Frost (16 page)

"My daughter. You share both her name and her likeness. You have no idea how long I've waited to see you, child."

She might as well have frozen me. My insides felt cold. She was so much like my dreams that I had to fight the urge to actually pinch myself. Her daughter. Exactly what she’d said in the dreams.

I had a million questions, but something in the queen's face made me keep my mouth shut. A small smile played across her red lips.

"My child," she whispered. "You are home now."

The throne room was silent save for the quiet strains of classical music.

I had the uncomfortable feeling that the entire court was waiting with bated breath, straining to hear what the queen said next. All I wanted to do was whirl around and scream at Erik for not warning me. For neglecting to tell me Amora’s mother was still alive. And the queen, no less. My head spun.

The queen stared at me for what seemed like ages and then turned back to her throne. I let out a deep breath, feeling dizzy. Maybe this was another dream. It was too insane to be real.

Queen Eira turned to Erik. "Good work. Take her to the corner bedroom." She finally acknowledged Charlotte, who was standing just behind me, and her expression went flat. “Who is this?"

I cringed as Charlotte stepped forward with a bright smile.

"Hi! I'm Charlotte. I've never met a queen before. It's nice to meet you."

A faint echo of laughter traveled around the room, though the jotun hid their smiles behind polite hands.

The queen lifted one pale eyebrow at Charlotte and then frowned. "I told you to bring Amora."

"She wouldn't come without the girl." Erik clasped his hands behind his back, shoulders rigid.

Queen Eira waved a dismissive hand. "Well, now, she's here, so take the little one back home."

Two stern-faced guards in leather jerkins and chainmail started toward us. That was all it took to overcome the fear. I didn’t care if she straight out of my nightmares, there was no
way
I was letting them take Charlotte home.

"Excuse me." Hopefully she didn’t hear the tremor in my voice. "My only condition when I agreed to come here was that Charlotte stays with me."

The queen stared at me with wide eyes, but I refused to back down.

"If she goes, I go too."

For a moment, her face went completely blank, and my ears filled with the sound of my heart hammering against my rib cage.

I'd done it now. She was about to stand up and blast me into tiny pieces with her icy rage. Slowly, a smile slid across Queen Eira's face. Her eyes lit up, softening her features, making her look more human. Or at least a little less like a wrathful snow goddess.

She laughed, low and throaty. "Amora, my dear child. You have all the fight and spirit I could hope for in a daughter. Fine. The girl stays! Away with you now."

The guards marched back to their posts, and my shoulders slumped, though tendrils of unease were blooming in my stomach. The woman really seemed to think I was some kind of replacement for her daughter.

"Erik, take Amora and her friend to their chambers. Feed them, clothe them. You've all had a long journey, and I'm sure you're exhausted." The queen smiled at me again. "Rest now, child. You're finally home."
 

Erik gave us a miniature tour on the way to the bedchambers. I was still fuming at him, but I didn’t want to ask questions until we were somewhere private.

Even as frustrated as I was, the palace was breathtaking. Erik showed us the great hall bathed in dancing rainbow lights and told us about the feasts they had for midwinter. When I asked where the lights were coming from, he instructed us to look up, and Charlotte and I gasped.

Hundreds of reflective crystals hung from the ceiling, an inverted ocean of light. The entire palace seemed to glow from the inside out, which Erik explained was due to the odd runes etched over every door.

So…magic. It shouldn’t have startled me. I was walking through a massive ice castle with a frost jotun for God’s sake. But still…
magic
.

Down another hall, he pointed out the servant’s quarters. We passed a few of them in the corridor. They almost looked the same as the other frost giants, with pale skin and white hair, but they were much smaller.

They politely ducked their heads as we walked by, and I stared after the last one—a skinny woman dressed in a white, sleeveless robe.

"Are they human?" I asked.

Erik, who was walking in front of me, didn't turn around. He didn't answer, either, and I had to jog to catch up with him. "Erik?"

"They're half and half." He was avoiding my eyes. "Half-human, half-jotun."

Realization set in. "Like us." I gestured at Charlotte and myself. "They're like us, you mean."

"Not like you." Erik still refused to look at me. "You girls are different. You're special. You have soldier blood in you."

I fell back a bit, following him at a slower pace, and Charlotte and I exchanged a look. She didn't look as excited as before.

