The Frost Eater (The Magic Eaters Trilogy Book 1)

by Carol Beth Anderson

  “Back door?” Nora asked.

  “They’ll be watching it. Wait here.”

  “Wait? For what?”

  Krey was already running. He set the lantern in the hallway so it would shed a little light into the living room. Having learned a lesson from his previous trip to this house, Krey had eaten a few feathers before leaving his dorm. He urged his flight talent to turn on. His entire body filled with a tingling lightness, and he flew the last few mets to the front door. He reached down and threw the bolt, using the motion to push himself up to the ceiling.

  The door crashed open. One of the brutes who’d threatened him earlier charged in, passing right beneath him. Krey didn’t give the man time to find him. He swooped down and captured the man’s neck in the crook of his arm, squeezing as tight as he could. He’d never done anything like this, but he’d read about it plenty of times.

  The guard reached up to pry Krey’s arms off his neck, but Krey held on with furious strength. The man’s big boot kicked backwards, which might have worked if his attacker weren’t hovering two mets off the ground.

  After a brief struggle, the man slackened. Krey released him, and he dropped to the ground.

  Krey flew to the bedroom where Nora waited. He landed. “Let’s go! Leave the lantern!” They both sprinted into the living room, out the front door, and into the street.

  As soon as they reached the street, a male voice behind them shouted, “Stop!”

  “Keep running,” Krey shouted. He stopped, turned, and shot a large ball of ice at their pursuer’s chest. The man went down with a grunt.

  Krey took to the air just long enough to catch up with Nora, who was still sprinting away. He landed and ran alongside her. After about a minute, he touched her arm. “We should walk. People will be suspicious.”

  They slowed to a panting walk and stayed in the shadows, away from streetlamps. When they’d caught their breath, Krey glanced at Nora. “Damn it, put your hood up!”

  She pulled it up, then turned her head to look at him. “Did you kill the man in the living room?”

  “No. He just passed out.”

  “Good. Why’d you come back for me? You could’ve flown away by yourself”

  That was a good question. Nora could’ve told those men she was the princess, and they probably wouldn’t have hurt her. He shrugged. “I didn’t think about it.”

  She let out a short laugh. “I’ve seen you cry over your girlfriend, Krey.”

  “Almost cry. And what’s your point?”

  “I know you’re not coldhearted.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Okay, so we’ve agreed that you didn’t leave me because deep down, you’re a decent human being.” There was laughter in her voice. “So why didn’t you pick me up and fly us both out of there?”

  He swiveled his head to give her an incredulous look. “How many feather eaters have you known?”

  “A few.”

  “How many of them could carry passengers?”

  “All of them.”

  He laughed. “You’re lying.”

  “No, really. All the ones I’ve met were masters.”

  “Oh, of course. I imagine you don’t often associate with normal magic eaters.” He glanced at her again. “Carrying someone else while flying is really hard.”

  “I assumed you were as talented with flying as you are with ice.”

  “Well, I’m not.”

  “Do you practice flying every day?”

  “Of course not.”

  “The masters I work with always say there aren’t any shortcuts to becoming a better lyster. If you want greater powers, practice for hours.”

  He knew she was right, but frost magic was easier than feather magic. Once he’d gotten decent at flying, and done it enough to get over the initial insane thrill of it, he’d switched a lot of his focus to his other talent.

  “You know,” Nora said, “I could have someone order feathers for you to practice with.”

  Heat filled his face, and his hands clenched. “Your Royal Highness, I don’t need your charity. In fact, I don’t need the ice you had delivered to my room the other day. I can buy my own fuel.”

  “Oh! You . . . you can?”

  “Just because I don’t show off my money doesn’t mean I don’t have any. My Aunt Evie is a successful fashion designer. It’s ridiculous how much people pay for her stuff. I don’t think anything she makes costs less than five hundred quins.” He immediately wished he’d kept his mouth shut. Nora didn’t need to know any more about his personal life than he’d already told her.

