Half an hour later, she sat on the bed and picked up a thick book with a leather cover. She started turning the pages, losing hope that she would find anything here when an envelope fell to the floor.
There was an address on it with a name that Yanni didn’t recognise. She quickly found a letter opener on the bedside table and tore it apart. Her heart was pounding in her chest when she began to read it.
Dear Octavio,
My heart is bleeding, because I’m ready to confess something that I have been meaning to tell you for a while now. I’m currently in the winter land, staying in the castle of the Ice King.
Octavio, you know that we have been seeing each other on and off for years and you have always been one of my most loyal lovers.
You always stood beside me, but we can’t continue meeting in secret any longer. This relationship has to end and I hope you understand.
You’re a very skilled magician. I have been teaching you everything that I could, and more. You have an excellent future ahead of you, and it’s time for me to move on.
I have always been in love with James. I only married Alister because I thought that he had some sort of agreement with him and the two of them would be working closely together. I was wrong, and in the end, I got stuck in that marriage.
Luckily, he died soon after, so I wasn’t forced to reveal how much I didn’t care for him.
Yanni was breathing hard, moving her eyes over the text while her heart was jackhammering in her chest. She had no idea who Octavio was, but she needed to find out. She should have known that Ruth had never loved her father.
I always told you that I would be honest with you. We both know that you made me happy, but you must have sensed that my heart always belonged to another man.
Yes, it’s the Ice King—James. We have met only once before, but it was love at first sight. He doesn’t care very much for me, but this is going to change soon enough. I must stay in the winter land for now. James is organising a ball, and this is my final chance to get him to see the real me. He doesn’t understand that we are the same, we are both blessed with magic. If our energies connect we will be in perfect harmony. Yanni, my stepdaughter, is here with him and I’m afraid that I allowed them to get too close to each other. The mirror told me that Yanni was the one for him, but my dear sister must have made a mistake.
I have been trying to get close to him for years, even after he announced his engagement to that whore, Princess Tiammi from Bangilore Kingdom.
She left him for another man and that was my doing too. I just couldn’t let him stay with her. I used a spell to make her love another man to hurt him. Luckily, during their confrontation, she miscarried his child too. This way, he had a clear path to my heart. Everything was perfect, until it wasn’t.
James changed, he started seeing other women, organising parties and inviting so many to his castle.
I realised that I had to wait until this phase passed, and I have, until now.
I’m sorry, Octavio. You will always hold a place in my heart. Please take care of yourself.
Yours,
Ruth.
15
Yanni folded the letter, trying to remain calm, but she was shaking with fury. Air stirred around her, and for a split second, she wondered if her stepmother used her magic to protect the secrets in her chamber. Yanni glanced around, holding her breath, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. She would have sensed changes in her body if had Ruth spellbound her.
The energy kept tingling along her arms, but Yanni wasn’t scared anymore. Now, she finally found a way to expose Ruth for who she truly was and show the world that the Queen of Tyndil was a witch.
She stared at the letter for a little while longer, wondering why she had been so blind in the past. Now, she was regretting that she didn’t think about being Queen much sooner. Her stepmother had an advantage over her and her magic was unpredictable. Her heart turned over heavily in her chest, almost painfully. She couldn’t believe that Ruth was so cold hearted and filled with envy.
The Ice King had never belonged to her, and she admitted in the letter that she only married Yanni’s father because she wanted to be near James. Yanni was disgusted that Ruth was willing to go so far. For years, she believed that Ruth loved her father, but as it turned out that had never been the case.
She started pacing around the chamber, trying to think on her feet. Her stepmother couldn’t have gone far and Yanni was expecting her back in the chamber any minute. James’s latest fiancé became Ruth’s victim and James thought that he had been betrayed. She instantly changed her mind about leaving the letter inside the book. She needed to have proof in order to expose Ruth.
The ball would start in exactly twenty-four hours, so Yanni had a bit of time to contact James. She desperately wanted to expose her stepmother, but she had no idea how. Moments later, she tidied everything up, and left the room. When she was just around the corner, she could have sworn that she heard her stepmother’s heavy footsteps. She would recognise her characteristic walk anywhere.
Yanni panicked. She was convinced that Ruth came back to the chamber to get the letter. When after several moments nothing happened, she exhaled with relief telling herself to keep it together. Her imagination was running wild.
Her stepmother was still inside and simply came back to her chamber to rest. Yanni didn’t understand how Ruth thought that she had any right to James. He had never expressed any interest in her. He was a kind and generous man. Ruth didn’t even deserve to be a guest in his castle.
Yanni had to stop her no matter what and take back the title of Queen. She returned to her chamber and locked the door. Then she made a decision. She was going to sneak out of the castle after sunset and attempt to locate James in the nearest town. He needed to know what was going on, and Yanni couldn’t risk waiting around. One of the maids was convinced that she saw the Ice King riding on his white horse a few miles away from Sybil. He was most likely sorting things out for the ball and Yanni needed to speak to him in a more natural setting—as far away from Ruth as possible. At the same time, she couldn’t let Ruth know that she was leaving the castle, otherwise her stepmother might get suspicious.
