But her stomach growled. Lightheaded, Eleanor leaned against Marilyn. The dirt floor seemed to give beneath her feet but it was just fatigue. The hard-packed dirt didn't even fly up from Eleanor's steps. "I'm starving."

"Oh yes. So dramatic." Marilyn retrieved Eleanor's clothes from the rickety and warped nightstand for her.

Marilyn had said she'd found this cabin twenty-five years ago. Hidden in the woods at the base of the Santarra Mountains, the cabin had somehow escaped notice. Maybe because of the wall at Biston's border. If Marilyn hadn't known the sticky spell to scale the fifteen-foot-tall barrier, they'd have missed this little resting spot and the secret shortcut to Damien Pass. No guards or gate barred this way.

Marilyn helped Eleanor into her clothes, as if Eleanor were a little girl. Admittedly, she needed the help. She could barely move after the practice last night.

"It wasn't that bad." Marilyn scrunched her face up and tugged Eleanor out the rough-hewn door.

Eleanor had never worked so hard for such a long, uninterrupted span of time. Kings' magic required so much more energy than common elf magic. Exhaustion hung from her bones. A gust of cold air chilled Eleanor's face and shivers dragged goose bumps down her skin. The thick coat and pants she'd borrowed from Marilyn couldn't seal in enough heat. Earth, she'd freeze.

"You'll be fine."

A fine ice sculpture that would eventually thaw into a corpse. "Such an imagination."

Broad patches of snow marked the ground like puddles after a flood. Up the mountainside, the snow deepened to several feet thick. Someone had once told her it piled fifteen feet at the summit, probably to scare her. She couldn't sink that deep into it, could she? Could it swallow a person like quicksand?

Marilyn laughed. "No, child. Come on."

Brittle needles and twigs cracked beneath their boots as Eleanor followed Marilyn deeper into the uphill clearing. At the center, snow crunched like celery beneath their steps. A strange sound for frozen water to make. Her toes went numb, despite the thick cushion of fur inside her boots.

Marilyn halted. "Okay."

Earth, why couldn't Marilyn understand fatigue? Shivering, Eleanor licked her lips and focused on the cold air in front of her. She mumbled a spell to command the water elementals. The mass of invisible spirits excitedly bit into her energy reserves and tore a scream from her chest. Vapor hardened to a thin ice sheet midair, and the elemental returned some of the energy it took from the water, like a dog playing fetch. A trickle of heat seeped through Eleanor's skin but not enough to power the spell much longer.

"Quickly." Marilyn instructed.

Eleanor flinched as she stepped onto the falling sheet of ice, knowing it would shatter. She fell through and her heels slid. Her ass smacked the snow. Pain shot up her back.

"No. You have to do it all at once. Imagine you're running on lily pads. You can't linger too long or you'll sink."

With a groan, Eleanor rose and rubbed her numb ass. She'd done it right once last night. She just needed sleep and something to eat.

"Try again."

Red flashed through Eleanor's head but she blinked it away. She should be grateful for Marilyn's help. After a calming breath, Eleanor blurted out the ice sheet spell and ran. Each step shattered falling sheets of ice above the snow. But the greedy water elementals squeezed her cells of what little energy she had. At the end of the clearing, she collapsed, face forward in the snow. It stung her cheeks and she feared she'd blue into a coma state again, like she had in the south wing of the palace.

But the sting didn't pierce beyond her skin. Pink marked the back of her hands, like a human's. A tickly feeling in her belly nearly shook her with giggles. Earth, she might survive the frozen pass.

"Good," Marilyn praised.

Eleanor looked back. No footprints this time. Thank Earth she didn't have to do it over again.

"Now add invisibility to it."

"What?" She didn't have two mouths to speak from. "How can I power two spells at once?"

"You say one in your head and the other with your mouth. Ceres can power five. You can at least do two."

"Ceres is over two hundred years old." The goddess-like queen had libraries of spells and battlegrounds to practice in nearly all her long life. Eleanor could never compare to Ceres. The ancient queen could squash Eleanor like a bug.

"When you're her age, you'll power five. For now, you can do two. Stop complaining and just do it," Marilyn hissed through bared teeth, patience gone. Harsh lines creased around her mouth and at the center of her forehead. Green eyes afire, she looked like the demon Erick had described. She rushed toward Eleanor, hand outstretched as if she meant to yank her up.

