Elsa,” Hans countered. “I thought you might be preferable, but clearly I was wrong. The queen’s secrets will die with her now.” He held the letter over the fire.
Anna staggered forward in alarm. “No!”
“Stop!”
Hans and Anna turned around. Lord Peterssen was standing in the open door with two guards by his sides.
“Take the prince away!” Lord Peterssen demanded.
“I…Lord…” Hans looked around for an escape. “Sir, you don’t understand. If you knew the truth, you’d see that this is the only way.”
“I’ve heard everything I need to.” Lord Peterssen’s eyes flickered to Anna’s. “And Princess Elsa tried to tell me the rest.” He smiled softly. “Hello again, Anna.”
Anna stepped toward him. He looked familiar too. She opened her mouth to speak and heard the window’s rattling increase. She turned to look, and suddenly the window shattered. The glass flew through the room, a piece slamming into Lord Peterssen and knocking him to the ground. Hans protected his head but was hit by a piece of the window frame. The guards rushed to help the lord up as wind howled through the room, knocking portraits off the wall and sending snow everywhere. That was when Anna saw it.…
The letter had fallen out of Hans’s hand.
Anna snatched it before it blew away and staggered out of the room, determined to find her way to the dungeons below.
Kristoff had barely ridden Sven out of the Valley of the Living Rock when he saw what was happening in the distance: the storm appeared to be directly over the castle. A swirl of white smoke rose like a cyclone before it shot out like a blast, causing a fierce wind to roar through the countryside and send birch trees sideways. Kristoff and Sven braced for impact, feeling the storm wash over them. His gut told him these new weather conditions weren’t natural. They involved magic.
And curses.
Getting to Arendelle fast became even more important.
“Come on, boy!” Kristoff kicked his legs into Sven’s hide.
He and Sven rode faster than they ever had before, racing into the wind down the mountainside. His hat was lost halfway down, and he could hardly see what was in front of him due to the blinding snow. The journey felt like it took forever. When Sven finally hit the bottom of the mountain, he skidded out onto what should have been the fjord. Up close, the cyclone of snow and ice looked even more menacing. It swirled toward them, and Kristoff and Sven raced right into it, bracing themselves for whatever would come.
All that mattered was reaching Anna.
Anna, with her bright smile, bubbly enthusiasm, big eyes, and need to fill every moment with chatter.
Anna, with her feisty nature and strong will that had saved him from the wolves…and cost him his sleigh.
Anna, who was willing to risk her life to save her village and help a princess she didn’t think she knew.
Leave it to him to wait till now to realize he was falling for her.
And he might be too late.
“Come on, buddy! Faster!” Kristoff encouraged Sven as they sped across the fjord. He did a double take.
They were riding past what appeared to be the bow of a large ship submerged in ice. Through the driving snow, several more ships appeared like ghosts, their masts cracking in the extreme cold.
Kristoff heard the snap before he knew what was happening. By the time he looked up, a massive ship was starting to fall right toward them. It was too late to get out of the way. All Kristoff could do was lead Sven straight through, ducking as debris rained down on their heads. They cleared the ship right before it crashed, but the force still caused the ice around them to splinter. Kristoff saw the crack spreading beneath them till there was nothing but water in front of them. Sven pitched forward, sending Kristoff flying onto a sheet of ice. Sven plunged into the water.
“Sven!” Kristoff shouted, searching frantically for his best friend.
Sven broke through the icy water, clambering to pull himself up onto a nearby piece of drift ice.
Kristoff exhaled with relief. “Good boy,” he shouted. “Stay there!” He struggled to stand in the fierce wind and looked around to get his bearings. Spotting the castle in the distance, Kristoff braced himself against the wind and headed toward it, hoping Anna was okay.
“Lord Peterssen!” Elsa cried. “Kai? Gerda? Someone let me out! Please!”
No one answered.
Through the bars of the small dungeon window she noticed torches flickering in the hallway. The wind howled