Frozen Tides (Falling Kingdoms 4)

Kyan was waiting for her at the top of a nearby hill, looking down at the village he’d crushed so easily, as if it were an ant hill he’d decided to step on.

He gave her a sidelong look, his expression grim and unfriendly. “I’m disappointed in you,” he said.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I believed you to be the sorceress reborn.”

Her jaw tightened. “That’s exactly who I am.”

“Perhaps my memory of Eva grows dim after all this time. But you—you’ve shown tonight that you’re nothing compared to her. If she were still here, still alive, Timotheus would already be dead.”

Kyan rarely turned his anger on her, and when he did she didn’t like it one bit. She glared at him, defiant. “You said yourself I’ve accessed only a small portion of my magic so far.”

“Perhaps I was wrong. Of course I was—how could any mere mortal ever help me in my plan?”

Lucia’s indignation grew with every word he spoke, but she tried her best to calm herself. One of them had to think rationally. She took a deep breath. “We need to take a break,” she said. “We’ll find an inn in the other town and get rest, food. And we will find a wheel, Kyan. I promised I’d help you, and I meant it. I still mean it now. But you need to control yourself. This,” she said, indicating the smoldering village, “is becoming a problem.”

Kyan’s eyes flashed fiercely, and Lucia braced herself. “All this is, Lucia, is more useless, disappointing mortals turned to dust. I don’t see any problem with that.”

Despite herself, Lucia scoffed. “I do.”

“More proof that you’ve become useless to me.”

His words wounded her, but she refused to let it show.

She forced herself to breathe, to not unleash any more of her temper or, worse, start to cry. “The moment I killed Melenia, everything about my life, my journey, became so clear to me. I wanted to destroy everything and everyone.”

“And now?”

“I’m not so sure anymore. But that’s what you want, isn’t it? You want to lay waste to this entire kingdom. So go ahead.” She waited for his reply, but none came. “No? I think I’m starting to understand. You may be free of that crystal, but you’ll remain imprisoned until Timotheus is dead and your siblings are released, won’t you? Which means you do need me, much more than I need you. Which means you better start behaving yourself.”

A dark, cold shadow slid behind his amber eyes. “You don’t know me nearly as well as you think you do, little sorceress.”

“If you say so. Now, I’m going to make my journey—alone—to the other village so I can find an inn and get some sleep. Don’t disturb me until morning.”

Lucia turned her back to him and walked away.

• • •

Lucia tossed and turned for ages, her thoughts in turmoil. It was as if the vivid memories of all she’d witnessed and been party to with Kyan over these past weeks had been branded in her mind.

Though she spent nearly all her energy trying not to think of Alexius, the image of his face came to her now, along with his words of love, his promises for the future. They were like daggers to her heart.

She thought of Magnus, her best friend and the only brother she’d ever known, reaching for her, offering to help her despite all she’d done to taint their relationship over the past year.

She thought of her father, who, despite his cruelty toward others, had never been anything but kind and understanding with her—even before he became certain she was the sorceress he believed her to be.

She thought of Cleo, how Lucia had reluctantly befriended her, and for a while had felt like she’d met someone she might trust with her deepest, darkest secrets.

And then Jonas, a boy she’d known only by reputation until that day in the market, when she’d stood by and witnessed his stunned devastation after Kyan murdered his friend—a brave girl who’d only tried to protect him.

Wherever Lucia went, she brought pain with her. There was a time not so long ago when she might not have cared, but now . . .

She asked herself the same question everyone was always asking Kyan.

Who am I? What am I?

Honestly, she didn’t really know anymore. All she knew for sure was that there was no turning back.