Eleanor rolled away and onto her feet, out of reach. Her heart stumbled in a frantic rush. Oh, no. Eleanor scanned the border of trees for something, anything that could help her.

"You see. You're not so worn. Now, go on."

"What?" Eleanor puffed out the word. Had Marilyn scared her just to prove that point?

"Yes. Come on. I don't have all morning."

Eleanor swallowed. The blood pounding through her veins slowed a bit but she couldn't shake the anxious feeling Marilyn had stirred in her gut. Awkwardly, Eleanor switched back and forth between muttering the ice sheet spell and projecting the invisibility spell. Neither one worked. Instead something awful rose out of the earth. Eleanor screeched and jumped back from it.

Its matted, melon-sized head flopped limply to the side as black drool oozed from its slack mouth. Its pink eyes wept syrupy, yellow goo and didn't seem to focus on anything. Sickening. Clumps of fur fell away from scaly skin. No bigger than a pet cat, it shouldn't pose any threat.

But when it lunged at Eleanor, she screamed. Panic seized her gut. She kicked and her heel squished deep into its floppy head. Like tar, it clung to her heel. Its claws gripped her boot and started up her leg. Earth, it couldn't be real. Frantically, Eleanor kicked. It wouldn't come off. Breath quick and ragged, heart racing, she cried for Marilyn's help.

As if it were nothing more than a sick fowl on a farm, Marilyn grabbed hold of the creature and slammed its head down on a rock.

Viscous, black fluid splattered from it.

Eleanor bolted up to avoid its tar-like blood. It hissed and steamed on the snow, unlike anything Eleanor had ever seen.

Black droplets stained Marilyn's scowling face and smeared when she wiped at them with her sleeve. "Think, child. Don't just scream and expect someone else to save you. There are no knights in shining armor. You aren't a damsel in distress. You're a hybrid sorceress."

Eleanor blinked and looked away, cheeks growing hot despite the cold. She'd reacted like a child.

"What could you have done differently?"

Unlike Marilyn, Eleanor couldn't touch the thing to kill it barehanded. Just the thought made Eleanor's insides squirm. "I could have burned it with wizard fire."

"What else?"

"I could have stolen its energy."

The deep creases on Marilyn's face smoothed out. "Much better. Now try again." "Wait. What was that?"

"I don't know. You made it when you jumbled the spells. It probably used to be a gopher."

Eleanor crossed her arms over her chest to rub her shoulders. She hadn't even felt the thing's mind beneath the earth.

It didn't have much of a brain anymore. Not even a skull. The creature's head flattened like a deflated ball. The sick fluid inside leaked out to melt the snow. Tufts of fur rolled away and fluttered up with a breeze.

"Everyone makes mistakes the first time. Try it again."

Her stomach churned. That disgusting thing shouldn't have existed. Eleanor shook her head. She couldn't chance making another one of those things.

"We don't have much time, child. The sun's already up."

Was that thing the worst that could happen if she messed up again? "Probably not but what choice do you have?"

Marilyn was right. Eleanor couldn't wait here all winter. Her parents would come searching for her. Phil had probably already sent word. They'd be here soon. Then what? She needed the spells to lose them.

Eleanor took a deep breath. "Okay," she exhaled. Her hands uncurled from her shoulders to fall limply at her sides. She murmured the spell for invisibility as she silently recited the spell for ice sheets.

"Run."

Her insides flopped. Eleanor lurched forward. The ice cracked under her weight. She nearly fell through as she ran onto the next one. The last bit of energy squeezed out from her cells to bend light around her, rendering her invisible.

At the other end of the clearing, her magic petered out. Her vision blurred. She fell into snow, breathless.

Sap the trees, Marilyn projected.

Eleanor dug her hand into the snow and past the frozen dirt. Tiny roots tangled around her fingers.

"No cheating. You know what trees feel like. Touch only the snow and dirt. Conduct the energy through."

But Eleanor couldn't focus. Her head throbbed. "Let go of the roots."

Eleanor drew away from the rough tendrils. The dark spell poured out from her famished body as her mind madly hunted for the hum of the trees. She latched on to as many as she could and wrenched energy. It burned through her hand and filled her starving cells. They plumped up and vibrated with their own hum.

