The Winter King
Page 167

“Is there any part of the brother I loved that was real?” she asked bitterly. “Have you ever truly cared about anything or anyone more than your own ambition? What about Elka. You haven’t even asked what happened to her. Was she just a means to an end like everyone else in your life?”
Falcon’s jaw hardened. “Elka betrayed me. She and her sister went to retrieve Roland’s sword, but they never came back.”
“Elka didn’t betray you. Reika drank the Ice Heart, then she turned Elka into an ice thrall and left her there to kill anyone who came near the Ice Heart or Roland’s sword.”
“You’re lying.” But he looked uncertain as he scanned her face.
“No, I’m not. The Elka ice thrall tried to kill me, but I retrieved the sword and killed her instead. She gave me her pendant before she died. If you or your men didn’t take it from me, it’s still around my neck. Her last words were for you. She wanted me to tell you that she loved you.”
He got up and crossed over to where she sat. “Don’t try anything stupid,” he warned, then untied her cape and pushed it aside to bare her throat. The pendant was still there. He pulled it free and regarded it with an inscrutable look. “When she didn’t come to the rendezvous point, I thought she had betrayed me and taken the sword for herself. I was coming to find her when I saw you and your men head into the Temple.” He slid the pendant into his pocket and retied Kham’s cape. “I’m glad I was wrong about that.”
“That’s it? How can you be so cold, so devoid of feeling?”
He gave her a look then, a bit wild-eyed, like an animal in pain. “Don’t push me, Storm,” he warned, and she thought maybe, just maybe, her brother really had loved his Winterlady. That gave her a measure of hope. Maybe she could still reach him, talk sense into him before it was too late.
“Falcon, listen to me. Something bad is happening. Something far worse than another war between Summerlea and Wintercraig. That’s why you’ve got to let me take the sword to Wynter.”
“Don’t worry, Storm. I fully intend to deliver this sword to your husband myself”—he patted the golden hilt at his side—“point first and straight through the heart.”
“I’m serious, Falcon. This isn’t some joke! Didn’t Elka ever tell you about Rorjak the Ice King? And Carnak, the end of the world?”
He rolled his eyes. “Those are just fables, Storm. Stories told to frighten children and keep the worshippers of Wyrn paying their tithes to the priestesses.”
“No they aren’t! Carnak is happening right now. The garm—terrible monsters from the remote reaches of the Craig—have been attacking villages. That’s one of the first signs of Rorjak’s return.”
“Is that what all this is about?” He laughed and shook his head. “Oh, Storm, Storm, my gullible little sister. The garm didn’t attack those villages because the world is going to end. They attacked because my men baited a trail to lead them there.”
“What?”
He shrugged. “Technically, it was Elka’s sister’s idea. We needed the temple emptied so Elka could get the sword, and she said the best way to do that was to force your husband to call a Great Hunt.”
“Reika suggested luring the garm down to attack the villages?” Kham’s hands curled into fists. That evil bitch had a lot to answer for.
“We met at her father’s estate over a month ago. She was really quite helpful. Doesn’t like you much, though, I have to say.”
“The feeling is mutual,” she muttered. Of course, Reika had helped Falcon. Reika wanted power. When it was clear she was never going to get it through Wynter, she’d found another way. And Falcon was no better. He’d yet again knowingly set innocent men, women, and children up to die as a distraction so he could pursue Roland’s sword.
“Have you always been this heartless, and I just blinded myself to it?” she asked bitterly. “Is there anything you wouldn’t do—anyone you won’t sacrifice—to get your hands on Blazing?”
Her brother’s eye flashed a warning. “No, there isn’t. And you’d be wise to remember that.” He stood up. “I’m going to bed. My men will get you something to eat, and you’re not going to give them any trouble. We’ve still got your little friend with us.” He nodded towards a tree about fifteen yards away. Krysti was slumped over and tied to the tree. “If you value his life—which I know you do—you’ll behave yourself.”
“What did you do to him?”
“Don’t worry, he’s healthy enough. A regular wild child when he gets a chance. Kicked one of my men in the stones and broke another one’s nose on the way here. That’s why they tied him up.”
Good for Krysti, Khamsin wanted to crow. “He’s Craig-bred.”
Falcon snorted. “Untamed little monster, more like. Reminds me of you when you were his age.”
She glared at him. “Tell me, brother, do our sisters approve of what you’re doing? Invading sovereign kingdoms, murdering innocent people, brutalizing little boys?” It would break her heart if her entire family turned out to be as savage and ruthless as her father and brother.
Falcon’s dark eyes flashed, and his jaw thrust out. “This is king’s business, not theirs.”
So no, they didn’t know. Kham sighed in relief. Thank Halla for that, at least.