26. Midnight Sun

Chapter 26

Midnight Sun

LORI

D aisy and I are halfway up the mountain when the snowstorm is blown away by a warm, unnatural wind. The sudden change reveals a dark figure standing on top of the hill, and I rush along the steep path to see better. A dark gray hood and cape cover the tall, imposing man.

While the magic rushing off the Chenu tasted of permanence, this new phantom reeks of passion and revenge. His cape flies in the breeze, but his laser-like focus is entirely directed to the area concealed by the large rock cleft in the mountain. His energy drums through the air in wild, uneven waves.

The mask that covers his face is bigger and thicker than the ones I'm used to. The sharp angles of the geodesic shape are reminiscent of a stone that has been beaten into submission, and a thick metal muzzle covers the man's mouth and the tip of his nose. Vertical holes crack the terrible accessory right over the space where the man's lips should be, but if it wasn't for his black leather gloves and boots, I wouldn't believe he was human at all.

Black and white clouds roll above our heads and bring all my hairs up to attention. I hurry closer, the dramatic opening in the rock cliffs no doubt leading to the precious Frost Peak mines I've read so much about.

In front of the powerful stranger stands Elio. The Winter King digs the balls of his feet in the snow and raises his two-handed sword. Blood taints his coat, and my heart hammers.

Behind him, the fight between the reapers and the horned soldiers is in full swing. A dozen spiders are scattered among them, and I freeze. Acid rises in my mouth as I blink a few times, lost in a haze. My lips are cold, and I can't focus on anything other than the sharp pain in my side—not the metallic net holding a huge white dragon pinned to the ground, or the sleighs streaming out of the mines.

One of them must contain the brides they kidnapped earlier, but my eyes are glued to Elio and his opponent.

The wind churns into a tempest, blurring the edges of the Gray Man. A thunderous echo shakes the mountains as their blades clash.

Enormous wolves circle the pair. The clouds swirl in a cyclone above them, and the center of this swirling vortex dips downward to pat the Gray Man on the back. He marches forward, his footsteps sending ripples across the snowy hill as if it were made of liquid instead of ice.

An intense burst of light blinds me momentarily, revealing Elio now enveloped in radiant sunshine. The wolves howl and flee in a panic, their peculiar forms disintegrating into nothingness as golden sunbeams pierce their hides, melting them from the inside out.

I hold my breath, but the Gray Man isn't bothered in the least. The ashes of the wolves zoom toward him, and he absorbs their power. With his weapon drawn, the Gray Man blazes forward, ready to strike down the Winter King.

The sunlight tapers off as Elio veers off the path of the blade. The tip of the sword slashes the side of his chest, his opponent poised to strike again.

Two bright orbs are imprinted deep in my retinas, but there's no time to waste. Shadows keep me hidden from view and muffle the crunches of my footsteps in the snow as I flank the Gray Man.

The thunder above us drowns out the rest of my sounds, and I build enough momentum to slide feet-first toward him, the icy terrain diminishing the friction and facilitating my otherwise difficult approach. The dauntless move allows me to sink one shadow dagger into his side.

Hot blood streams over my palm, slick and red. My prey roars as I dart out of reach, my weapon dissolving into embers of shadow magic. The Gray Man's multifaceted sword arcs through the air before cleaving into the snow precisely where I had just stood.

The mountain begins to shake, knocking us off balance as the rock bed beneath our feet cracks. A massive earthquake splits the ground, creating a chasm that separates me from the two men. The terrain around us is torn into three distinct sections, like slices of a pie. The rest of the plain is in ruins, with only a narrow bridge remaining to connect the trail down the mountain to the mine.

Elio and the Gray Man grip their respective injuries, panting hard.

The Gray Man lets his sword vanish into thin air, and he glares at me from behind his mask before gazing down at the wide crack separating us. The deep abyss is three times as wide as the fissure keeping me from Elio, but I have no doubt he could cross it if he wanted.

He removes one of his old-fashioned black leather gloves, revealing a series of runes and glittering stones embedded in his knuckles. His shoulders twitch as he quietly laughs, rubbing his bare hand over his wound and coating it with his own blood.

The red liquid drizzles down his arm as he extends his hand toward the sky, summoning the clouds above. A long white column descends from the heavens, enveloping him completely before dissipating and leaving nothing behind.

I leap over the narrow crack separating me from Elio. The Winter King is kneeling in the snow, his back hunched. Dark burgundy blood stains the ground at his feet.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I should have known you'd be involved in this," he grunts back.

"I just saved your life. A heartfelt thank you is in order." I grab his elbow to help him up.

He rises to his feet, but the tip of an ice shiv presses into the hollow of my neck. "And you just happened to be at the right place at the right time? It's too convenient. Give me one reason not to kill you."

Elio's platinum mask prevents me from seeing his eyes, and I shake from head to toe. "I'm not with him. I'm with you," I breathe.

"Or you've been lying through your teeth all this time."

"You have pretty fucked up trust issues, you know? I've told you a million times. I'm not here to kill you or help anyone steal your crown. If you still don't trust me after what I just did, then by all means—" I press my neck further into his blade, ignoring the sting of pain.

He lets the ice shiv fall to the ground, harsh breaths rushing from his lungs as he curls a hand around the back of my head. His lips brush against mine, and a pained, half-mad chuckle bubbles from his throat. "Thank you."

Elio kisses me hard under the endless blue sky, the frosty taste of his blood sweet on my tongue.