Earth, it felt good. Warm and soothing. It bathed her insides. "That's enough. Stop."

Oh, she wanted more. Her hand trembled as her arm strained. It hurt to pull away, to end that delicious flow. Eleanor sat back on her haunches, eyes squeezed shut, as if she could hold on to the feeling just a little bit longer.

"The stew should be ready, rolls are on the table and I packed some cookies in your bag." Marilyn pecked Eleanor's forehead.

"Wait. You're going already?" Eleanor opened her eyes and spun about in search of Marilyn.

Gone. No footsteps. No leaked thoughts. Nothing. Why had Marilyn used spells to sneak away?

Shivers skittered down Eleanor's spine but it was just from the cold. The chill had dropped even further. Maybe she'd taken too much. All around, death blackened and shriveled the trees. Needles that had been lush green only moments before now shimmered like slivers of charred wood. Ice collected on the surfaces.

Earth, a guard patrolling the wall might see this patch of blackened trees. What if he came before Eleanor finished healing?

"Marilyn?" No answer.

Alone, in the snow. What if the energy she'd stolen wasn't enough? Without Marilyn, there would be no one to drag Eleanor back down the hill. Maybe this wasn't the best plan.

Eleanor's teeth chattered as she ran into the cabin. Beloved warmth washed over her face. She huddled in a ball by the stove to soak in it. As she rocked back and forth, the smell of stewed rabbit and carrots furled out from the bubbling pot to make her mouth water.

Wait. Eleanor halted. Marilyn wouldn't have poisoned it would she? Not after spending so much time training Eleanor last night and this morning. But why else would Marilyn use spells to cover her tracks?

What if Erick really did have reason to fear his mother?

Pressure built in her chest but not because of Marilyn. Eleanor covered her quivering lips with her hands. Just his name was enough to make her eyes tear. The way he glared at her and pushed her away.

No more crying. Eleanor rubbed her face. Earth. She couldn't think about him right now. Worse problems threatened her, like hunger and possibly poisoned food.

Chapter Twenty-Two.

December 30, 9544 AR

Damien Pass, San tarra Mountains

Erick's boots crunched deep into the snow and slid. He grabbed hold of a branch, which snapped like an icicle in his gloved hand. In anticipation of the fall, his stomach lurched up into his chest. Not again.

Phil caught the back of his collar and tugged Erick up as if he were a clumsy child.

Their sled, laden with supplies, jerked the straps tight across Erick's chest, nearly emptying his lungs. Breath billowed out like a bride's veil. If not for Phil, the heavy burden would have dragged him down the rough mountainside. Jagged rocks hid beneath the snow, threatening to add to the bruises and scrapes on Erick's ribs and shoulders.

Icy air numbed his face and hurt his lungs. Shivers shook his mostly human body. The higher they climbed, the colder it grew and the thicker the snow.

Up the steep and frozen mountain path, he hauled enough gear and foodstuffs for four but hoped he'd over packed. He didn't want to see his mother again, regardless of Phil's arguments of how she'd changed. "What was that favor you wanted?"

Phil grumbled, "That favor might not matter any more. I don't know if Marilyn still wants me."

Erick couldn't force anything comforting from his mouth. The image of his mother and Phil together made his gut clench up.

"I wanted her to have a normal life with me."

"That's not so bad, "Erick mumbled. Though the tightness across his shoulders and up his neck argued otherwise. He rarely saw Anre anymore. Maybe it could be the same with his mother.

Erick tripped over a stump hidden in the snow and grabbed hold of an evergreen branch to right himself. Its needles poked through his gloves. They'd stumbled all night and day up the harsh mountain path. The sun had nearly set, yet they pushed on. They had to.

For a hybrid, ice was deadly. Already the sliver of the Red Moon cast a pink hue over the snow. Colder night was coming.

Worry wrung his gut. Earth, he prayed he wasn't too late. What if she'd strayed from the path? Snow could have buried her blued body and he'd have no way of knowing. All because he'd been a cowardly moron.

She had never hurt him. She could have slain him at will. When he'd stood over her in the throne room, screaming, she could have drained him of energy or burned him with fire.

He'd deserved worse.

But she didn't punish him.