Forged in Frost and Fire (Book 1 in the Chronicles of Kings trilogy)

Chapter Twenty One

"Get off!" I screamed, trying to grab at the person who had his kneecap lodged between my shoulderblades. He only chuckled and pressed it down harder, forcing a whimper out of me. Another set of hands were gripping at my wrists and wrenching them behind my back. I screamed through my teeth and tried to fight against it, but the guard was awfully strong. I felt something warm wrap around my wrists and then there was an incredible burning against my skin. As if they were pressing a hot poker against my bare skin.

"What in the blazing hells is that?" I asked, trying to wriggle under him but he kept me pinned to the ground, so harshly that I could barely get a breath in.

"Exactly what you said, ice bitch. Blazing hell." The man who was keeping me pinned grabbed me by the arms and hauled me to my feet. My whole body thrummed with pain and I screamed through my teeth. The guard merely chuckled and kept me pressed tight to his chest, tight enough that the harsh lines of his armor plate cut into my back.

"Iron cuffs, they extinguish your power entirely," a guard to my left said. I fought the urge to spit at all of them. I struggled against his hold on me but he simply tightened his grip, making me wince. The four of them grouped around me and each took off something from their belts. Small as a marble, dark as onyx.

"Let me go." I gasped, fighting harder. But it was of no use. Without my powers, now weak and trembling from not only my power exertion but the agility course, I was vulnerable. I was no fae warrior, no badass spy. I was simply a girl. With a dead sister. Angry and afraid.

"We can't do that. We've got precise orders for what to do with you, girl," the guard behind me rasped. At the same exact time they threw down their marbles and they shattered on the floor. Plumes of black smoke rose around us and I nearly dislocated my arm trying to break free from my captor, to no avail. He held me tightly as the smoke swirled around us, blinding me from our surroundings. There was the whirling of wind around me and I felt magic swirl powerfully around us. I hadn't physically felt magic since I was a human, but I could feel it now. I could feel how it made my limbs tingle and a metallic taste fill my mouth. Whatever magic they were using...it was powerful.

The spinning black lasted a moment longer before my feet were slamming into solid ground. I stumbled and my knees cracked into the ground instead, sending white hot tendrils of pain up and down my legs. I cursed in a way that would've had Heather scolding me and Tellie laughing. Tellie. I forced myself not to think about either of them.

"On your feet, Icy," the guard with a long beard said to my right. I gave him a look that could've frosted over my own ice. He simply glared back and sent the hilt of his knife into my ribs. Bastard. A grunt left my lips as I was forced to my feet.

Less disoriented now, I finally took in my surroundings. We weren't at the camp anymore, that was for sure. We were...in a large ass hallway. Dark blue velvet made up the carpets and the walls were covered in wallpaper flicked with silver. Real silver. There were expensive vases and paintings along the walls, and tiny couches that looked like they cost more than my entire house. This whole hallway looked like it'd cost more than my entire village.

"Where are we?" I asked, well more like gasped. I had never been around such finery before, it was nothing I was used to. Hells, I was satisfied with a full belly and a place to sleep for the night, away from the cold.

"Welcome to the winter palace," the guard behind me said, tightening his grip on my arms. I flinched and as a result the iron cuffs around me burned harsher. I winced, struggling against them, but that only made them seem to grow tighter and hotter.

"Why am I here? I did nothing wrong,"
I said, lying through my teeth. I had done everything wrong. Starting with that agility course and not helping those two girls. No, not two girls. Raven and Lily. And then...then I couldn't help Tellie, she died thinking I was safe at home, living off of the money that she wasn't giving me. And then, possibly my worst mistake, was exploding and showing the entire camp what I really had hiding underneath my skin. I fucked up. And there was no going back now. I'd probably get killed considering their interrogation methods wouldn't work on me with my 'stubborn mortal brain' and all. Surprisingly, I found I wasn't intimidated by the thought of death. If Death came for me now I'd probably fall to my knees and beg for it to take me quickly. I really had nothing left to live for anymore.