House of Winter

Chapter 33, Part 1

Ari shook her head, embarrassed at the idea of the princess thinking about her.

"Oh you thought about her?" Sanna snapped. "You treated her like your own personal slave, and then you allowed her to be blamed for Raphael's death, and then you fled to the safety of Vulfholm without a second thought as to what your actions had done. It's your fault that Ari was ever caught up in this. If it wasn't for you, Ari would be safe."

Katja whirled on Sanna, and there were tears in her eyes. "Don't you think I know that, Sanna? What do you think I'm doing here, in some forgotten corner of Sredsibirsk, if not looking for a way to atone for this? I am here to stop this war."

"You weren't looking for Ari," Sanna said. "You didn't care for her fate."

"Neither did you!"

"Stop fighting," Ari snapped. "Both of you."

Sanna and Katja both glowered at each other.

"What are you doing here, Katja?" Ari asked. "Were you the one who stole Lumi from the Volcano palace?"

Katja blinked. "No," she said, and then she swallowed. "I wasn't looking for Lumi. I was looking for Tom."

Lumi dropped the mug she was holding. Hot tea splashed on the ground, and she cursed. She bent to pick it up, but Tom was faster. His hand reached for the mug, and Lumi pulled away as if burned.

"Are you okay?" Tom murmured to Lumi, but she didn't respond.

"You were looking for Tom?" Sanna said with surprise.

Ari was curious too.

"My mother has a... task," Katja said delicately. "For which she could only trust in Helvig and me. Helvig was able to track Kobuk. I didn't know Lumi would be here," Katja admitted.

"You're not telling us something," Sanna said.

"There's nothing to tell," Tom said sharply. "And besides, Kat, I was on my way to Vulfholm anyway. Lumi and I need to see your mother. We have a message for her from Doctor Hart."

"What message?" Katja asked.

"Ah," Tom looked at Lumi, and Lumi stared back at him. She'd been mostly silent through this whole conversation, and even when she'd dropped the cup she hadn't said a word. But now she nodded.

"Well," Tom said. "We went to Reunsgar."

Ari let out a gasp, and Lumi looked at her.

"You know of it?" Lumi asked.

Ari nodded. "I've read about it in the library, but I thought it was a myth. There are old Vastien scripts that say the ice pyramid of Reunsgar is the source of all winter magic."

Katja looked up. "The source of winter? My family has always said the magic comes from somewhere there, in the icelands."

"But what does it mean, the source of winter magic?" Sanna said.

"The Reunsgardians believe they are custodians of something they call the liquid star," Lumi said. "They believe it is sacred. It runs deep underground, underneath the icelands, and the Reunsgardians protect it."

"And Matthias Stone wants it," Tom said.

"Oh no," Katja said, realisation dawning on her face. "Matthias Stone has been trying to convince my mother for years to let him drill underneath the ice in Norrlund, but she has always refused."

"That's why Matthias Stone made the deal with the Fire Lands," Lumi said. "That's why he wanted me to marry Raphael. That's what he wanted. He didn't just want the Fire army. He wanted the oil under the ice of Sredsibirsk."

"Oil?"

"It could be far more powerful than any fire or ice magic, if it's in the right hands," Tom said.

"And in the wrong hands..." Ari said.

"It's dangerous," Tom said. "The Lombardian army is not strong enough to win easily against Vastier. But if Matthias Stone had huge supplies of oil, he could rain destruction on Vastier, just like the Fire army was able to do during the Fire war."

Ari shuddered. "But the Reunsgardians were protecting it, weren't they? Matthias can't get the oil."

"Does this mean the only reason Raphael was to marry you was because your family was willing to give up the oil, but my mother wasn't?" Katja asked, and there was devastation in her voice. "I was never enough for him."

"But he can't get the oil, right?" Ari repeated. "So how do we stop the Lombardian war against Vastier?"

"He can't take the oil," Katja confirmed. "But my mother is worried she will eventually have to give it to him. Norrlund is severely indebted to Lombardia. Lombardia pulled us out of our recession after the Fire War. Matthias Stone told my mother that the debt would be forgiven when we were married... but then he changed his mind. That's why my mother needs a bargaining chip against Lombardia."

"I can turn myself in," Ari said suddenly. "Matthias Stone wants my head. If Queen Lisbet of Norrlund can hand me over to Lombardia, then she can ask him to forgive the debt, and stop the war against Vastier."

"And he'll kill you," Sanna said sharply. "We're not letting that happen."

"That's out of the question, of course, Ari," Tom said. "We can solve this diplomatically."

"There's no diplomacy about this," Ari said. "Lombardia is marching on Vastier as we speak. If Matthias Stone gets access to that oil, he could create war machines that could wipe out the entire Vastien population. If I turn myself in, I can stop him."

"Of course you can't, Ari," Katja said gently.

"It's what I've always had to do," Ari said. "First I had to bring Jinni back for you, Lumi. But now I need to accept my fate."

"There is another way," Katja said. "Tom."

"No," Tom said.

x

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to vote on this chapter by hitting the star button!

elle