Page 91 of Thorns of Frost
A knock came on my bedchamber’s door.
“That must be Sandus.” I gave Daiseeum a smile of thanks, then hugged my sister, but when I opened the door, my breath stopped when I beheld the crown prince. A smile parted my lips as my stomach coiled. “What are you doing here?”
“Is that how you greet your prince?” he asked in a teasing, husky tone.
I tried to ignore the flutter in my heart that had nothing to do with the test. Prince Norivun’s wings rose high above his shoulders, his cut jawline also demanding my attention. He wore a rich blue tunic. The fitted material clearly defined his powerful chest muscles hidden beneath.
Blessed Mother, he’s a beautiful male.
Somehow, I managed to bob a curtsy, but my voice came out breathy when I replied, “Sorry, good morning, my prince.”
He took a step closer to me, crowding my space as his aura wrapped around me. His air affinity kissed the skin on my neck, sending a shiver of goosebumps cascading down my spine.
“To answer your question, I’m here because there’s something you need to see.”
I straightened, and some of the curling motions disappeared in my belly at his grim tone. “Now?”
“It’s important.”
“What’s happened?”
“The fields in Isalee—” His brow furrowed, and the worry that etched into his features was deeper than anything I’d seen of late. Dread filled me.
“What’s happened?”
“Come.”
I didn’t have time to ask what he intended to do before his hand wrapped around my forearm. The realm disappeared in a blur of mist and shadows, air and wind.
We reappeared in a blinding snowstorm, and the gusts were so strong I was nearly knocked off my feet. Shielding my eyes, I called upon my air affinity to create a warm bubble around us.
My magic responded immediately, easily ten times faster than it’d been three months ago.
Norivun’s lips kicked up, and some of the tension that had knotted his expression lightened. “You’re nearly as fast as me with your air affinity now.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Nearly?”
He chuckled. “You can’t expect to be as strong as the Death Master of the continent.”
Despite the fact that I was in a snowstorm right before my second test, I laughed. “Did you really just whisk me from my chambers, minutes from the beginning of my second test, just for a jaunt in the snow, my prince?”
The fleeting lightness on his face vanished. “Do you recognize where we are?”
I peered through my air bubble and frowned when memories surfaced of the familiar brutal winds and raging storms. “Is this the Isalee field where the snowgum attacked you? Where the crops first began to die?”
He nodded. “And look at it.” He waved his arm toward the field, toward where growing crops had been.
My lips parted, a stone settling in my stomach as I took in withered black stalks lying limp on the snow. They dotted the entire landscape, barely visible through the blinding storm.
My mood plummeted. “How? What happened?”
The prince scowled. “I don’t know. Truthfully, I have no idea.”
“But...only days ago, this field was thriving. Lord Woodsbury proclaimed it at the last council meeting.” Bending down, I frantically dug through the snow, having to push several feet aside until I came to the hard, cold dirt. It was dry and gray—exactly as it’d been before I’d restored this land’sorem.
A mewling sound escaped me.No, no, no.Sitting back on my haunches, I stared at the dead ground before me.
“Are the gods working against us? Do they want us all to starve? Is saving the Solis continent truly beyond anything we can fix?” Because if my magic only restored life to these crops temporarily, then we were all doomed.