  It was too late. “Evie Designs? I love her clothes! I buy her entire collection every season!”

  “Well . . .” Krey cleared his throat. “I guess that means you were already providing my fuel to me.”

  “So you come from a wealthy family. I wouldn’t have guessed that after you got on my case about poor people who can’t afford ice.”

  “You don’t have to be underprivileged to care about those who are.”

  For several minutes, the only sound was their footsteps on the packed dirt. When Nora spoke again, her voice was soft. “That conversation we had in the icehouse? The day you came? It made me think. I even—well, I—like I said, it made me think.”

  He turned to study her, but she was looking off into the distance. He kept his gaze on her. In so many ways, she was exactly what he’d imagined a royal would be: privileged and clueless. But she’d sounded so genuine just then. And she was helping him, when all he’d expected from the monarchy was apathy or hostility.

  “I almost forgot.” Nora reached in her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. “I was picking this up when that man started pounding on the door. This street’s empty. Let’s stop under that light and see what this says.” They stopped, and she smoothed the page, then read aloud.

  “NEW THERROAN LEAGUE

  (NTL)

  presents

  AN EVENING OF LECTURES AND DISCUSSION

  on the topic of

  TRUE FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE

  Wednesday Centa 13TH

  7-9 PM – Alit’s Pub”

  Nora’s eyes were wide, her breaths shallow and quick. “This is it.”

  “What?”

  “New Therroan extremists—that’s who’s behind all this.”

  Krey’s forehead screwed up. “New Therroan extremists?”

  “We can’t keep standing under this light.” She set out at a quick pace, and Krey ran to catch up. “You’ve heard of the New Therroan movement for independence, right?” Nora asked.

  “I’ve heard of it, but it’s not big news in Tirra.”

  “Okay, a brief history lesson. After The Day, about a thousand people gathered in this area. They named their community Cellerin. A hundred years later, about half the community moved out to the lake in the North Forest, northwest of here. They started their own nation: New Therro.”

  “Named after Therro, the preday country,” Krey interjected.

  “Right. From the beginning, New Therro and Cellerin had constant trade disputes. Almost fifty years ago, in 153 PD, New Therro’s army attacked us. But our top legislators were stuck in a power struggle. They gave our generals contradictory orders, and we were losing almost every battle. So Cellerin’s population rose up and named their mayor, Onna, as queen.”

  “Your grandmother,” Krey said.

  “Yes. She was a brilliant strategist. She not only won the war; she negotiated a truce that required New Therro to become a Cellerinian province.”

  “I know all this,” Krey said, not trying to hide his impatience. “Talk to me about these New Therroan extremists you mentioned.”

  “A lot of New Therroans believe they should still be independent. They hold protests in Cellerin City all the time, sometimes at the palace gates. For the last couple of years, there’s been real concern that they’re gearing up for a civil war.”

  “What?” Krey stopped, expecting Nora to do the same, but she
kept right on walking. Again, he ran to catch up. “I’ve never heard anything about impending war!”

  She shook her head hard. “I shouldn’t have said anything. This isn’t public knowledge.” She met his eyes. “You can’t mention it to anyone. Okay?”

  “I won’t. I swear.”

  Slowing her pace, she watched him, her brows drawn together.

  “Nora, I’m not gonna tell anyone. I just want to find Zeisha.” He sighed and added, “And there are other people that need to be rescued too. I doubt your friend is one of them, but if she is, we’ll find her. Please, tell me what you know.”

  She nodded slowly and released a loud breath. “My father has been traveling about once a week to negotiate with New Therroan leaders. He’s keeping it quiet. The last thing we need is for this to turn public and political. The negotiations haven’t been going well.”

  “Why doesn’t he just let New Therro have their independence?”

  Nora gaped at him. “If we did that, they’d think we were weak. They’d try to take over our government. What they really want is power—and revenge for being under our thumb all this time. Onna brought unity and stability to our nation. We aren’t giving that up! If you can’t see that . . .” She shook her head. “I never should’ve told you all this.”