When it was dinnertime, Yanni went to the main hall. She chatted with people until her stepmother showed up. As usual, Ruth was in a bad mood. She complained about her food, told off a few servants and at first, she completely ignored her stepdaughter.
Yanni wasn’t the sort of person that could fake her emotions, but at the end of the day, she couldn’t afford to bring any kind of suspicion to herself, so she kept smiling.
She’d never hated Ruth, but she couldn’t stand being in her company. The two women had nothing in common. Now, the situation was different and Yanni was prepared to fight for James and her life. She had no idea what Ruth was planning to do to her and the uncertainty of it all weighed heavily on her on her mind, but she wasn’t about to allow Ruth to have her way.
“We are leaving for Tyndil straight after the ball. Make sure you’re packed, dear,” Ruth told her when she was just about to leave.
Yanni took a deep breath, telling herself that she needed to be obedient, even if it was only an act. She had an urge to ask her about the man that she was with outside, but thought better of it.
She couldn’t afford anything to go wrong right now. James’s ex-fiancé left him for someone else and she didn’t even realise that she had been spellbound. Yanni was dreading to think what might have happened if the truth ever came to light. She couldn’t be with James in the future knowing that he could fix his previous relationship. Ruth took away that woman’s free will, ruining her life, and Yanni couldn’t believe that there was anything worse than that. Morally, Yanni knew that she had to tell James that he was supposed to take back the woman who betrayed him because she didn’t do it consciously.
“I’ll be too hungover to leave right away,” Yanni said, biting her tongue. She wasn’t supposed to aggravate Ruth, but she couldn’t help he
rself.
Her stepmother shook her head and then glanced at the clock. She frowned and her, eyes gleamed with magic. Now Yanni could see her real power and she wondered why she had never noticed it before. It seemed Ruth’s magic was somehow tied to her mood.
“Well, try not to drink too much and stay away from King James. He’s going to be occupied,” she added, then turned around marching away before Yanni could ask her exactly what she meant. Honestly, she didn’t care what Ruth said—she had a plan and soon enough, Ruth would regret ever attempting to get rid of her.
Yanni couldn’t eat anymore, she was nervous about tonight. After no one paid any attention to her, she headed towards her chamber. She didn’t go upstairs. Instead, she slipped inside one of the rooms where earlier on she had hidden a maid’s outfit.
Her heart was pounding away and she kept reminding herself that no one was supposed to see her. She kept the letter hidden inside of her bra. The staff in the castle was too busy trying to get everything ready for the ball to notice one missing uniform.
Everything was going according to plan and she had to stay positive. Ruth saw her during supper and Yanni managed to get to the stables without being seen.
It was pitch black when she was riding across the grounds. She was a little afraid of the storm, but many guests had been arriving, claiming that the storm was moving to the east. Yanni wanted to believe that she was going to be lucky tonight.
Clearly, timing wasn’t on her side, but she couldn’t stay in the castle. Ruth was going to ruin the ball, or worse. She was filled with envious emotions, and her magic had already caused a lot of harm. Yanni had to find James immediately and warn him that Ruth couldn’t be trusted.
“Good horse, kind horse. Everything is going to be all right,” she kept saying to herself, feeling a little anxious. She was riding alone in the darkness, moving through the winter land that was filled with dangerous creatures and wild animals.
Her heart was in her throat, but she knew she had to keep moving. She pushed her worries away, convinced that no one had seen her leaving the grounds. She galloped out of the stables and used the longest route to reach the open valley, then found the path leading through the mountains.
She wasn’t planning to stop, but it was snowing very heavily. The visibility was poor, but she needed to get to the forest because the town was only a mile away from it. The landscape was shifting, and the weather was turning against her. Her body was becoming numb and at some point, she knew that the horse needed to rest for a bit. She couldn’t imagine riding like that through the entire night and still had a lot of miles to cover.
Several hours later, she finally reached the edge of the forest. The wind picked up and nearly knocked her off the horse.
She had to stop, it was too dangerous to keep riding in the stormy weather. At least the trees provided her with a small shelter. Her face felt icy, and her whole body was painfully numb. The horse needed to gain some strength before she could ride it again. Yanni suspected that Sybil was several miles up north, maybe another an hour’s ride.
She brought some alcohol with her, just so she could keep warm once the temperatures dropped below zero. Once she had a bit to drink, she felt like she could walk for a bit longer.
Showing James the letter could solve all her problems, but time wasn’t on her side. She was dreading to think that they might miss each other in the storm. According to Ruth’s letter, Octavio was a wizard. Yanni could ask for his help, but she suspected that the young man was still in love with her stepmother. He would never turn against Ruth.
Moments later, she needed to relieve herself, so she wandered off a few meters away. She knew that there was no one around. The silence in the forest was suddenly broken by the howling wind, and Yanni felt like she was being watched. The tiny voice in her head reminded her that she being paranoid. There was no one around for miles. She was all alone.
