Winter Queen(19)

The queen’s clothes were brown and slightly tattered. The bones of her wrists protruded as if she hadn’t had much to eat lately. But despite the queen’s somewhat ragged appearance, Ilyenna was afraid. She felt very much like they were two lions circling each other. And Ilyenna was too injured and weak for a fight.

As if guessing her thoughts, Leto spread her hands. “I came because Jablana thought you needed my help.”

Trying to fight the calming effects of the summer queen, Ilyenna shook her head. “Why would you help me?”

Leto met Ilyenna’s gaze. “Two reasons. The winter queen before you was cold and cruel and cunning. She fought me bitterly before retreating every spring, destroying so much tender new growth. So this year, I killed her.”

Ilyenna took a step back as she caught sight of a blistering heat in the woman’s dark eyes—heat that would suck all the moisture from Ilyenna’s bones and leave her as brittle as dead pine needles.

“You are not like her,” Leto went on. “You are strong and flexible, like a tree bending before a strong wind instead of standing fast and being broken in two.”

“Strong as stone, supple as a sapling,” Ilyenna whispered.

Leto nodded. “Yes. That is the saying of your people. And it is true of you.”

Ilyenna sucked in a deep breath. “So you wish to choose your enemy.”

Leto didn’t deny it.

“And the other reason?”

The summer queen turned her searing gaze away. “For their queens, the fairies only take those crossing into death. Those who are strong and clever and beautiful. I was all of that and more before death came for me at the hands of those who should have been my friends.”

Their gazes met and Ilyenna saw deep empathy in Leto. Ilyenna felt herself softening, like snow seeping into the waiting ground. She thought of Rone, of her family, and a familiar ache rose up in her throat. “What if in the end, I choose not to become a winter queen? Would you still wish to help me?”

Leto tipped her head. “It is a chance I’m willing to take. But know that even as queens, we cannot upset the Balance. Our subjects are the fairies, not humans. I cannot risk directly interfering, but I will give you what aid I can.”

Leto held out her hand. On her palm was a delicate white flower with three petals and three sepals. The center of each petal was ringed with yellow and burgundy. “Only one elice flower blooms each spring. So delicate. And yet, one petal has the strength to heal even the direst injuries. Use them wisely, and they will keep you alive until winter comes again.”

Ilyenna’s eyes were riveted to the flower. She’d never seen its kind before, though as a healer, she’d assumed she knew almost every plant. She believed it might be some kind of lily. She reached out to take it, but Leto curled her hand around the petals and pulled back.

Ilyenna suddenly understood. “And the price?”

The summer queen smiled. “My people had a saying. ‘Trick a stranger and you gain an enemy; treat him fairly and you’ve gained a friend.’ All I ask, Winter Queen, is that you retreat at the appointed time and don’t stray into summer lands.”

Ilyenna hesitated. There was so much she didn’t understand. What if Leto was somehow trying to trick her? “And you will do the same?”

“Yes.” The word sent a shudder through the forest.

When Ilyenna still hesitated, Leto went on softly, “You have been marked. I can see the shadow clinging to your skin. You will not survive the summer without my help.”

Ilyenna reached for the flower.

“Say the word.”

Ilyenna closed her eyes. “Yes.”

The forest shuddered again.

A branch snapped behind Ilyenna and her gaze darted to the path leading to the clan house. Had Darrien followed her? Would he beat her again? She backed up, seeking the shadows the woman had emerged from. She turned to Leto. The woman had vanished. But in Ilyenna’s palm was the elice blossom. Entranced, Ilyenna studied it. She considered using it now, taking a petal and putting it in her mouth to heal herself, but she held the power to save three lives in her hands. She wouldn’t waste it on a bruised back.

“Ilyenna?”

She jumped at the voice, her hand straying to her belt knife before she realized Darrien had taken it, along with her belt. But it was Rone who came through the trees. She let out her breath in a gasp. She remembered her brother’s warning that she tell no one of the fairies. Quickly, she tucked the flower in her pocket. “You frightened me.”

“Sorry.” He glanced around cautiously before approaching her. He handed her a needle and thread. “Mother thought you might be tired of exposing your back.”

