Enchanted Frost (Frost Series #8) (A YA Romantic Fantasy Adventure) (14 page)

          Instantly,
we began hearing replies – the howling of wolves echoing across the woodland.

          “I've
signalled my Wolves,” he said. “I've told them to assemble at Ragnor's Peak.
It's the furthest village towards the Ancient Realms, about a five-day journey
from here.” He looked over at Shasta and Rodney. “Or faster, if you want to use
your wings.”

          “It's
dangerous,” said Rodney. “We don't want to sap our magical energy too much...”

          “But
time is of the essence,” Shasta insisted. “And if our magic won't work once
we're there, we might as well use up our energy now, rather than later.” She
turned to Logan. “But how will you keep up? If you can't fly...”

          “I
have my ways.” Logan smiled mysterious. “Shasta, do you know the way to
Radnor’s Peak?”

          “Due
north,” she said. “Not difficult – I'll follow the Belt of Helen in the sky –
the seven stars are easy enough to follow.”

          “Then
let's go. Now. To Radnor’s Peak. From there we can narrow down our search.”

          “Yes,”
I said. Somehow, it felt right – as if some magic deep within me sensed at the
mention of the place-name that Kian might be there.

          And
with that, we spread our wings, rising gossamer and glowing into the dark night
sky. Fairies flew only rarely – we did not like to sap our strength, and too
much flying made using magic in battle more difficult – but now, we knew, speed
was our top priority.

          “And
Logan?” Shasta turned to me as we floated through the air. “What's he going to
do?”

          “Look!”
Rodney pointed towards Logan, who had reverted into his Wolf form and had begun
to run through the trees, heading due north just as we were. But he wasn't
running like a normal wolf. His whole body was enveloped in a green glow, as
warm and intense as the light shining from an emerald, a glow that seemed to
make his paws glide above the ground. My mouth fell open with admiration. Logan
had truly learned to harness his magic in record time – it had taken me months
to learn to use my own – and as he ran, faster even than a fairy's flight, he
looked more noble, more beautiful, than I have ever seen him.

          “The
Wolf has magic?” Shasta turned to me as we flew, following the light of Logan's
journey. “How?”

          “It's
a long story,” I said. “But all the Wolves are regaining their magic now – not
just Logan.”

          “How
nice for them,” said Shasta drily. “I'm sure that makes Logan quite a catch,
now.” She eyed me suspiciously.

          “Believe
me, Shasta,” I said. “That's over. It was over a long time ago – and maybe it
took Kian leaving for me to acknowledge it for sure. But it
is
over. And
I'm sure before long, Logan too, will move on.”

          “Well,
let's hope not too quickly, for Alistair's sake,” shot in Rodney with a laugh.

          “You
think....” Shasta pursed her lips. “
Rose?”

           
“Alistair's
one of my best friends,” said Rodney, “and Rose would never let on to him – or
to anybody else – that she felt the way she does about Logan. She thinks it's
hopeless, a lost cause. But...if it isn't....”

          Shasta
laughed darkly. “Well, let's get my brother back, first,” she said. “And then
we can worry about love again.” Her expression softened. “Who knows,” she said,
almost smiling. “Maybe there will be a second wedding, after yours?”

          “I
hope so,” I said. But as we sped on towards Radnor’s Peak, I couldn't shake my
doubts. I knew now in my heart that I was committed to Kian. But did he still
feel the same way?

Chapter 17

T
he
stone towers of Radnor’s Peak appeared in the distance shortly before dawn. The
tall defensive towers, each one long-since converted into homes for the
shepherds that tended their flocks in these parts, stood in a ring around the
outskirts of the village, while a grouping of smaller thatched-roof huts stood
in a cluster in the center.

          “Wait,”
whispered Shasta, stopping us behind one of the towers. “Something's
happening...” She landed on the roof of one of the towers, and Rodney and I
came to a stop shortly behind her. She pointed at the town center. There, in
the main square, a group of people had gathered. Instinctively, my muscles
tensed up. I'd already seen what a mob could do back near the Summer Court; I
didn't want to get caught up in another riot. But I could hear no shouting, no
screams. It seemed that the villagers were no longer rioting. In fact, they all
stood still, stone-still.

          “They're...
kneeling
,”
said Shasta, squinting to see better. With a howl, Logan signalled to us that
he was going to get closer, to try to figure out what was going on. He, at
least, could go easily in disguise – skulking around the village like a
particularly large stray dog.

          “At
least there isn't an effigy of me that they're burning,” I said bitterly.
“That's a small improvement over the last village.”

          We
caught sight of Logan heading back towards us, and Rodney quickly flew to the
ground, picking up Logan and bringing him with us to the top of the tower.
Logan morphed into his human form, coughing and spluttering.

          “Something's
very, very strange,” he said. “That thing in the town center – it's not a riot.
It's...a coronation.”

          “A
coronation
?” Shasta looked aghast. “What on earth are you talking
about?”

          “They're
crowning a new Queen,” said Logan, with a gulp. “A new Queen of all Feyland.
This woman....” he shuddered. “This beautiful woman with these eyes that just
bore straight through me. She wasn't a Fey. She was something else.” He gasped,
still shaking. “She was one of the most gorgeous creatures I'd ever seen. And
when she fixed her eyes on me, it was like...she could make me do anything. For
a second, I felt like I'd give up our whole mission, our whole plan, my
responsibilities, everything, just to make her happy. And then she turned to
another Fairy, and suddenly...the feeling vanished. It was scary, I tell you!
It was like – imagine not having any control over your desires, your wants,
your own mind.”

          “Well,
if Kian did act like a complete idiot and let her into Feyland,” said Shasta,
“I guess I can understand why.”

