As it was, I needed to find the smugglers entrance.
I searched the coastline for the smugglers’ steps.
What are you looking for?
I looked down at the fox. “What’s the deal? Are you like my sidekick or something?”
The little fox’s head pulled back, and his ears flattened. He looked offended. I am no one’s sidekick. Whatever that is. But I don’t like the implication of the word “side.” I should always be in front.
“Then what’s the deal? Why are you my shadow?”
I’ve never been able to talk to a person before. I like the novelty.
“Fair enough. I don’t hate it myself. And maybe you can help me. I’m looking for smugglers’ steps. There should be several in the area, carved out of the rock going from the sea up the hills.”
Who would do that?
“I know foxes don’t care for stairs, but people like them.”
Don’t tell me what I care for.
I grinned. “Moody, huh?”
I need a snack.
I reached into my pack and drew out a little plastic envelope of beef jerky, then handed it to the fox. He nipped it out of the air.
I decided that I would tell him about the human history of smugglers’ steps—not the Fae history. Just enough to get help. “Hundreds of years ago, the first smugglers carved the stairs into the hillside to make it easier to deliver goods from their ships. They would sneak up at night and offload their cargo at the bottom then carry it up to land where they could sell it.”
The fox swallowed and looked at me. Since you have curried my favor with the beef, I will take you to some stairs.
“Curried my favor with the beef? You have a way with words.”
Beggars can’t be choosers. Now come.
He led me down the path and partially off the trail. I stuck toward the more grassy bits, trying to avoid the thorny bushes.
Finally, the fox stopped at the top of some stairs that crept downward toward the sea. They were carved right out of the rock itself, terminating at the crashing waves below.
“Thanks, pal.” I took them two at a time, heading quickly toward the bottom. Near the waterline, I spotted a cave.
Bingo.
A grin stretched across my face, and I stepped unhesitatingly into the darkness.
Did smugglers also use this tunnel?
I turned to the fox. “They did.”
Well, I’m going to leave you to it. That castle reeks of death, and I’m no dummy.
“Thanks again.”
He nodded as he backed away.
Cold air rushed from the tunnel, chilling my legs and reminding me that my pants had been torn to shreds by the thorns. I pulled the spare pair of black jeans out of my pack and changed quickly, then I turned to the cave, which extended into a tunnel. As I followed it inward, the ground sloped upward.
“This had better lead to the castle,” I muttered. The stories had spoken of caves that did so, but with my luck lately, this would go to the village or somewhere else useless. It could even be dead-end storage, for all I knew.
But there was only one way to know, so I followed it.
As it extended upward, ice began to form on the walls. I shivered and tugged up the zipper on my slim-fitting leather jacket.
Finally, I reached a dead end. I searched the walls, then looked up, finding a trapdoor overhead. The wood was old and frozen shut, a thick layer of ice between me and the metal clasp.
I raised a hand and fed my flame into the ice. It began to drip, and I moved aside, letting the water flow down the tunnel path. Finally, the trapdoor was revealed, and I pushed it open.
Silence greeted me, and I climbed out into an empty room. Layers of gray dust were trapped beneath the ice, giving the whole place a dingy appearance.
Damn, this place hadn’t been used in ages. I found the door hidden behind more ice, and melted my way out of it.
The hall beyond was empty but simply decorated. There was no light other than a couple of glowing blue orbs, a Fae magic that I’d never seen before. Had to be an Ice Fae thing.
I must’ve been close to the dungeons, though. With any luck, I could grab Connor and run. Minutes ticked by slowly as I searched the corridors and rooms at the base of the castle. When something grabbed me from behind, I nearly shrieked.
“What are you doing?” a rough voice hissed.
I called upon my flame and blasted him.
The figure winced, then clutched me tighter. “That won’t work on me, dearie.”
The figure’s voice made a cold shudder pass through me. I spun my head back, catching sight of a pale white figure with a bald head and slitted blue eyes. There were no ears, and the creature’s neck was so slender that I was surprised it could hold its head upright.
It didn’t look quite human.
But the magical signature didn’t feel demon.
“What the hell are you?” I demanded.
It arched a brow—or at least tried to. It didn’t actually have eyebrows.
“You don’t know?” it rasped.
I thrashed in its grip, not bothering to answer.
“Well, it was already clear you were an intruder. But this makes it irrefutable.” The monster pushed me ahead of it. “We’re taking you to the king.”
“No.” Desperation sounded in my voice. “I’ll do anything.”
“Of course you will. For the king.” The figure pushed me harder, and I nearly stumbled.
As we moved through the halls, my mind raced. His words made it obvious that he wasn’t an uncommon type of creature here. Everyone knew him, apparently.
Or creatures like him.
I fought to get away as we moved upstairs and down hallways, but it was impossible to break his grip. Though I fed my flame into my hands that he had gripped behind my back, the fire didn’t seem to bother him.
I’d been afraid this might happen. Capture was always a probability when walking into an unknown, guarded fortress. I’d just have to figure a way out of this.
Finally, we reached an enormous atrium.
Once, it would have been beautiful, with its domed ceiling and tall windows. But every surface had been thoroughly coated in ice, the windows closed over and the decorated dome concealed. I shivered at the chill in the air.
“Oh, you’ll get used to it,” the creature muttered bitterly. “We all have.”
He shoved me through the atrium and into a huge throne room. Like the atrium, the space could have been beautiful. But it was coated in ice, the huge hearth filled with the stuff. No fire or candles burned within—just the pale blue lights that floated near the wall and cast icy shadows over the room. Huge pillars supported the soaring ceiling.
The king stood in front of the iced-over fireplace, staring into the depths as if he could see the flames that didn’t flicker.
Fear shot through me, colder than the air.
I can’t be incapacitated near him.
Finally, I was able to shake off the monster who held me. I hissed back at him. “I walk on my own.”
He glared at me.
The king turned to face us, his blue eyes glinting with interest. “You’ve come.”
My jaw tightened as I watched him. “Of course I came. Where is my brother?”
He inspected me silently, and I used the opportunity to return the favor, taking him in and observing my surroundings.
He fit in well here, a frozen king in his icy kingdom. His cloak flowed down from his broad shoulders, and he was well over six feet tall. He had an air of lethal elegance that was impossible to ignore, and the stark beauty of his features made me hate him even more.