Chapter 6: The Price of Glory

Zane and two other snow soldiers rejoined Skylar and his new companion, a group of winter fae larger than four or five would never get through the protective barrier. Since he’d taken her from her home, she hadn’t said a word. She sat on the white mare he’d provided, spotted furs draped around her shoulders. It pained him to admit how regal and poised she looked.

For someone who had just agreed to leave her kingdom with her enemy, she was remarkably calm and controlled. It was an act, it had to be. Either that, or she really didn’t know the danger she was in. Skylar did not think the Leaf Princess was unintelligent, though. She’d been quick in her retorts.

“Oh, I knew you were hiding something,” Zane said, wagging his finger at the girl.

“You expected me to roll over submissively because you asked some threatening questions?” she asked, arching a sharp eyebrow.

Zane smirked. “No, but that’s because I could see the strength of your bloodline.”

“And I suspected you knew more than you were letting on,” the princess said pointedly, lifting her chin.

“It is a three-day ride back to the ice palace, we need to get moving,” Skylar grumbled, mounting his own loyal stallion.

The contingent of five travelers set off in the direction of Winter Mountain. Skylar rode beside the princess. She was incredibly powerful and if she tried to escape, he was the only one in their group that had any hope of subduing her. Part of him was skeptical about why she’d agreed to this trip when she knew as well as he that she could decimate him rather than capitulate.

“That woman, the one who raised you, she told you of your family?” Skylar asked. It would be useless to make small talk with her but he did need to know more about her.

“She was my mother’s handmaiden,” the princess said.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Skylar said, smirking.

The princess looked away. “She told me about my family.” She nodded firmly.

“And yet you’re still willing to risk your life to negotiate?” he asked, cocking his head.

“You assured me I’d be safe,” the princess said. She pulled her mare to a halt. “Should I doubt your word?”

Skylar chuckled and positioned his stallion in front of the princess’s mare, barring her way. He trailed his ice-blue eyes up and down her body, her pleasing, slender, athletic body. It annoyed him to realize that she was rather attractive, her golden eyes like molten metal, her red curls contrasting against the white mare and spotted furs.

“I gave you my word. I stand by it,” he said.

“Then get out of my way,” she said. She kicked her mare’s sides and the horse whinnied, rearing up slightly and kicking up snow.

Skylar’s stallion made a startled sound and backed away. The princess and her mare slipped by and caught up with the others. Skylar smirked after her. She was peculiar, and that interested him.

When they stopped to make camp the first night, the princess retired to her tent quickly, denying Zane’s offers of food. The other soldiers went to sleep first, Skylar and Zane offering to take the first watch.

“You’ve been quiet this afternoon,” Zane commented.

“She’s not what I expected,” Skylar admitted, nodding to the princess’s tent.

“Did you think she’d be some hideous hag that had evil intentions?” Zane chuckled, punching Skylar’s arm lightly.

Skylar scoffed, rubbing his arm. “That would make things easier.”

“Sky, you know you can’t lose focus. Glory is what the Winter Court has always sought, and the price we pay for it is the lives of others. No matter what they look like or who they are,” the general reminded him.

“You make it sound so simple and glamorous,” Skylar muttered under his breath.

“It isn’t.” Zane shook his head. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No,” Skylar growled.

The second night, they camped on the border of Autumn Forest and Winter Mountain. The temperature had already dropped significantly and their ride had been on a steady incline into the mountains.

“Eat!” Skylar ordered, handing the princess a plate of camp food. It wasn’t the most glamorous, but it would sustain her until they got to the palace.

“I’m not hungry,” she said, pushing the plate away.

“You refused three meals already. Eat, or you’ll be no good to your people,” he hissed.

The girl raised her eyes, gold that had turned to lava as she glared at him. She snatched the plate away and shoved several bites into her mouth. Skylar nodded, satisfied. It seemed she could be reasoned with, after all.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Skylar mocked, crossing his arms.

“Have you ever eaten your cooking?” she countered, arching an eyebrow.

Skylar chuckled. “Salted meats, beans, and root vegetables too hard on your stomach?”

“This is not salted meat. It is leather.” She bit into the meat and then spat it out on the ground. “I’m surprised I didn’t break a tooth.”

“Sensitive teeth and a sensitive stomach won’t serve you on the throne,” Skylar pointed out, flashing her a challenging smile.

Though they were common foods in his kingdom, Skylar knew that Autumn Forest cuisine was much different. It consisted of juicy, roasted meats, hearty soups, and stewed fruits. He hadn’t had the opportunity to try it, but many of the other soldiers had.

The princess snarled, but she finished the food on her plate. She went to her tent immediately after eating and Skylar and Zane took the first watch again. Zane made a few attempts to talk to his friend, but Skylar was too lost in his own thoughts. How could he be so curious about a young woman he knew he was going to betray and kill?

When the campfire burned low, Skylar noticed the flap of the princess’s tent flutter. He sat perfectly still as she emerged from her tent. Her furs were gone and she was dressed in a rich purple dress, the same color as her fluttering wings, with a slit all the way up her tanned thigh. Even in the dimming coals, it looked like she was glowing or vibrating.

She turned away from the camp and headed into the forest.

Growling, Skylar grabbed his staff and followed after her. She was making a run for it, and he wasn’t going to let her get away.

Skylar found the princess in a small clearing, a fire flickering in a ring of stone. She danced around the flames, the orange glow casting shimmers on her exposed leg, arms, and bosom where her dress didn’t cover her. Her wings glittered, fluttering more rapidly every time her smile grew wider.

Two deer, an owl, a raccoon, and a couple of badgers danced too, prancing and bounding around the fire. They stuck close to the princess, responding to the way her body moved with the flames and with the wind.

Skylar couldn’t pull his eyes away. She was so passionate, warm, and carefree as she danced, nothing he was used to seeing in the cold of Winter Mountain. As he watched, his heart thudded heavily in his chest, a sheen of sweat filming on his palms.

What would it be like to actually touch her? Would she be as warm and soft as she looked? Would her cheeks flush as brightly as they did when kissed by the heat from the flames?

Shaking his head, Skylar blinked and tore his eyes away. “Not good,” he muttered to himself.