“Don’t be afraid, witch,” Ashkii sneered. “They won’t bite you if you behave.”
Clutching her pride, Lannahi asked, “What do you want?”
When Ashkii tilted her head, her long hair flowing down the front of her brown coat in a thick cascade moved like snakes slithering on the ground. “Interesting question,” she said, moving her eyes over the dressing on Lannahi’s forehead. “I’ve been asking it in my mind for the last ten minutes before I realized that you aren’t here because of Sevii. Were you so sick of your subjects that you felt like running away? Or did the crown turn out to be heavier than you expected, witch queen?”
Lannahi looked at Sevii, who had returned to join the others.
I should have searched the area, she realized belatedly.
She thought she was alone, but she was being watched from the start. She landed right under the enemy’s nose.
“Why should I be here because of Sevii?” she asked.
The white-haired woman’s lips curled into another mocking smile. “The fact that you don’t know doesn’t speak very well of you.” She turned her attention to the younger girl. “But it speaks very well of you, Sevii. I had doubts about allowing you to become a member of our pack, but apparently you have the potential to make for a good spy. I’m certain Amaruk will find you useful.”
Hope lit in Sevii’s eyes. It was clear that Lannahi didn’t need to ask for an explanation to understand what had happened. The girl provided information to the shapeshifters in exchange for the promise of becoming a member of Amaruk’s pack. The shore of the lake must have been their designated spot to meet. She hadn’t participated in today’s ceremony. She wouldn’t take an oath to the Queen of Goldfrost if she really wanted to live among her wolf cousins.
“I need to be sure, though, Sevii,” Ashkii added. “Before I recommend you to Amaruk, I need to be certain that you are loyal to the wolves and not to your cousins on your mother’s side.”
The girl gave her a puzzled look, but said, “I want to be one of you.” She glanced at Lannahi but couldn’t hold her gaze long. “I haven’t changed my mind.”
Ashkii nodded. “I’m glad, but a mere declaration is not enough.”
Sevii hesitated. “What will I have to do?”
The white-haired woman’s gaze shifted to Lannahi. She pretended to ponder the question, but Lannahi read the truth in her calculating gaze. Ashkii knew exactly what she wanted to do to Lannahi.
“We will escort the witch onto the lake and then withdraw. On my sign, Sevii, you will use your landshaper’s power and crush the ice under the feet of the Queen of Goldfrost. This will be your test.”
Sevii’s eyes widened. Despite the frost pinching her cheeks, her face paled. She stammered, “Y-you want to kill the Queen of Goldfrost?”
“Why do you assume you will kill her?” Ashkii reproached, feigning seriousness. “You insult the queen. Lannahi defeated a landshaper in a duel. A cold bath is nothing to her.”
Lannahi tried to maintain a neutral expression, but she felt the frantic claws of panic. The shapeshifters living in the fringes were called “wild” for a reason. Their needs and standards were purely animalistic. They didn’t need the comforts and luxuries that cities offered, and they usually didn’t care about the doings of the fae who lived there or the Rules they followed. They fought among themselves over hunting grounds and females, but since they didn’t have the power capable of violating the Cardinal Rule, the Arbiters only paid attention to them when their actions incurred the wrath of the more powerful fae. If Lannahi had been accompanied by her guards, Ashkii wouldn’t have dared to attack her for fear that she might cause a blood feud, but having guessed that Lannahi was alone, she had no qualm. She didn’t have to fear retribution if Lannahi’s sudden demise appeared to be an accident. Ashkii didn’t participate in the Royal Game. She didn’t need to issue an official Challenge because she didn’t fight for fame and influence.
Ashkii was a predator. Why wouldn’t she hunt when she saw easy prey?
“Your answer, Sevii?” Ashkii asked.
The younger girl’s lips trembled. “I-I will do it.”
Ashkii’s smile was almost cordial. “I knew I could be proud of you.”
Sevii’s lips involuntarily curved into a smile that dimmed quickly when her gaze locked onto Lannahi’s.
“Go ahead, Lannahi,” Ashkii said. “Queens first.”
At her signal, the gray she-wolf took a step forward, growling.
“I would hurry if I were you,” the white-haired woman added when Lannahi stepped away. “For every minute you delay, we’ll bite off a finger.”
Lannahi forced herself to face the lake. She didn’t want to show any fear, but unintentionally or not, Ashkii hit a tender spot with her threat. Lannahi had a chance to survive. She could swim. She had a sleigh. If she got out of the water before her limbs froze, she would be minutes away from the palace. She could make it out alive… but she could also never play the harp again.
When Ashkii started forward and the wolves began to crowd her, Lannahi began slowly moving toward the lake. She lifted the heavy folds of her dress and coat and glanced over her shoulder to keep an eye on the wolves who stalked her every movement. “Why do you do this, Ashkii?”
The shapeshifter was silent, but the longer she thought about her answer, the colder her gaze became. “One meeting was enough for you to mess with Amaruk’s head,” she finally said. “It will be better for the pack if there isn’t a second one.”
Lannahi’s stomach tightened into a knot as she stepped onto the ice. The fact that it looked as solid as a stone floor didn’t comfort her. Under the weight a landshaper’s power, the thick ice would crumble like an egg squeezed by a child’s hand.