          “Glad
to hear you're sympathetic,” I muttered. Evidently, Shasta was allowed to mock
her own brother, even if I wasn't.

          “I
heard her name when they crowned her Queen,” said Logan. “They were all calling
her name, saying All hail Queen Gail Vines. All hail Queen Gail Vines.”

          “Gail
Vines?” Shasta pursed her lips. “Are you sure that's what her name was?” She
sighed. “That really...really doesn't sound good?”

          Rodney
put a hand on her shoulder. “What do you mean?” He furrowed his brow with
worry. “Who's Gail Vines? Are we meant to know who that is?”

          “I
know who that is,” said Shasta. “I've heard my mother talk about her.”

          “The
White Witch?”

          “No,”
said Shasta. “Not at all. Back when the White Witch was banished from Feyland,
many years ago, others were vanished with her. All her supporters. And her
retinue of servants. Among them not merely witches of the coven, but also
once-ordinary fairies who had chosen to support the White Witch. And of those,
it is written in the annals of the history of Feyland, there was one
maidservant that was more suspicious than the rest, one whom my mother made a
special note never to allow into Feyland again. Many of the servants who
supported the White Witch were given only temporary banishments – it was only
the White Witch who was permanently exiled, along with her coven. But not Gail
Vines. The chief scullery maid in the palace, she was found guilty – or so my
mother wrote – of terrible crimes, of witchcraft that bordered on the truly
dire, witchcraft that rivalled the power of the White Witch herself!”

          “Then
you think...” Rodney tried to follow Shasta's argument. “Is Gail Vines the
new
White Witch?”

          “I
wouldn't be surprised,” said Shasta. “But if she is – then that means the White
Witch is even fiercer when we thought. Anyone powerful enough to murder the old
White Witch and get back into Feyland – enchanting my brother into losing his
mind – isn't someone we take lightly.”

          “But
if Kian had the power to bring her into Feyland,” I pressed Shasta further.
“Then wouldn't he have the power to take her away again? Couldn't he banish her
once more?”

          “Getting
her out of Feyland is going to be difficult,” said Shasta. “Very difficult.”
She pointed at the village below us. “I mean, look at what's happened to
Radnor’s Peak. I remember how this was years ago. This was a lovely village, a
pleasant place, full of peace and harmony. A place where villagers worked the
land side by side, helping their neighbours, supporting one another. And now,
look! You can see here that the houses have been burned down, or at least some
of them have; others have been looted. The market that used to stand in this
square is gone completely, vanished into nothingness. And all because of this
one woman, this one Gail Vines, and her ability to convince people of
anything...anything at all.”

          “So
we have to convince the people otherwise,” said Logan. “We have to show them
the truth.”

          “But
how?” I pleaded. “Are we supposed to hex them back? Is that what being a ruler
is about – having stronger magic in order to convince the people that you're
the one who should rule? If we enchant the villagers into supporting us,
doesn't that make us just as bad as Gail Vines herself?”

          The
others fell silent at this. “That's a fair point,” said Shasta. “We can't just
go about putting spells on people just because they don't agree with us, or
don't want Breena to rule. For starters, we wouldn't be able to tell who was
affected by the Shadow Puppets, and who just doesn't support Breena's rule...”
She smiled darkly. “I'm sure there are
some
fairies out there who
don't.”

          “I'm
not arguing with you,” I said.

          “It's
a dangerous precedent,” Rodney agreed. “If we start enchanting people's minds,
then there's no difference between us and the Gail Vines of this world. We
can't use magic – not that it would even work here if we wanted it too. Fey
magic is weak against the magic of those like Gail Vines. There's no guarantee
our magic wouldn't backfire on us.”

          “We'll
have to do things the old-fashioned way,” said Logan. “Convincing people that
Breena's the rightful Queen. And getting our teeth and claws into that no-good
witch Gail Vines.” His fangs took on a decidedly lupine sheen as he spoke.
“After what she's done to Breena, not to mention to the whole of Feyland, she
needs to pay for what she's done.”

          “But
we've got to find Kian first,” I said. “If he
is
here – but I'm guessing
that he might be...”

          “He's
here.” Shasta looked determined. “I can sense it.”

          “
You
can sense it?” I was taken aback. I'd assumed that the psychic bonds
linking Kian to those he cared about had all been broken together. It had never
occurred to me before that Shasta would be able to reach Kian, even if I could
not. Fear started up in my heart again. Why couldn't Kian and I communicate the
way we always did? Why hadn't our love led me to him?

          “Is
he saying anything to you?” I tried to sound calm as I turned with a
questioning gaze to Shasta. “Is he giving anything away about his location?”

          “He's
not speaking to me outright,” Shasta said. “But I can sense his presence.” A
few intermittent blue sparks were shining at her fingertips. “He's in one of
these towers.” She scanned the horizon. “But which one....?” She swallowed as
she gazed towards the tallest, most powerful-looking turret of them all. “I
have a lucky guess,” she said, with a  grim expression on her face.

          “How
do we get in?” Logan turned to Shasta. “Any great ideas?”

          “We
don't want to fly,” I said. “It would attract too much attention, us flying
over Radnor’s Peak.”

          A
howl gave us our answer. The Wolves had appeared on the horizon – a close-knit
pack that Logan seemed to recognize. He gave a second howl, and the Wolves
gathered around the base of the tower.

          “There,”
said Logan. “I and the other Wolves can try to break in. We'll just look like a
pack of stray dogs – nothing to attract attention. I'll beg for food from one
of the guards, and when their backs are turned...” he smiled. “We'll get Kian
out of there and head straight back here.”

          “I'm
coming with you!” I took a step forward. “He's my fiancé, after all. Or at
least, he was. I have to be part of this rescue mission.”