Ilyenna took the needle and fastened it to her dress. She hadn’t missed the disapproving way he looked at her bare skin. Always the protective brother. “Yes, your mother is very thoughtful.”

Rone’s brow furrowed as he studied her. “Very well. I don’t like having your back exposed, lovely as it is.”

She knelt next to the stream and shoved a bowl into the water. The water was so icy it should’ve made her arms ache all the way to her elbows, but the cold didn’t bother her. With a start, she realized she hadn’t felt cold since the first fairy kiss.

“So, will you sew it up?” Rone asked her.

Ilyenna pushed a bowl into the water and watched it fill. “I’ll have to do it tonight. Metha won’t let me have breakfast if I’m late.”

Waiting for the sound of his footsteps to announce his departure, she scooped up a handful of sand and began scouring the dishes. Finally, she said, “Shouldn’t you get back to building the new tiam house?”

“That’s the thing about gathering river stones—you have to find them at the river.” When she didn’t laugh, he sighed and squatted next to her. “I am the clan chief, Ilyenna. I’m responsible for my clan. I can’t help but feel responsible for the Shyle as well.”

Always the clan! Could he really be so blind? She scrubbed harder.

Rone rubbed his temples. “The others are getting by, but what about you? If you don’t submit, he’ll kill you. If you do submit, you’ll die inside. I don’t see another option. I have to kill him.”

Her chest heaving, Ilyenna shot to her feet, water dripping down her shins. Rone stood as well. She drew back her hand and slapped his face. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare, Rone. You’ve no right to give up and blame it on me!”

Clearly stunned, he rubbed his check. “I didn’t mean—”

She jabbed her finger into his chest. “If I can bear it, you can bear it.” Her voice broke as she realized what she was saying, but the image of Rone dead burned her far worse than the thought of Darrien’s bed. “If you lay one hand on Darrien, I’ll kill you myself.”

Rone’s eyes wide, he stepped back, his expression a mix of hurt and anger. “Whenever you’re upset, you lash out at me. The one person who’s risking everything to help you.” He spun around and strode away.

By the Balance, he was right. “I’m sorry,” she called after him, but he didn’t turn or slow. Biting the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted blood, she watched him go. She shoved the rest of the dishes into the stream and scrubbed without really caring if she got them clean or not. By the time she’d finished, she’d spent all her tears.

With the basket of clean dishes on her hip, she approached the clan house in time to see five riders gallop up and halt in front of the doors. Ilyenna inched closer. Just as the stable boy arrived to take the men’s horses, she caught sight of the knots on their belts—the Resien clan, whose lands lay to the south of the shyle. The two clans were close—almost as close as the Shyle and the Argons.

One of the Resien spotted her. “Ilyenna?”

Her breath caught in her throat. Could it be their clan chief? “Gen?”

He strode forward, his men following closely. His eyes lingered on her stained, tattered dress and bruised face. He pulled her around. “You’re back is bare, and beaten! What’ve they done to you?”

Undon burst out of the clan house. Gen squared his shoulders and marched over to him. “Undon, the Council has sent me to investigate your reparation.”

Undon glanced suspiciously at Ilyenna before resting his hand on Gen’s shoulder. “You’re welcome, Gen of the Resien. Come, have lamb and beer. You and your clanmen must be tired after your hard ride.”

Gen jerked out of Undon’s grasp. “I’m not here to observe the formalities. You’ve attacked two clans. We want to know why.” Gen’s expression said what his words didn’t. He didn’t think for a moment that Undon had a good reason.

Ilyenna’s heart raced with hope. Maybe she wouldn’t have to wait the full month. This could all be over today.

Undon’s gaze narrowed. “You come to my clan, Gen, making accusations and insulting my hospitality. But I excuse your anger and hold no grudge. If you’ll listen, you’ll understand.”

“Stop circling the cattle and put them in the pen!” Gen practically shouted.

Undon’s nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. “Around the time of the first thaw, Seneth and his Argons attacked Tyran families living along the border between our lands. They stole everything, killed my people, and burned all the buildings.”