by J. L. Weil
The fact that I hadn’t heard a peep out of Ember overwhelmed me with trepidation. What had they done to my fiery sister? She wasn’t easy to shut up.
I was jostled upside down for what seemed like miles. From what I could tell, they were taking us farther and farther away from the Institute, from Dash. It took more effort than I would have liked to admit to keep from slipping into the darkness. It was right there on the edge of my eyesight, waiting to take over.
When the brute carrying me finally came to a halt, I took a deep breath. The moment of opportunity I’d been waiting for had come.
Time to give my kidnappers a dose of whoop-ass.
My feet touched the ground, and my captor fumbled with the bag on my head. The second it was off, I twisted, using my bound hands to sucker punch him in the groin, but my victory was short-lived. The trio had multiplied, and behind me stood at least a dozen rebels. One of them was quick to get his hands on me, shoving me to my knees. Rocks dug through the material of my pants, cutting into my skin, but the pain gave me something to concentrate on to keep me alert.
Movement out of the corner of my eye had me switching my attention.
A girl stood in front of an iron gate leading into a town. She barely topped five feet and looked no more than fifteen. She was spunky and cute, but her icy light blue eyes glowed with fierce authority. Her dark hair was twisted in small braids, and pinned in swirls on her head, and she had flawless skin the color of coffee.
Lifting my head, I kept my gaze locked on her. Were all these muscular men listening to this elfin girl? She appraised me, clearly not impressed with what she saw. “So you’re the infamous girl with the rainbow eyes.”
Is that all anyone talked about? My eyes? “I am,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “Who are you?”
Her dark blue lips came together. “I’m Frost.”
I wasn’t going to comment on her name, even though it sounded like a comic book character. “Why am I here?”
“I need something from you,” she said.
Didn’t everyone? “What would that be?” I said, even though I was pretty sure I already knew.
Her arms spread wide, gesturing to the land around her. “What the remainder of the world seeks: your power.”
“Powers,” I corrected her.
“I’m only interested in one.”
Anger rushed hotly over me. “If I do whatever it is you want, will you let us go?”
“Eventually. For now, you need rest to regain your strength. I see you’ve met my sentinels.” She addressed the one beside me. “Take them inside.”
My fingernails dug into my palms as I attempted to keep my cool. “I appreciate your offer of hospitality, but we must decline.”
Her gaze flicked over my face, and I detected her irritation along with a dormant power that warned me not to mess with her. “My seer failed to mention what a sense of humor you have. It won’t do you any good here.”
I could see that.
Ember and I were ushered through the gate. My sister was gagged, and her powers must have been subdued by the devices on her wrists—which was probably a good thing because it looked like she would burn down the entire community if given the chance. Her eyes smoldered with green flames. I tried to gain her attention, but it was trained on the jerk who was dragging her along.
Giving up on Ember, I observed the city within the iron gates. Of all the organized civilizations I’d been to, this one had a cold beauty to it. The gravel paths were intermixed with a pale aqua crystal similar to pieces of broken glass. Huts shaped like igloos were scattered over the rocky land, dusted with flakes of snow. Intricate symbols were carved over the doorways in swirling patterns. They reminded me of the Egyptian hieroglyphics I had once studied in history class.
Ember finally became aware of her surroundings, but the fierce scowl never left her expression. If she was surprised by what she saw, she never showed it.
I hadn’t really felt the cold before entering the town, but now it cut through my clothes like a knife. I wasn’t dressed for such a harsh climate.
We came to one of the round huts that had intimidating iron bars on the door, and we were tossed inside. The guards untied us, and the iron clanged shut behind them as they exited. Ember wrenched her hands up to her mouth, ripping the gag away. “I’m going to kill them all,” she roared, her eyes blazing in the dark.
Rubbing my hands up and down my arms, I surveyed the room. A woven rug covered the floor and a single bed was shoved against the back wall. “I never should have trusted you,” I mumbled, sinking onto the bed and covering myself up with the fur laying on top.
“Me?” Ember said, aghast. “You’re the one who got us kidnapped.”
“Which never would have happened if I had stayed at the Institute,” I reminded her.
She paced the floor with the weird metal bracelets still around her wrists. “What the hell does she want from you?”
I shrugged. “Take your pick. I have four different abilities. But she has her own seers, which rules out my visions, and I doubt my lightning or shield is what she is after.”
“I should have fed you to the Forsaken.”
“Is that what you planned to do?”
She didn’t reply immediately, and the fact that she had to think about it unnerved me. “No, but the thought crossed my mind.”
“Ember!” I shrieked.
She paused her pacing of the room. “What? Do you know how many fewer problems we’d have?”
I exhaled. “Dash will find us. We just need to bide our time.”
Panic flashed through her eyes. “Have you thought about what they could do to us until then?” She knew firsthand what torture felt like.
No. And I didn’t want to. This was one of those moments where ignorance was bliss, and I was sticking to it for my own sanity. “Those cuffs, do they defuse your gifts?” I had my own theory but needed to make sure there wasn’t another reason Ember hadn’t already set this place ablaze.
