29. LONNIE

29

LONNIE

THE KEEP, NEVERMORE

D espite my bravado, I trembled as we made our way outside.

The bitingly frigid air was even colder than I remembered, and my trembling increased when we stepped out into the gathering snow.

There was already a large crowd waiting for us. None of them seemed to be cold, but then, all wore heavy furs, knit caps, and sheepskin boots. I supposed the only upside of my thinner clothing was that I might move faster and more easily through the hunting grounds. If I could move at all that was, and hadn't frozen to death before we even began.

One of the fur jacketed figures stepped forward and I realized before she even removed her hood that it was Cassinda. I glared at her with venom in my eyes. Once I might have given up on the spot. Said, "fuck it!" and let her be the queen. Now, I put my shoulders back and braced myself as she approached.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked me in her sickly sweet tone of mock concern.

I bared my teeth at her. She didn't scare me.

She was no worse than Aine or Raewyn had been when I arrived at my first hunt.

She was no worse than the other servants who had sneered at and excluded me my entire life.

She was no worse than Scion had been upon our first meeting, taunting and threatening me at every turn. Ambrose, who'd burnt down the castle and had me shot, Or Bael, who had left me with nothing more than a note.

And she was certainly no worse than my own mother, who'd never wanted me at all.

"Where are the boundaries?" I asked sharply.

Cassinda looked annoyed that I didn't seem willing to rise to her bait, but turned and pointed off into the distance. "The hunt begins here in front of the keep. You may run wherever you like, except into the center of the village or back into the keep. You may not shadow walk."

"What happens if I do?" I hissed.

"The hunt will become forfeit and you will leave here without the jewel." She smiled slightly, surely hoping I would break the rules and end up with nothing.

"You will have a ten minute head start, at which time anyone who wishes to may hunt you. If they kill you, they get the crown as well as the jewel."

"That's bullshit," Scion barked. "This isn't an official hunting night. If you kill her, the crown goes to me as her mate. No one is winning the right to be the queen."

Cassinda's expression soured. "You robbed us of the chance to fight for the crown on our own hunting night. Now you are trying to skirt the rules?"

"No, I'm telling you what the law states," Scion said dangerously.

"A law which will no longer apply to us if we choose to become our own nation."

"It's fine," I said quickly. "I agree. If you kill me, you get the crown."

Scion made a noise of protest and Ambrose pulled me back to look me in the eye. "This isn't wise," he muttered, ignoring the fact that Cassinda could certainly still hear us.

"It doesn't matter," I said firmly. "Idris is in the capital right now thinking he's doing the same thing. Someone is always trying to take the damn crown."

"Right, but this would be a legal capture," Scion muttered. "It's not a coup. It's essentially the same as what you did."

"Then I won't lose," I said flatly, turning back to Cassinda who was smiling.

"You've got more nerve than I expected," she said.

"Maybe," I agreed. "Maybe it's that I'm stubborn. Or maybe it's that I fully intend to kill you before you ever lay a hand on me."

"We'll see about that." Her face turning pink from anger, she turned and pointed at the skyline once again. "Do you see that mountain in the distance? If you wish to win by crossing the boundary, it is near the top. Otherwise, you will have to survive until sunrise."

"That's fucking insane," Scion interrupted again. "That mountain is three times further than the standard boundary, and climbing to the top is nearly impossible."

"Ah," Cassinda said grinning. "But In Nevermore we begin the hunt at midnight, not sunset, due to the fact that our sun sets so early and unpredictably. That makes the hunt only seven hours at most, and we have to have a way to compensate for that lack of difficulty."

"Is that true?" I asked.

Scion looked unsure but Ambrose nodded.

Shit . My strategy in the hunts had always been to run for the boundary. If I had to fight all night long that changed things significantly.

I glanced at Scion. "It's alright. I've never had you to help me before, and we both know you could take down this entire crowd at once if you wanted."

Scion nodded once, then set his jaw, still glaring at Cassinda.

I half expected Cassinda to try and tell me I wasn't allowed to have help, but she said nothing about it.

"Wait!" I asked her quickly. "What about the jewel?"

"What about it?" she snapped.

"Aren't you going to give it to me? To defend?" It was hard to keep the distain out of my voice.

Cassinda smiled, and reached up to undo the top button of her heavy coat. From beneath the fabric she pulled a diamond the size of a walnut hanging from a gold chain. "I'll take care of it for now."

I pressed my lips together, nodding. I didn't trust that woman, and didn't think it boded well for us that she had the jewel. Still, there was very little to do but wait and see.

As with my previous hunts, there was a certain amount of nervous standing around that happened before the event could actually begin. I wished desperately that I knew the time, to know how much longer we had to wait, but no one seemed willing to share it with me.

