29. Heaven’s Door

Chapter 29

Heaven's Door

LORI

T he Winter King stomps around the stalagmites and heads out of the white and blue cave. I tuck a fluffy towel around my frame before following him along the natural path. The smooth, round shape of his ass steals my thoughts, and a part of me is cross that I interrupted our lovely bath. Arguing with him is about as addictive as the touch of his hands—but not quite.

At the end of the natural cave, Elio finally wraps his towel around his waist and wrenches open the platinum door fitted into the rock opening, the exit leading directly into a study and library.

Large windows offer a wide view of the almost endless white plains at the bottom of the volcano's caldera. From the view, I figure we're at the top of the Ice City. Firelight flickers over the blue and silver tapestries hanging on the wall. Four floor-to-ceiling bookcases flank the hearth, made entirely of white wood. The beautiful pieces match the sanded matte finish of the desk.

Sara is sitting by the fire on one of two navy blue velvet loungers. She shoots to her feet at Elio's arrival and sets down her teacup on the ottoman. A smirk appears on her face as our gazes meet, but she quickly wipes it away. Elio marches past her without a word of greeting and beelines for the adjoining room on the other side of the study.

The woman I've seen with Elio in the castle gardens the night Aster died, and again at the carnival, is also sitting by the fireplace. I draw in a sharp gasp. " Ohmygod. "

She cracks a smile and sets her book aside, its small leather-bound cover catching the light as she discards it on the table next to her lounger. "Hi."

Celebrities are rare in Faerie, but all the more revered for it. In the new world, musicians, actors, athletes, and political leaders are held in high regard, yet none command the same level of adoration as the famous singer who reigns supreme in both realms. And it's not Morrigan.

"You're Elizabeth Snow."

She nods, and her long dark waves bounce around her face. "Call me Beth, please."

I can't keep from staring. Elizabeth Snow is Taylor Swift and Madonna rolled into one, topped with a zest of the Beatles. A living legend.

She stares right back, and the intensity of her gaze, the way it travels along my facial features and pauses on the curve of my ear tells me that she knew Iris. Just like Seth, Freya, and Elio himself, the ones who personally knew my doppelg?nger look at me differently than those who didn't. Like I'm an infuriating puzzle that needs to be solved.

Elio returns from the adjoining room wearing pants and a fresh black button-down shirt and begins fastening the buttons. "See? She's my friend. The famous singer. Not Morrigan. She's been keeping herself hidden to avoid silly, awkward reactions like the one you just had."

"Be nice, Elio," Elizabeth Snow scolds him. "I think Lori has proven her allegiance."

Elio opens and closes his mouth, his fingers fumbling with a row of misaligned buttons. He grunts as he unbuttons and starts again. "How fucked are we? Did the cameras somehow broadcast the attack to the entire kingdom?"

"We weren't as unlucky as that, but it's still delicate." Sara makes a quick back and forth between the two rooms and returns with a plain white t-shirt for me to wear. "I'll show you. Let me set up the projector."

"Are the others alive?" I ask.

Sara's shoulders sag as she holds the door ajar and motions for me to go in and change. "All but one. One of the Reds didn't make it. She was killed in the mine, but your friend Daisy and the others are alright."

I nod with my bottom lip tucked between my teeth and slip past her before closing the door behind me. A large mirror is affixed to the wall next to a white wood dresser cluttered with papers, books, and quills. In one corner, a queen-sized bed with a white duvet and black pillows—simple, no frills—stands against the wall. Elio's platinum mask rests on the bedside table.

His bedroom… Wow.

I always assumed the Winter King resided in the castle, not the Ice City. I pull the oversized white t-shirt over my head, its hem falling just above my knees, and notice Elizabeth Snow's hooded cape hanging from a coat rack behind the door. I thought Elio was getting cozy with Morrigan, but perhaps I was just mistaken about his lover's identity.

A lump of saliva catches in my throat as I return to the study. While I was changing, Sara had set up a sleek black box on the desk, and video footage from the mountains now plays on the wall. I clutch the hem of the oversized shirt, feeling exposed.

"The camera following Lori through the challenge turned back on a few minutes after it was knocked down by the Tidecallers. The very end of the pursuit was broadcast to the entire realm, but there's no audio," she explains, pressing a button to start the video.

It feels surreal to see myself up close, snow clinging to my lashes as I reach out to Elio. I watch the moment I threatened to jump into the avalanche if he let go, our lips moving in silent dialogue. I only see our mouths move, but I remember every word.

The tear in my dress is visible from this angle, and my gut cramps as I recall how cold and listless my extremities felt.

But I couldn't let Elio slip through my freezing fingers.

The film replays the moment where he managed to pull himself up on the sleigh next to me and out of danger. My cheeks flush at how tightly I held him.