  Krey didn’t believe a word of her reasoning. King Ulmin wouldn’t give independence to New Therro for one reason: he didn’t want to lose any of his power. None of that mattered, though, not while Zeisha was still missing. “I appreciate you telling me,” he said. “I swear on the stone, I’ll keep it quiet. But I still don’t understand . . . how does Zeisha fit into all this?”

  “I don’t know, but it can’t be a coincidence that we found this flyer in that house. Think about it. Most of the people who left Cellerin for New Therro weren’t magical. There’s still not much magic in their province. It makes sense that they’d want some lysters on their side.”

  Krey clenched his fists, and when he spoke, his words were louder than he intended. “Nora, open your eyes. I don’t care what that flyer says. Someone in your government is behind all this. New Therro is a poor province; what makes you think they have the resources to send people out to kidnap magic eaters? And to keep it quiet?”

  Nora shoved the paper in front of his face. “This makes me think it! What are the chances your grudge against the monarchy is blinding you to the truth? Be honest, Krey!”

  Krey tried to brush off her words, but he couldn’t. Uncertainty twisted his stomach. Maybe the government is hiding my girlfriend. Maybe a band of extremists abducted her. How am I supposed to fight against either one?

  Nora turned, and when she saw his face, her blazing eyes softened. “Are you okay?”

  He covered his mouth. “I feel sick.”

  “We’ll get to the bottom of this, you know.”

  He nodded and tried not to throw up.

  The sky was still black when they arrived back at the palace grounds. Krey breathed a quiet prayer of thanks when he had enough frost magic in his reserves to create another ladder and a slide. They slid to the ground in the garden, and he let go of his mental hold on the ice, this time allowing it to break into tiny, frozen pebbles. Hopefully the guards out there wouldn’t notice the ice chips left behind by the ladder rungs.

  They walked through the garden, and Nora stopped and gestured toward Krey’s dorm. “Hope you can get a little sleep.”

  “Actually”—he couldn’t believe he was saying this—“I’ll make sure you get back to your house safely.”

  “Krey, my dad is overprotective enough. I don’t need it from you too. I’ll be fine.”

  “I know you will, but we just evaded palace guards at the fence and two goons in the city.” He swallowed. “I . . . I appreciate your help tonight. I’m still not sure why you’re doing it, but I appreciate it. Let me walk you home, okay?”

  She paused, then nodded. “Okay.”

  They walked back to the residence. As Nora struggled to unlock the gate in the dark, she whispered, “When you get off your library shift tomorrow, let’s meet in the garden. We’ll talk about what to do next.”

  “Sounds good.”

  She opened the gate and took a step in. Two caynins greeted her. “I appreciate you walking me here.”

  Before he could respond, a voice spoke from several mets away. “So do I.”

  A bolt of alarm shot through Krey, and he grabbed Nora’s arm to keep her from going in farther. “Who’s that?” he whispered.

  Nora tugged her arm away and spoke at full volume, her voice thick with resignation. “Hi, Aunt Dani.”

  11

  My neighbor, a survivor of The Day who is five years older than me, married at seventeen. She was pregnant within two months. In the next sixteen years, she had eleven babies, eight of whom survived infancy.

  Perhaps the most defining feature of my generation is our desperation to rebuild Anyari’s population. We pressure young people to marry early and procreate quickly and often, just as our parents did after The Day. We encourage unmarried individuals, same-sex couples, and other childless couples to adopt children in need of families. In our society, which lacks modern medical technology, far too many parents die young.

  We also instruct teenagers not to have sex until they’re married. Unlike preday society, we have no contraception or protection against sexually transmitted diseases. In an effort to build strong, healthy families, postday culture encourages lifelong, monogamous relationships.

  Of course, whether in procreation or in chastity, there is often a gap between intention and reality.

