The Frozen Prince (The Beast Charmer #2) - Maxym M. Martineau Page 0,120

to save Noc before we can worry about how the king will invariably come after us too.”

Without a second glance our direction, he left. The doors slammed behind him, and Gaige let out a shuddering breath.

Steeling myself against the frustration boiling inside me, I turned to face Gaige. I’d placed my faith in the wrong people before too. Wynn had been more than a friend and mentor—he’d been my lover. And he’d still betrayed me. The truth was, there was no telling just how far someone would go to get what they wanted. And since what Wynn wanted wasn’t me, it had been easy for him to sacrifice our relationship.

There was no telling what Yazmin wanted or what she’d be willing to lose to make it happen.

I offered Gaige a strained smile. “Don’t worry about Kost. Just stick around and prove that you’re innocent…or rather, ignorant.”

Gaige raised a single brow but didn’t respond. Instead, he followed Oz out the doors with Raven by his side, leaving Calem and me to fall in step behind them. Calem’s floppy bun bounced in time with his gait, and a few loose strands fell into his eyes when he glanced down at me. The mercury ring had crawled back toward his pupils, allowing the muted-red hue of his eyes to dominate his irises. Cracking a lopsided—if weak—grin, he nudged my side with his elbow.

“I missed you,” I said. I hadn’t realized how much that was true until now. He’d always been the stabilizing member of our troupe. The one who wasn’t afraid to tease and lighten the mood while simultaneously lunging headfirst into conflict. Seeing him in control was the only salve that could possibly alleviate the despair spreading through my chest.

He stretched a lazy arm across my shoulders and winked. “I missed you too. I knew you’d grow tired of that brooding guild master of ours one day.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t keep my own weak smile from my lips. “How are you doing?”

“Fine.” He let out a long sigh. “I owe Kaori my life.”

“Oh? And how do you plan on repaying her?”

His brows waggled. “I have some ideas.”

A laugh bubbled up from deep inside me. “You’re incorrigible.”

“Yeah.” His grin wavered, and he chanced a quick look behind him before we hit the stairs to the foyer. By the time we made it through the front door of Cruor, Kost was already waiting for us at the bottom of the porch. Early morning sun bathed the lawns in weak light. Bleached by winter air and frost, the normally plush green grass had turned a golden brown. Even the Kitska Forest clambering against the property’s iron fencing a short walk away was dusted in crystallized flakes.

The first frost of the season.

My heart plummeted to my feet. Winters didn’t last long in Lendria, and as such, Charmers celebrated the first frost with fervor. A feast would be orchestrated, candies and small tokens of love passed to family members and friends. Nights would be spent beneath the stars to chart out constellations and seek guidance from Celeste. Yet another thing I wouldn’t get to share with Noc.

Don’t forget Hireath. If Yazmin really was behind the attack, this day of beauty would now forever be tainted in the eyes of my people. Once-mesmerizing, glistening frost stained a sickly red. We had to save them.

Gaige and Raven stilled beside me, each one of their gazes locked on the ground. With a hard-set grimace, Gaige thrust his hand outward and opened the door to the beast realm. His Telesávra appeared by his feet. Without prompting, the beast unhinged its jaw, and a sparking, swirling portal appeared.

“Only Charmers and beasts can safely pass through the Telesávra’s portal.” He glanced at Oz and Kost, then extended his hand in invitation. “The only way for non-Charmers to do so is to be touching one of our kind or a beast.”

Never in my life had Kost moved to my side so quickly. “Understood.”

Gaige stiffened. Calem rolled his eyes before taking his hand, leaving Oz to pair up with Raven.

“Let’s go,” Kost said, looping his arm through mine.

In pairs, we stepped through the portal. Like most Charmers, Gaige had set his Telesávra’s hearth point to Hireath. Meaning, we manifested on the outskirts of the Beast City in a matter of seconds. The portal was a one-way ride, but I couldn’t have been more thankful for the quick transportation. Yet again another reminder that I needed to tame one for myself to make travel