Page 59 of Court of Winter

“He was murdered.” I took a step closer to the crown prince as my face twisted into something ugly. I could feel it, growing and thriving in my expression. All of my anger, hurt, betrayal, lost hope, and aching sadness morphed my face until I was no longer Ilara Seary, daughter of Mervalee Territory. No. I’d turned into a creature consumed with wrath and hatred, of betrayal and retribution.

My lips peeled back as I pointed an accusing finger at him. “You murdered my brother. Youkilledhim when he came here, asking for the court’s help. And why? To apparently stop him from talking. And do you know what you then did?” Tears pricked my eyes as I glared up at the Death Master.

He didn’t move. Didn’t even blink.

“You murdered my parents next. They came here, in my brother’s name, wanting to know why he’d been killed for voicing his concerns, and do you know what you did to them? You murdered them too.” A shrill laugh escaped me. “So imagine my surprise now at the irony of all of this. You killed my family, and in return, you want me to save you. And what if I say no, Prince Norivun? What if I refuse the great crown prince of the Court of Winter? Will you kill me too?”

The prince continued to stare at me. Unmoving. Maybe not even breathing.

Nuwin stepped forward. “Nori, maybe we should—”

But the prince raised a hand. “No, I want to hear her accusations. I want to hear her condemnation for everything that I am. Let her get it all out now and be done with it, because at the end of the day, she’ll still do as I say.”

My hand shot out so fast that I didn’t even know I was going to strike him until my palm met his cheek. A great ringingslapreverberated through the courtyard as the prince’s head whipped to the side.

“No, I won’t.” I seethed. “I refuse to help you or your damned court or anyone else in this castle. I don’t have magic. I can’t createorem, and you’re nothing but a fool and a murderer.”

I turned my back on him, and neither he nor his brother tried to stop me when I stalked back into my chambers and slammed the door behind me, yet I could have sworn that when the door shuddered, it wasn’t just from the strength of my swing.

It also felt as though the Bringer of Darkness was rumbling the entire castle.

* * *

I lockedmyself in the bathing room.

And as the minutes ticked by and nobody came to the door, or murdered me through the window, or called for me to come out, I eventually came to the conclusion that they’d both left.

I stayed where I was though. My entire body was shaking, so I sat on the cold stone floor, wrapped my arms around my knees, and rocked back and forth.

The crown prince believed that I had magic. Magic strong enough to createorem. And he wanted to use my supposed magic to heal our land.

My brother had been right all along. Our land was dying. The crops really were withering, and we would all starve unless something was done to make our crops thrive again.

But how could that answer possibly be me? I didn’t have magic. I didn’t have wings. I was defective, wingless, magicless... And nobody could createorem. That came from the gods and was only replenished by our universe’s celestial events. The gods decided those fates too. Not me.

It was so preposterous that I threw my hands up and pushed to an abrupt stand.

I paced back and forth as the prince’s face burned into my mind. If this was why he’d taken me, why hadn’t he just told me so from the beginning? Why had he kept it such a big secret?

He probably did it just to torment you, just because he could.

My lip curled as my hatred unfurled like a poisoned rose within me.

Prince Norivun was evil. Everyone was right about him, and his expression when I’d revealed to him what he’d done to my family hadn’t been that of shock, regret, or surprise. Oh no. He hadn’t worn any expression at all. He’d simply let me scream and rail at him while he probably counted the seconds until I was done.

I paused by the mirror, my chest heaving. Flushed cheeks, too-bright eyes, and dark hair that hung in curling waves past my shoulders reflected back at me. My eyes looked as blue as the gems mined in Harrivee. I brought a hand to my mouth when a sudden nearly hysterical laugh escaped me. I’dslappedthe crown prince of the Court of Winter, and he hadn’t murdered me. Yet.

That thought sobered me instantly, and I resumed my pacing.

I’d gone too far. I knew that, but I hadn’t been able to contain my fury any longer. For amonth, the prince had held me prisoner, and he hadn’t told me any of his beliefs or his plans.

Quite simply—I’d snapped.

I padded to the door, my heart thrumming in my chest as I debated what he would do from here. If he truly thought I was the key to saving our lands, then I doubted he would kill me—even ifIknew I couldn’t save anything.

So then the next question became, just what exactly did he have planned for me?

I finally disengaged the lock to the bathing room and swung the door open. I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost stumbled into a dark figure standing by the glass doors.