  -The First Generation: A Memoir by Liri Abrios

  Nora’s Aunt Dani had an uncanny ability to catch her when she broke the rules. Thankfully, Dani was sometimes willing to keep secrets from Nora’s father. Holding onto that hope, Nora stepped toward her and fixed a wide smile on her face. “Didn’t expect to see you here!”

  Dani’s voice was stern. “Come in. Both of you.”

  Krey was still outside, swathed in shadows. He heaved a sigh and entered. Nora locked the gate.

  “Let’s go in through the icehouse so we don’t wake anyone.” Dani led them around to the back. Once they were in Nora’s room, Dani turned on the light and pointed at four upholstered chairs by the unlit fireplace. “Sit.”

  Nora and Krey both sat. Dani walked to the fireplace and faced them, folding her arms over her chest. She locked her gaze on Krey for several seconds, then shifted it to Nora. “Are you two having sex?”

  They answered at the same time:

  “What?”

  “I have a girlfriend!”

  Dani’s stance didn’t change. “I need to know if you are. While I’d advise against it, I want you to protect yourselves—”

  “Ma’am,” Krey interrupted, “I didn’t come to this city to seduce a princess. I came here to find my girlfriend. I’ve never even had sex with her; you really think I’d jump in bed with someone else?”

  Nora’s brows leapt up. That was . . . more information than she’d expected. She recovered and turned to her aunt. “Give me some credit. I’m smarter than that.” She wanted to add, If I was gonna sleep with anyone, it wouldn’t be a moody teenager with a grudge against me. But a spark of common sense shut down the impulse. She didn’t want Dani to keep an even closer eye on her.

  Dani’s shoulders relaxed. She walked to Nora’s desk and returned with a plate of cookies, which she set on a low table in front of the chairs. “Please, eat.”

  Krey’s confused gaze found Nora.

  She shrugged and whispered, “Just take one.” Cookies served multiple purposes in Dani’s world. They could be expressions of love, edible apologies, or icebreakers at negotiations. Right now, Nora figured these cookies were a sign of Dani’s trust. And maybe a little attempted bribery too. Dani wanted answers.

  As Nora and Krey chewed, Dani scooted a chair to face them. She sat and leaned forward.

  Before her aunt could say more, Nora as
ked, “How did you know I was gone?”

  “A guard found a large pile of ice blocks inside the fence. Knowing you’re an ice lyster, he woke me to inform me of it.”

  Nora chewed and swallowed. She hadn’t realized the guards inside the grounds ever checked that area. Good information for later. “Does Dad know?”

  “Not at this point.”

  Whew. Nora’s father had always been protective, and his wife’s murder ten years earlier had multiplied his natural tendencies exponentially. It didn’t matter that the queen’s killer had been a deranged woman with no organizational ties. The king lived every day of his life in fear that someone would take either his daughter or his crown from him. After Nora’s last escape attempt, he’d threatened that if she tried it again, he’d take away the modicum of freedom she had.

  Dani gestured to Nora’s and Krey’s faces. “You’re both scratched up. What happened?”

  “We were in the trees outside the fence,” Nora said. “It was dark.”

  “Tell me where you went. And be honest.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Nora saw Krey eyeing her. She had no doubt he wanted her to keep her mouth shut.

  “We were at that house Krey visited last week,” Nora said.

  Krey’s huff drew Nora’s gaze. Seriously? he mouthed.

  “Why?” Dani asked.

  Nora almost blurted out the truth about the letters Krey had found. But then he’d be in trouble for breaking into the records hall. She bit her lip and stared at her hands.

  Dani didn’t say a word. She’d mastered a particular type of silence, designed to elicit true confessions through pure awkwardness.

  It was Krey who finally spoke, after brushing cookie crumbs off his fingers. “I wanted to get into the house at night while the guy who lives there was sleeping. Just to look around.”

  Dani turned her attention to Nora. “And you went with him because . . . ?”

  For a silent moment, Nora considered bringing up her suspicions about Faylie. But something told her Dani would find the assertion preposterous. She settled for, “I think he’s onto something. I wanted to help.”