What did that mean? I had soldier blood in me. I had dreams about being in battle, about killing people. Was the queen creating an army? Was she going to send us into battle? Maybe we had just been bred to fight and die for her.

And what about Charlotte? She was hardly a fighter. She was tiny. She was probably the same size and weight of most of the servants around here.

What did I get us into?
It was bad enough that I was in this bizarre situation. Now, I had dragged Charlotte in with me. I marched after Erik, fists clenched at my sides.

He stopped in front of a set of white doors. "Your room."

More inscriptions decorated the front, strange, jagged symbols that almost seemed to form words.

"Go ahead."

I grasped the silver handle and pushed the door open. Charlotte and I walked in and stared in total silence, too shocked at the extravagance for words

The room was bigger than any bedroom I'd ever seen. The furniture was done in cherry wood, the dark polished surfaces contrasting with the bright ice walls. There was even an old fashioned vanity in the corner that held a set of silver-backed brushes, perfume bottles, and face powders.

In the center sat a king-sized canopy bed with red satin sheets and multiple silk pillows.

I finally found my voice. "Oh. My. Gosh."

“Wow.” Charlotte's eyes were huge.

Erik smiled. "You girls enjoy. There's a rope pull just beside the bed. The servants will get you anything you want. And there are nightdresses in the chest of drawers and clothes in the armoire. I'll come get you tomorrow and give you the full tour."

"What now?" I asked.

He stared at me blankly. "Sorry?"

"I mean, tomorrow, we get the tour, and then what? What happens next?"

He paused, his hand on the doorknob, his expression unreadable. “I guess that’s up to the queen.”

“What does that mean? You don’t have any idea what she actually wants? You said we were warriors, that the other girls had started training. Does that mean we’ll be fighting? You didn’t mention anything like that before.” My nails bit into the palms of my hands. “Or told me about the Amora thing. Her dead daughter, really? Am I some kind of freaky replacement?”

“Of course not. You just ended up looking like her, so that was the name she picked out for you.” Erik took a step back, reaching for the doorknob. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Amora before. It would have been a bit much with all the other stuff I had to tell you.”

“I guess.” I nodded, grudgingly. “But still. What happens now?”

“It’s up to the queen. I know as much as you do.” He opened the door like he was trying to get out before I could ask anything else. “Goodnight, ladies."

He shut the door behind him before I could protest, and I glared at it. It was like my questions had shut him down. Part of me wanted to fling the door open and chase after him, to demand more answers.

He’s definitely hiding something.

“Wow.” Charlotte flopped onto the bed, staring up at the canopy. "This is
amazing
. I can't believe this place!"

"Me either," I muttered. "And I'm beginning to wonder if this is a giant mistake. No pun intended."

She wrinkled her nose. "Nice one. Well, what are your options? Run away and hide from fire giants for the rest of your life, get arrested by police, or stay here and be pampered." She sighed and then wrinkled her nose. "I'm not a fan of the
servant
thing."

"Don't worry. I'm not about to let them do anything to you." I wasn't sure if I could keep that promise, but I sure as hell meant to try.

"Then I say enjoy this." She smoothed one hand over the bedspread. "Oh man. This is so soft!"

We ended up spending the rest of the night exploring the room, opening drawers and looking in cupboards, discovering a huge marble tub in the bathroom and the spa shower that shot streams of water at different pressures. 

Charlotte dug through the armoire and found a number of different-colored silk shirts and dresses, lush furs, and leather boots in every size. Finally, when it was well past our bedtime, we slipped into white satin nightgowns and crawled into the massive bed.

I lay awake for what seemed like forever, listening to the soft sound of Charlotte breathing. Even at night, the ice palace wasn't totally dark. The walls gave off a faint glow as if they had soaked up light all day and leaked it bit by bit into the darkness.

I stared at the underside of the canopy and wondered if I'd made the right choice.

Chapter Twenty-One
The next morning, I woke up to a good deal of loud squealing. A door slammed, more squealing, and then something bounded across the room and landed on the mattress, shaking the entire bed.

"It’s her! It's really Megan!"

Charlotte groaned and rolled over, but I sat straight up, my eyes wide, my heart in my throat. Then I relaxed, dropping the sheets when I saw who it was. "Amy!"

Amy was bright-eyed and glowing, dressed in a silvery, sleeveless top and black, flowing pants. Her long hair was braided and coiled at the back of her neck, almost the same style the queen had worn last night.