Finally, when I thought I might freeze to the ground where I stood, a low horn blew in the distance. I looked up, expecting to see the haunting figure of the hunter who wore the same deer skull mask that Ambrose had appropriated for his role as the Dullahan. Instead, all I saw was a fire burning far in the distance.

It was a beacon, as if someone had lit a fire on the very top of the mountain to guide me to the boundary. Unfortunately I had absolutely no intention of aiming for that boundary tonight.

"They'll blow the horn again, and then you run, rebel," Scion said. "When you hear the horn a third time you'll know we're right behind you."

I nodded, feeling truly nervous now.

Scion bent to kiss me, but I pushed him back. "Don't. There's no goodbye kisses. I'll see you in ten minutes." I glanced at Ambrose. "Both of you."

Ambrose opened his mouth to say something—I had no idea what. But then the horn blew a second time, and I turned and sprinted toward the road.

I'd run for a few short minutes when I had to stop and catch my breath. Despite my movement, the cold was unbearable. My muscles felt sore and stiff, and I couldn't feel my fingers or my face.

I didn't even want to know what not being able to feel my hands might do to my magic, and prayed I wouldn't have to find out.

Glancing behind me at the castle, I began to run again. It was only once I saw lights again, that I realized I was heading into the village we'd passed on our way in. Quickly, I veered to the right into a patch of dense trees.

The rules had been simple—no shadow walking, don't enter the village or the keep, stay alive until morning. Still, I had absolutely no qualms about breaking them if it meant I got out of this alive. I wouldn't shadow walk yet, but if things became truly dire the game was not nearly so important as my life.

Distantly, I realized this must be how the hunts felt for every other past ruler. They weren't afraid of dying so much as they were concerned about their image, their petty grievances, and holding on to power. How strange to realize I had similar concerns, and while I was far from comfortable sprinting alone through the cold, dark woods I wasn't frightened.

At least, not yet.

Several long minutes later I heard the third horn.

It was distant, making me wonder if I'd run further than I'd realized, but it was clearly audible over the howling wind and rustling trees.

I stopped in my tracks, panting from the long run. I felt somehow even colder now after all the running, my own sweat having turned to ice crystals against my skin.

The trees here were just as dense as the ones that Ambrose and I had run through near the rocky coast, but with the added difficulty that the ground between them was covered in snow and ice.

For the first time, I wondered how Scion and Ambrose would find me before anyone else did. We hadn't discussed a plan or anywhere to meet. Now, that seemed like a grave oversight.

I turned to look back at the castle looming in the distance, its tall spires reaching towards the darkening sky. My eyes strained to make out any signs of movement and I thought I saw figures darting down the hill and disappearing into the shadows. They were all headed toward me.

Suddenly, a deafening chorus of screams pierced the air. At first, I thought it was the sound of the afflicted returning to haunt me

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as their cries echoed through the trees, seeming to double on itself, echoing back at me louder and louder.

This had to be Scion's illusion of pain.

The sound was familiar, the same one I would have heard if I had been in the dining room. It was the one Scion had talked about hearing on the battlefield for many years. And, I realized with a sickening lurch, it was the same sound the afflicted mimicked every time they appeared.

Apparently I need not have worried about saving the lives of the winter court. They were all going to die anyway, trapped in an endless cycle of pain.

I supposed I no longer needed to wonder where Scion was, nor about all the fae chasing me. Still, I would need to find a hiding place, just in case anyone avoided the massacre.

I covered my ears as I ran, making myself keep going. Making myself put as much distance between me and the castle as possible before I stopped to hide.

Without warning, a deafening roar ripped through the air. I whipped my head around, eyes wide. My gaze fell upon one of the towering pine trees just in time to witness its trunk splitting in half and toppling towards me like an enormous falling sword.

Panic surged through my veins as an ear-shattering cacophony of cracking and splintering filled the air. The tall trees surrounding me started to split and sway, their trunks bowing towards me with alarming speed. Each crashing tree sounded like a thunderous drumbeat, closing in on me from all sides. I stumbled backwards, frantically trying to evade the crashing limbs and dove out of the way, covering my head.

It seemed like the forest itself was turning against me.

With a quick glance, I caught sight of a large boulder jutting out from the snowy ground. Without hesitation, I began to crawl towards it on my stomach, feeling the icy flakes seeping through my clothing and chilling my skin still further.

I reached the boulder and crouched behind it, cowering. I shook with cold, and for the briefest second I felt like the girl I'd been before. Hiding under a bush during the first hunt, praying that no one would find me. Praying that I wouldn't die here.

And then it stopped.

"If a tree falls in the forest and squashes a human, does she make a sound?" A female voice called out from somewhere behind me.

