphere to shield the three of us. I thanked the gods we had taken the time to talk through an attack earlier on.
Then I saw who it was.
“Ian?” My casting vanished immediately.
Our friend was pale as a ghost. His lips cracked as he strode forward, and his arms wrapped around his cloak.
“Y-you can’t d-do this.” His teeth chattered as he spoke, but his eyes were livid.
Alex put his weapon back in its sheath and Ella lowered her casting.
“It’s my choice.” I was fighting hard to remain calm. Now that Ian was here, we were in trouble. How much, I wasn’t sure. Were there others? “You told me that the day you arrived, remember?”
“That was when I thought you would be smart enough to walk away.” His eyes flashed. “You have the right to not play a part in Darren’s death, Ryiah, but you don’t have a right to save him. That stopped being your choice the moment he took the throne. You can’t put the others at risk.”
Alex studied our friend’s face. “How did you know? The broth—”
“I’ve been watching Ryiah all week.” Ian’s words were steeped in resentment. “By the time she tossed her portion, it was too late. I was the only one who had waited for her to eat.” His brows knit together. “I tried to warn Quinn that day at the border, but he seemed to think we could handle her.”
“So he wasn’t going to uphold his promise!”
“Neither were you.” Ian glowered at me. “Both of you were just saying what the other wanted to hear. I, at least, was honest that day he recruited you to our mission.”
“I’m sorry.” And I was—to a point. “But it was the only way, Ian.”
“They’ll freeze to death overnight. Did you ever think about that?”
“They will only sleep for three hours.” I bristled. “And we made sure they were warm, but you already know that. You were there.”
“Am I supposed to thank you?” Ian’s expression was incredulous. “Ryiah, please. Think about everyone else. Think about what will happen if you fail.”
“Then the rest of you can finish the job.” I refused to consider the implication. “I just need to try it my way first.”
“Ryiah—”
“No.” My voice rose. “You don’t understand what you are asking me, Ian. I’ve given everything to this damned cause. Give me a gods’ forsaken chance to save him!”