"You're finally here! What took so long?" She was grinning like a maniac.

"Hey." I rubbed sleep from my eyes and peered at the other girls.

They hung back, considerably more reserved than their ringleader. They were all dressed in similar outfits in different shades of blue.

"Hey, girls." They smiled, and Becca gave me a wave. I turned back to Amy. "It's a long story. I was kidnapped by fire giants first."

Amy's eyes went huge. "No
way
. What was that like? Did you fight them off?" Her face was flushed with excitement. "We're learning to fight. Every day. It's so much fun! Our teacher is Prince Leif. He's kind of harsh, but incredibly hot, so that makes up for it."

I rubbed my eyes again and tried not to yawn. "The queen has a son?"

"Um, yes." Amy rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and clasped her hands under her chin. "He's
totally
drool-worthy. Sometimes, he hangs out in the lounge when he's not training. You should come with us. We can introduce you."

Charlotte rolled over beside me, blinking sleepily. "Oh, hey."

Amy smirked. "Boy, are you lucky Megan has the guts to stick up for you. Now, you get to stay in the palace. I mean, without being one of the servants." She snickered and climbed off the bed, still chattering as she made her way around the room. "Oh my Gods, your room is even bigger than mine. What is up with that?"

The others spread out, inspecting the room as well.

Margaret’s eyes went wide behind her glasses, and she pushed them up the bridge of her nose. "Wow, Megan, your room is way bigger than ours. And you have a bathroom all to yourself."

Amy stopped in front of the vanity and shot me a narrow look over her shoulder. "And everyone has been talking about your arrival nonstop. What's the deal? What did the queen say when you arrived?"

Charlotte sat up, pulling the comforter around her shoulders. "You don't know yet? Amora was the queen’s daughter, and Megan looks just like her."

"What does
that
mean?" Amy looked wary.

I shrugged. Her enthusiasm evaporated, replaced by her usual sour look, and I almost groaned out loud. But then Alicia gave Margaret an exasperated look and quickly said, "What about the lounge and Leif?"

Amy brightened. "That's right. Get your lazy butts out of bed. Come on!" She tugged the sheets off us.

Charlotte groaned and rubbed her eyes. "All right. Hold your horses."

I climbed out of bed and made my way to the chest of drawers, rummaging around until I found a loose-fitting, white blouse and a flowing, black skirt. It was a bit weird wearing clothes that weren’t mine, but my jeans and my sweater were in a pile on the floor, and they probably smelled by now.

"Don't look,” I said. “I'm changing."

"Toss me one of those dresses," Charlotte said.

The girls turned away, looking at the ceiling or checking their hair in the vanity mirror, while we shrugged into fresh clothes. I tied my hair in a messy bun, promising myself a shower later.

"Ready?" Amy could hardly contain herself, she practically ran out the door.

Charlotte and I trailed after the girls down several twisting corridors we hadn't seen yet. Servants scurried past, heads bowed, and we both stared.

The other girls didn't seem to notice them, which made me a bit uneasy. Didn’t they realize how strange this place was?

"The lounge is always full." Amy’s face was flushed, and her eyes sparkled. "Some of the guys here are seriously to die for. Just wait till you see some of the other recruits."

"There's more of us? More people who were taken?" I tried to keep my voice down so it didn’t echo in the icy hallways like Amy's.

Now that I wasn't exhausted, it was strange to realize we were walking down a hallway made completely out of ice.

"How does this not melt?" Charlotte pulled her sweater shut and shivered. "I mean, not that it feels like it's melting. It's freezing."

Amy shot her a scornful look. "It doesn't melt because it's too thick. You think igloos melt on the Eskimos? And the rest of us can't feel the cold. Well...maybe the servants do." She laughed and turned away, her footsteps echoing on the icy floor.

Charlotte glared at her back. "Well, good for you." She muttered something I couldn't quite make out under her breath. Pretty sure it wasn't anything nice.

I nudged Charlotte and made a horrible choking face, pleased when her frown dissolved into a smile.

As we rounded the corner, my smile faded. The sound of voices and violin music echoed down the hall, creating a lump in my throat.

Was this another throne room situation? Was everyone going to stare at me again? I wasn't ready for that. I hadn't even washed my hair yet.

"I hope they have those cream puffs again," Stacy said. "The ones with jam in them. They were so good."

Amy rolled her eyes. "If you keep eating those, you're going to be shaped like a cream puff."