Shock and anger suddenly rushed through my veins. I stood up and spun around.

Cassinda was striding out of the forest where I'd just been and—I blinked. The trees behind her were fine. Not a single one broken or fallen. She grinned. "I thought you might recognize a good illusion, what with what your mate is doing back at the castle. But I took a gamble, and it turns out it was a good bet."

I bared my teeth at her. "Why aren't you writhing on the ground with all the rest of your court?"

She rolled her eyes at me, looking bored. "I'm an illusionist, so believe me, I've heard all about the new crown prince. The queen's executioner ." Her tone was jeering. "I wasn't about to wait to find out how many bodies he can collect at once. I got well out of the way before the horn even sounded."

"So you cheated," I snapped.

She shrugged, causing the enormous diamond around her neck to sway with the movement. "Once you're dead there won't be anyone who can say if I did or didn't. Anyway, I doubt that will be what people remember from tonight. I'm fairly sure what your mate is doing is considered a war crime."

I was sure she was right, but she didn't sound all that broken up about it. These were her people, and she didn't care that they were all being tortured as long as she got to win the hunt she'd orchestrated just for this purpose.

She was the worst kind of ruler. The same kind as Idris, and to a lesser extent, that horrible lord and lady I'd met in Inbetwixt. None of them cared about their people at all. Which begged the question, why did we keep them? Long ago, Aisling had united the realms under one crown, but now we'd gone back to separate territories in all but name only. That couldn't possibly be the way things should be.

But I couldn't think about that right now.

Cassinda walked toward me, stalking me, and instinctively I backed up. I extended my trembling hands and Cassinda stopped In her tracks when fire burst from my freezing fingers.

It wasn't the best fire I'd ever made, and sputtered every time my teeth chattered. But evidently, Cassinda didn't realize that.

"You're an illusionist?" she accused.

I shook my head and tossed a flaming ball at the ground. A circle melted into the snow, revealing grass beneath. "Come touch it if you want. It's not an illusion."

She didn't move, seeming to take my word for it. I'd momentarily forgotten that she expected me never to lie.

For the first time, her eyes darted to the sides and she looked nervous.

"Afraid I'll burn down your forest and you with it?" I taunted her.

"The forest has nothing to do with us," she snapped. "It's innocent, and the home to many creatures."

I widened my eyes at her. She couldn't possibly be serious. She didn't care that the people were dying in agony up at the castle, but she was worried about a few trees?

Partly out of spite, and partly to see how serious she was, I held a handful of fire up to one of the nearby pines. Its bark began to smoke and with a cry of anger, she rushed toward me.

I pivoted on my back foot as if we were sword fighting, and held the fire up to her. It caught the tip of her long chestnut braid and the smell of burning hair engulfed the clearing.

"Wait!" she demanded. "I'll make you a bargain."

I scoffed. "I was taught never to bargain with the fae."

"Then I'll offer you a challenge. Fight me without magic."

Her eyes widened, both earnest and determined and…something else. I couldn't explain why, but her eyes reminded me suddenly of Bael. His eyes were yellow and catlike, while hers were brown and so large they took up far more than their fair share of her face. Yet, there was…something. I couldn't put my finger on it.

I raised my eyebrows. "You cannot be serious."

"I'll even let you keep your weapons, while I—" she held up her hands to show me "—have none. I can tell you've been trained, it wouldn't be an unfair fight."

I stared at her. This was a terrible idea, and I was sure she was up to something. She'd already cheated once, and if I let her do it again then more the fool was I.

But even with magic, there was the very real possibility that she was stronger than me. I hadn't expected her to be so talented at illusion.

"You would be using no weapons?" I clarified, wanting to hear her speak the words again.

"No weapons, only my natural form," she promised.

A cold gust of wind blew through the clearing, bringing with it a flurry of snow. The icy drops hit my face and bare hands, and an enormous shiver passed through me. As it had been blown out like a candle, the flame in my hand flickered and died. I tried to flex my fingers and found them stiff and throbbing with cold.

Fuck.

I still hated this idea, but now it seemed I had no choice. If I was lucky, she was trained similarly to Scion. He was deadly with magic, but even he would admit he had never properly learned to use a sword. Maybe Cassinda would be like that. Too dependent on magic to realize how poor she was at fighting.

"Fine," I replied quickly. "No magic."

She smiled widely at me like she'd already won the crown. "It's a bargain."

I reached again for my knife and held it out in front of me. Only then, I looked directly into Cassinda's face. Her smile seemed to be growing wider. Her mouth stretched her teeth multiplying and her face elongated faster and faster.

I stumbled back, my heart pounding out of control. Oh shit.

Right in front of me Cassinda disappeared and in her place stood an enormous, shaggy, brown bear.