She lifted her hands, examining the simple silver material. “Yeah. I’ve never seen anything like this. It appears to be made from the same metal as the dungeons in the Institute.”
“So how did a kid get her hands on it?”
“Good question. You can bet your ass our father would love to know just that. Can you zap it off?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Possibly, but there’s a good chance I’ll electrocute you.”
Her bright eyes met mine. “I’ll take my chances. We need to get out of here, and I’m not willing to wait for your boyfriend to show up.”
She might not get a choice. Now that my body had a moment to relax, a chilling tide of darkness swept through me. This time, I was powerless to stop it. “I just need a minute to rest.” My vision wavered, along with my body.
“Charlotte!” Ember sprang toward me.
I fell back into the bed, my eyes closing as everything faded to black.
“Your timing sucks, you know that?” Her annoyed voice whispered through the fog. “Don’t leave me here alone.”
I’m sorry, I tried to whisper, but the words didn’t leave my mouth.
The rest of the night passed in a daze. I came to as a metal door squeaked open. Ember was sitting on the edge of the bed and shot to her feet. She searched for a weapon, but unless she was going to whack the person coming through the door with a blanket of fur, she was screwed.
And she knew it.
The door blew open, bringing in the icy wind… and Frost.
I sat up, clearing the last remnants of unconsciousness from my brain. My strength should be back. Time to bust us out of here.
“Before you think about calling upon your gifts, hear me out,” Frost said, coming to stand in the center of the oval-shaped hut.
Ember positioned herself between Frost and me. “Why the hell would she do that? Zap her, Charlotte.”
I let tingles of energy hum through my veins, but instead of singeing every fiber on her body, I hesitated.
Frost had gone through a lot of trouble to get me here. Would a few more minutes hurt our chances of escape? “You have sixty seconds.”
Ember snapped her head toward me. “Have you gone insane?”
Frost ignored my sister and brushed past Ember to come closer to me. “Is it true you can wake the sleeping?” she asked.
Did she have someone she wanted to awaken? “Depends,” I replied vaguely. Admitting that that particular gift was temperamental wouldn’t help me out of this hostage situation.
“It would save us both time if you didn’t play games.” She casually sat beside me and laid her hand on mine.
I flinched, and Ember prepared to fight. Two sentinels moved in to flank either side of my sister. Ember’s reputation for being ruthless had preceded her.
Frost sent a stream of crystal ice over my skin as a message. The cold stung, going deep into the muscle and freezing my hand. Point taken. Torture would be used if necessary.
“Take me to them,” I relented, staring Frost dead in the eyes.
She grinned in a way that made me want to shiver. “I knew we could come to an agreement.”
Trusting that I was stable enough to stand on my own two feet, I got up so I was looking down at the young teen instead of up. “It’s not like you gave me much of a choice.”
Frost and I shuffled out of the hut, and I happened to glance behind me. Two more sentinels had positioned themselves in front of Ember, blocking her from following us. She looked as if she was prepared to skin them. “Excuse me,” Ember said, dodging left and right to get around the boulders of muscle.
The sentinels said nothing.
My steps halted. “I’m not going anywhere without my sister,” I informed Frost.
Frost didn’t so much as blink. “Ember will be my insurance. She stays here, under my care, until you’ve done your part.”
Honestly, I didn’t like the idea of us being separated, and for as much as Ember put on a tough front, she wasn’t keen on the arrangement either. “Why don’t you take these off my wrists and then we’ll see how fast you melt?” Ember hollered, dangling her hands in the air.
My feet felt as if there were bars of lead strapped to them. I didn’t want to leave Ember. I also didn’t want rainbow eyes and unpredictable, pain-in-the-ass powers. We didn’t always get what we wanted.
I contemplated unleashing my fury, but I couldn’t risk Ember getting hurt. We were outnumbered. She was powerless. And Frost could freeze my sister to death before I took care of her goonies. Even if we somehow managed to survive, we still had to escape.
It was probably safest to give Frost what she wanted and pray she would let us go.
“Your sister is quite… lovely,” Frost said, sneering on the last word as she guided me through the gated community.
My boots sloshed over the ground. “It runs in the family.”
“I have to say, I was surprised to see you without the Slayer. Word is he never leaves your side.”
I stiffened at the mention of Dash. “I don’t understand why everyone is so interested in my love life.”
“It’s not who you’re dating, but what you and the Slayer are capable of that has everyone nervous.”
“Everyone but you,” I pointed out.
“I’d be an idiot to underestimate either of you,” she confessed. “I might be young, but I’m not dumb. He is already tearing through the Heights searching for you.”
Hope bloomed inside of me.
“Did I mention that if you try anything, I’ll have your sister killed?” Her tone was bone-chilling.
My bubble of hope burst.
Chapter Sixteen
Frost was a tiny bitch. How could someone so young be so cold? It made me wonder what she had been through. How had she awakened?
As we walked, I plotted a hundred different ways I would make her pay for holding me hostage, threatening my sister, and forcing me to use my powers. What I should have been doing was paying attention to where we were going.