She kept walking until she thought that it was safe enough for her to undress in the bushes. She took several steps into the deep snow, trying to remove her furry jacket when she heard movement to her right.
This couldn’t have been her imagination. She kept staring while her heart pounded, but it was difficult to see anything in the darkness. Then someone approached her and Yanni was certain that this wasn’t just happening in her head. Whoever he was, Yanni figured out that it was definitely a man she didn’t know. He must have followed her all the way here, maybe even from the castle or the valley. Either way, she was screwed.
“Who are you and what do you want from me?” she asked, trying to sound brave, but failed in every respect. She was terrified and when she saw that the man was holding a knife, her blood ran cold.
“Your stepmother sent me after you. Her magical mirror informed her that you left the castle of the Ice King tonight,” he said and Yanni swallowed hard. She had nowhere to escape, and her only option was to run.
It wasn’t the letter that gave her away, but her stepmother’s mirror. She must have had it in the chamber, hidden or charmed. Whatever, Yanni couldn’t have foreseen this. Ruth must have been talking to the mirror every day.
She began to back away a little. She knew that she at least needed to try to lose him further down in the forest if she wanted to stay alive. The huntsman’s mind was poisoned by her stepmother’s magic. He was no doubt programmed to eliminate her, so Ruth would have a clear path towards James.
“You don’t have to do this. I have plenty of gold. I will double, even triple the amount she offered you,” she said, and her voice vibrated. The man smiled, his beard was dark and curly. Snow covered his clothes and hat. Yanni needed to run now, but her legs were chained to the ground. He was big, but she was probably much faster and she could still lose him.
“Sorry, love, but I’m loyal to my Queen. She’s going to reward me and I don’t want your gold. She needs to eliminate you and I need to bring her your heart,” he snarled, and then launched himself faster than Yanni expected.
He was on her, dragging her down to the snow and slapping her hard. Yanni wanted to scream, but there was no one around. No one that could actually hear her or even help her. He yanked her away, crushing the bones in her shoulder moving the knife under her chin. Yanni was dizzy with pain but refused to beg him for mercy.
“Just stop moving, girl. I promise that I will make it quick. You were going to die eventually. You were lucky that Ruth allowed you to live for so long. She never considered you real family,” he kept saying, spraying her with his spit. He was just about to do slash her throat, just about to kill her when she managed to kick him right between his legs. Yanni didn’t really know any fighting moves. She spent most of her life in the castle, partying away, but her fight or flight instinct kicked in. The huntsman roared, falling to the side and holding his crotch. Yanni pulled herself together and started running through the thick snow. Her breathing was irregular, her heart was pounding and blood rushed through her ears. She just had to get away and lose him in the forest.
She kept going, forcing her feet to move until her chest was burning like hell. She should have known about the mirror, and her stepmother’s magic.
Yanni hopped between the trees, hearing the huntsman behind her. He was already back on his feet.
“You won’t escape me, sweetheart. I’m going to get your heart for my mistress!” he shouted. Yanni didn’t see the drop right in front of her, it was pitch black and she went down instantly. She started rolling through the snow, and hit the back of her head. Pain exploded everywhere and then there was only cold. She knew it was the end by the time she stopped moving.
There was no way that she could survive this. She had no strength to fight anymore.
16
Yanni couldn’t move, she felt cold and her heartbeat began to slow down. The snow was falling on her face, melting on her skin. She was scared of the pitch-black darkness that surrounded her. She knew that the huntsman was coming for her and she had no strength to fight anymore. Yanni was all
alone and even if she could scream no one would hear her all the way out here.
Now she was wishing that she stabbed the man who came to kill her, but he was so much stronger.
She could hear his heavy boots as he was walking through the snow. The storm was on its way; Yanni sensed the changes in the air. After all, she wasn’t so lucky, and rode straight into the centre of stormy weather. The huntsman was a big man, and Yanni was convinced that her stepmother must have injected him with magic. There was no other explanation for his enormous size and his loyalty to the witch. She expected him to be slow and clumsy.
She accepted that she was going to die. The back of her head was throbbing painfully along with her neck and back. Yanni imagined him carving out her heart and then handing it over to her stepmother.
At least she wasn’t going to be cold anymore once he killed her. There was a dull ache in her shoulder, and more pain radiated towards her upper body. Then she sensed him approaching. She couldn’t understand how he managed to get to her so fast.
“I was planning to kill you quickly, but now I’m going to take my time,” he rasped, smiling. He stopped several meters away from her.
Yanni could see that he was standing in heavy snow, taking his time and enjoying torturing her for a bit longer. She wondered what he was waiting for.
Then a split second later, she started seeing things, and she was convinced that maybe she was halfway through to the other side. Was she dying?
She saw a bright white light, and then the huntsman widened his eyes with fear rippling across his face. Ice began covering the trees behind him. Yanni sensed warmth that started spreading throughout her body, pushing away the cold air. Suddenly, she could breathe in again. The smooth energy lifted the tiny hairs on her skin. The ice was suddenly all around her, rising above the ground and creating an impenetrable fence with tiny spikes.