It was only because his body was warm , I tell myself.

I had my face buried in his stomach when it happened, so I remember his admonishment at how silly it was for me to try and save him, but I couldn't see his face then. He looks absolutely broken as I hold him, his eyes closed, and his limbs shaking.

It's such an intimate moment, and my throat shrinks at the thought that all of Wintermere witnessed it.

Sara lowers her voice. "Most people think it was all for show and part of the challenge, but others recognized the Tidecallers' helmets. I didn't want mass hysteria to settle in, so I promised you would explain everything during the live broadcast tomorrow."

Elio nods, his gaze riveted to the playback as he leans on the wall of his study, Sara and Beth now standing between us. What happened on the mountain could have had egregious consequences on the entire Fae realm, and I can't help but feel I'm missing some important information to make sense of it all, so I watch the feed intently.

The tree holding the dragon up splinters under its weight, and the beast flaps its wings in a frenzy to avoid being swallowed by the snow, ejecting me from the sleigh. The ice chain explodes in a flurry of pointy shards.

My fists curl at my sides as I see myself careen toward the white flumes of the avalanche. I can't recall anything after that, but Elio's reaction knocks the breath out of me.

The Winter King doesn't waste a second and plunges headfirst after me. He didn't even hesitate, coming damn close to catching my arm before we disappeared. The rolling snow clears out about thirty seconds later, my unconscious body curled around a rock at the edge of the cliff, but Elio is nowhere to be found.

I risk a glance to the quiet man on my left, but he clears his throat without meeting my gaze. "Thanks for the swift rescue, Sara. Remind me to compliment Paul for his annoyingly resilient cameras, or you wouldn't have found us in time." He walks to the projector and smashes the power button.

The entire wall goes dark, jolting me back to reality.

Elio rubs down his face with a sigh. "Get Paul and Byron in here. We have a long night ahead of us. It's going to be damn-near impossible to spin this so the other royals don't blame us for the Tidecallers' foray inside the continent."

"There's something else we need to discuss—" Beth starts, her gaze darting to me for a split second.

Sara squeezes her shoulder, and something passes between them.

The royal chief of staff plasters an affable smile on her lips, the extra cheer in her voice reminding me of the tone she uses when she's speaking to the cameras. "I arranged for Lori to sleep in the guest's wing tonight. I'll take you there." She moves to open a third, unexplored door, but Elio beats her to the punch.

"No need. I'll show her myself. You go ahead and get things started." He motions for me to lead the way.

I offer the two women an awkward wave goodbye and tiptoe past Elio and into the hallway. The hairs at the back of my neck rise to attention when he slams the door behind us.

"What was that about? What do you need to discuss without me present?"

"I'm not sure," he answers darkly.

I brace my hands on my hips and pause in the dimly lit corridor, unhappy with his answer. "You mentioned the Tidecallers, but I thought they were extinct?"

"Rebellions are never truly extinct," Elio says tersely as he walks past me. "They simmer down, spreading silently through the cracks of rotten politics until they gather enough momentum to flare up again. The original Tidecallers were driven beyond the Breach to the Islantide, but their ideology endured. For centuries, their followers have been scuttling about the realm in their name."

I fall into step with him, my brows pinched in confusion. "I thought Tidecallers worshiped the Mist King?"

"That's a common misconception," Elio clarifies. "Tidecallers were mostly soldiers who wanted the endless wars to end. They believed that a new King and Queen should be elected every decade, so no one would ever amass as much power as the Mist King once did."

"That doesn't sound so bad," I quip, forging ahead.

The corridor opens up to a round staircase landing, revealing a dizzying view of the tiny streets of the Ice City below. We're at the very top of the fortress, and a sudden bout of vertigo blurs my vision.

"No, it wasn't such a crazy plan," Elio admits. "But harvesting and wielding power became addictive. Some crowns aren't meant to be survived… There was no guarantee that an elected monarch would willingly relinquish power once he had it, or that others wouldn't kill to steal it. The war grew more intense and violent with the spread of the jewels, so Mist Fae technology was outlawed, and all known jewels were destroyed.

"After the Summer King ordered the massacre of the Mist Fae, the rebel factions were pushed to repopulate the Islantide, never to return to the continent. Since then, every boat that tries to cross the Breach is blasted to dust on sight."

I crane my neck around to look at him, and the menacing look on his face flips my stomach. He's the same man who plunged into a torrent of ice to find me, yet the vibe rolling off him is more predator than prince charming . His fists clench at his sides like he's at war with himself, at odds with me, and daggers drawn with the rest of the world.

My bare feet test the feel of the cold marble, instinctively checking for its porosity and grip.

In case I need to run.