My spy skills sucked.
We came to a building that looked familiar. I’d never been there before—not to that one specifically—but all the holding houses for those still under the slumber were similar. Except this one had no door, which I found odd. In fact, it appeared someone had blown it off. The edges surrounding the entryway were jagged.
Frost put her fingers onto my back, pushing me inside.
I glared over my shoulder at her. “Were you abused as a child?” I asked.
“In this life or before?” she asked.
There were pointed arches in the doorways that had probably once been stunning, but now they were chipped and the stone was decaying. Uneven cobblestone covered the floor. Moss grew in between the bricks, traveling up the walls.
They had built their settlement around one of the holding houses. Did that mean the Institute didn’t know about it?
I had a feeling the answer was yes.
“Did everyone who lives here wake up from this holding house?” I inquired.
Frost nodded. “I’ve kept them off the Institute’s radar.”
“Why?” I found myself asking, suddenly curious about this girl who was wise beyond her years.
“For the same reason the Slayer ran.”
“You were tortured by the Institute?” I asked.
Her shrewd eyes darkened to the color of a midnight winter storm. “I’m not looking for a shrink.”
I hadn’t been offering advice, but I kept my mouth shut and continued walking. A pale blue glow illuminated the floor. I couldn’t find the source of the light, but it didn’t seem natural. Very little was in the Heights.
Keeping my focus forward, I moved into the room with all the slabs. My anxiety tripled, filling up my chest. Frost was right at my side, taking my elbow and urging me to the left toward a young boy. I did my best to keep my composure. It was weird to become unnerved by someone years younger than me.
“Do your magic,” she demanded.
Lord save me.
The little boy lay still—deep in eternal sleep. Dark curls spilled over his pale face. A purplish green bruise marked his temple, and the hem of his shift was torn. My heart squeezed as I brushed a lock of hair off his forehead.
What happened to you?
And who are you to this girl?
They were questions that might never be answered. I was here for one reason: to save Ember and myself.
I hadn’t expected to feel anything when I came face to face with the person Frost wanted me to wake, but upon seeing the little boy, empathy struck me. His dark hair reminded me of Dash’s, and my heart skipped.
More than anything, I wanted for Dash to be beside me, to feel his hand squeeze mine, and for him to tell me I could do this.
“What are you waiting for?” Frost hissed, breathing down my neck.
Taking a few calming breaths, I blocked out the room and everyone in it, so there was only the little sleeping boy who tugged at my heart, and me. Dipping my head, I lightly pressed my lips to his arctic ones, breathing life into him. There was only one way to explain what went on inside me. It was just a simple meeting of lips, devoid of passion, of love, but packed with the yearning to heal a child.
At that moment, I didn’t think about what kind of world I would be waking him to live in, or that I would be turning him over to the care of a deranged possibly thirteen-year-old.
No one was surprised more than me when the little boy’s long lashes began to flutter.
Holy shit. I actually had the gift to wake those stuck in the slumber.
Frost pushed me aside, our arms brushing as she called the boy’s name. “Tristan,” she whispered. “You’re okay.”
Was he though?
I wasn’t so sure. His future didn’t look any brighter than the rest of ours, especially with the Forsaken knocking down our doors. Frost might think she was untouchable, tucked away in her frozen wonderland, but she was wrong.
None of us were safe.
Lik
e a fairytale, the color slowly returned to Tristan’s skin, washing away the paleness. His eyes opened, passing over me to look at Frost. He blinked.
Then fear set in.
Panic and confusion spread across his expression while he tried to understand where he was—why he was in a dark, cold room with two strange people. One he might remember, but he would not be entirely sure how.
That was what Ceraspan did to the brain. It messed with your memories, messed with who you once were, and the mist did the rest.
I took a step back, letting Frost take over. This was her deal, not mine. I had upheld my end of the bargain, and it was her turn to deliver. Ember and I were leaving, unharmed, and with no grief from the frozen little princess.
Tristan’s eyes welled with tears, and seeing his bottom lip quiver, I wanted to wrap him in a hug and take him with me. At least then he would be protected. What was it about this boy that instilled such a sense of protectiveness in me?
Was it that he reminded me of a younger Dash?
Or did he remind me of the little boy from my vision?
Could it be because I never got the chance to shield Ember from the world? Maybe if I had, things would have turned out differently for her.
Or they could have ended up worse.
Very true.
Frost showed her first real set of emotions, and yet, it was less than heartwarming. Her arms went around the little boy’s shoulders as she whispered something in his ear. Where were her tears? It was clear Tristan meant a great deal to her.
“Is he your brother?” I asked, breaking up the reunion.
Any softness that might have been there drained from her face. “It’s not your concern who he is. You did what I asked.”
What you demanded, I corrected her in my head. Guess I wasn’t going to get a thank you. My shoulders straightened, not liking her answer. “What are you planning to do with him?”
She picked the boy up and put him on her hip. “The same I do with all of them, give them shelter, food, and a place to feel safe… a home.”