"Shut up! I only had three last time. They're tiny."

Margaret hung back a little, giving me a wide smile. "We're glad you made it safely. We were worried about you, you know. Some of the soldiers sent to recruit us were a little...assertive."

Charlotte's eyes widened. "Did other people get knocked out too? They pretty much shoved her in a van. Erik told us it was a mistake."

Margaret shook her head. "Nothing as bad as that. But Alicia freaked out and tried to call her mom. They threw her phone away. She won't stop talking about it."

I frowned. "Did they take away yours? What about our parents? Are we allowed to tell them we're okay?"

Hopefully my letter had made it to Dave. What if the frost giants had somehow intercepted it?

"They didn't take mine away." Margaret shrugged. "But I didn't try to call anyone. Amy's already tried to text from here, of course. No reception."

Charlotte gestured at the walls. "Ice castle. Makes sense. I guess Eskimos don't text from their igloos." She shot Amy another nasty look, which Amy didn't notice since she still was arguing with Stacey about cream puffs.

I rolled my eyes, and Margaret snickered.

"Don't let the lounge intimidate you," Becca said.

I glanced at her, startled. She was so quiet that I'd almost forgotten she was there. She rubbed her arms and gave me a nervous smile.

There was one last bend in the corridor, and then the source of the noise became clear. Amy didn't give us much time to take in the surroundings. She surprised me by reaching back and latching onto me, looping her arm in mine and dragging me forward before I could protest.

I caught a glimpse of a pair of large double doors as I was dragged through them, and then I was in the middle of a crowd of very tall, very blond people.

At first, nobody really noticed us. The crowd stood around like they were at a cocktail party, chatting in groups, delicate wine flutes in their hands. There wasn’t a single pair of jeans in the room, and I was suddenly glad I'd worn the borrowed clothing, as weird as it felt. If I'd walked into this place in jeans and a dirty sweater, they all would have been staring for sure.

At the back of the room was a bar manned by a couple of shorter, dirty-blond jotun men who were serving up wine and champagne with the efficiency of long practice. They weren't dressed in the same drab clothing as the others were, but in crisp, black suits. A higher class of servant.

There were also servants making the rounds with trays balanced on both hands, offering glasses of sparkling liquid to lounge guests. The source of the music was at the back, in the form of a band of jotun playing violins and flutes. This place was way too classy for my taste, but Amy was beaming at everyone.                            

Someone from a group of people to our left waved at her, and Amy's face lit up. "There’s the other recruits. Come on. We'll introduce you."

"Sure." Already, I was nervously twisting one sleeve between my fingers.

I was bad enough in social situations most of the time. On top of that, these people didn't seem that friendly. But Amy still had her arm linked through mine, so I allowed myself to be dragged over to the group.

We got closer, and the subtle differences between Amy's crowd and the rest of the room became obvious. The group we were approaching was slightly shorter, and while the rest of the jotun were tall and whip-thin, moving with the kind of grace that figure skaters had, these people were...blocky. Not fat, just more solid. The men were muscular. The women's shoulders were broad. Soldiers.

Amy grinned at them. "Hey, these are the new girls. This is Megan"—she jerked a thumb over her shoulder—"and Charlotte."

Charlotte only nodded, hanging back.

I cleared my throat nervously. "Uh, hi."

The response was pretty lackluster. A few of them nodded, and one waved, but it was a limp-wristed kind of thing, almost like she was waving me off.

The waving girl stood at the back of the group, a wine glass in one hand. She was a little taller than I was, with a slender, freckled face and dark eyes. She also had a long, jagged scar running across her left cheek. Had the recruits already been fighting?

My stomach turned. If Charlotte and I were recruits too, did that mean they'd throw us straight into the fray? I'd never picked up a sword in my life. Having dreams hardly counted.

The girl's mouth lifted on one side—half a snarl, half a smile—and I blinked, looking away quickly. She was probably used to people staring at her. "Nice to meet you all."

The scar-faced girl snorted. "So you're Megan. Guess you're a big deal around here."

I stared at her. There was definite resentment in her voice, and it made my skin crawl.

I looked over the rest of the group and realized they all had similar expressions on their faces. Resentment, irritation, disgust.

There were five of them altogether, three guys, scar-faced girl and another girl with short, spiked hair who wasn't even looking at me. She chewed her thumbnail, undisguised boredom on her face.