Crown of Ice (14 page)

“So Miss Gerda left with Miss Clara’s help?” Sephia pulls a spring green cloak about her shoulders as she confronts the trembling young man.

“Yes.” The stable boy licks his lips and glances about, as if seeking rescue. “Miss Clara said to give the girl any assistance she needed.” He twists his tweed cap in his hands. “I saw her, Miss Clara that is, press several pieces of jewelry into Miss Gerda’s hands. They argued over that, but Miss Clara insisted that the other miss take the jewels. Then they embraced and Miss Gerda took off in the pony trap. I didn’t do wrong, did I? I mean, Miss Clara gave the orders. I’m supposed to obey commands from any of the Strykers.”

“No, no.” Sephia pats the stable boy’s arm. “You did well.”

I curse Clara and the Strykers along with the stable boy. Gerda has fled before I can thwart her quest. There’s nothing more to be done here. I mount Freya and fasten my furs about me, preparing for my journey back to the ice palace. I have failed once again, but I can’t focus on that. There are the two remaining pieces of the mirror to obtain. Little time remains, yet I still have hope. Kai will travel with me to the university and we will collect the missing shards before Gerda can track her childhood friend.
It must be so.

Freya and I take to the skies before any of the Strykers’ guests are awake to observe our departure. Only Sephia watches as we disappear into the clouds. I urge the mare on, confident that where I’m going, the enchantress can’t follow.

A SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITY

I must admit Kai’s a useful traveling companion. He’s making a fire as I walk the horses to cool them down before allowing them water. The last thing we need is for our mounts to founder, especially so far from the palace.

“Tomorrow’s the day then.” Kai glances up at me as he feeds kindling into the growing blaze. His face is flushed with warmth by the firelight, but his dark eyes are cool. “Have you any idea where we should start our search at the university?”

“Well, Holger said the men were explorers. I imagine we should focus on buildings that house the scientific faculty.” I pull a cloth-wrapped hunk of cheese from my saddlebag and toss it to Kai. “Here—find a stick and melt a bit of this. We can eat it on the bread.”

Kai rocks back on his heels and surveys me as I unsaddle the horses. “Do you always tell people what to do in that peremptory fashion?”

I drape the saddles over a low hanging branch. “No, because—if you recall—I haven’t had anyone to tell anything for some time.”

“Right.” Kai rises to his feet and crosses to the tree where he hung his pack. “I suppose that explains a lot.”

“A lot of what?” I tether the horses to a tree, allowing them room to wander. There’s a small stream where they can drink, and enough vegetation on the bank to provide them with supper.

“Your less-than-polite behavior sometimes.” Kai spears the cheese on a stick he’s just sharpened with his pocket knife.

I grab the linen bundle that holds a loaf of bread. “I don’t have time for such niceties. I’m not like your friend Gerda—cosseted and kept safe by family and friends.”

“Don’t bring Gerda into it.” Kai waves the stick at me. “She’s a sweet girl who works very hard. Her life isn’t all roses, you know. It’s not like our families are wealthy.”

“So …” I sit on a rock that borders the fire and hold out the loaf. “Are you and Gerda betrothed or something?”

Kai yanks off a hunk of bread. “No. What makes you ask that?” He avoids my eyes, busying himself with smearing the softened cheese on the bread.

“Well, your families are so entwined; I just thought you might be expected to marry. And you seem close, you and Gerda.”

“We are close,” replies Kai, handing me half of the cheese and bread. “But I can’t imagine marrying anyone any time soon. I want to go to the university. To study, not just steal pieces of glass.” He finally meets my questioning gaze. “I plan to learn all I can about mathematics and science and anything else that interests me. That could take years. It’ll be some time before I can consider marriage.”

“And Gerda’s aware of this?” I blow on my bread to cool the hot cheese and stretch out my legs until the tips of my boots rest near the glowing embers.

“Of course. We don’t have secrets.” Kai chews for a moment, staring into the dense glade of trees that surrounds us. “You’re right, though. Our families do expect us to marry. But I don’t know. I’m not sure it’s fair to ask Gerda to wait for me to finish my studies.”

“Wouldn’t she? Wait, I mean?” I nibble at my bread and cheese.

Kai shrugs. “Maybe. Probably. But that isn’t really the point. The truth is …” He turns and stares into my face. “I’m not really sure that I want to marry anyone. Ever.”

“Oh. Well, that I understand.”

“I thought you might.” Kai looks away again. “I’m going to get some water. Want some?”

“Sure.” I watch him make his way to our saddlebags and pull out our goatskin flasks. He fills them from the stream, pausing to pat the horses before returning with the full skins.

Kai hands me my flask before he sits down. “I just have this burning desire to know more, to learn, to travel. I can’t stay in my village forever. I think I’d go mad.”

“Yes, I can see why you’d feel that way.” I tear off another small hunk of bread and chew on it moodily. “Sometimes I wish I could go to a university, but that’s impossible. And not just because I’m the Snow Queen.”

“Because you’re a girl.” Kai takes the piece of bread I offer him. He spears another slab of cheese and holds it near the flames for a moment. “It isn’t fair for someone with your mind, but that’s the way of things, I’m afraid.”

“So it is.” I contemplate this fact. Perhaps it’s just as well that Voss chose me as Snow Queen. At least I’ve power now, and the opportunity to use his library to teach myself. I wouldn’t have a chance at more than a basic education if I were just another village girl. Even less than Gerda if I’d remained what I was—a penniless orphan. “So, tomorrow we enter the university grounds. I think it’s best if you pose as a student and I pretend to be your sister.”

Kai raises his eyebrows. “We scarcely look like family.”

“Oh, no one will question it. I’ll change my appearance a bit, just so I look less …”

“Distinctive?” Kai smiles before taking a long swallow of water.

“I was going to say peculiar, but distinctive will do.” I hide my own smile by taking another bite of bread.

“Here’s to success.” Kai holds up his water skin. “May we swiftly locate the shards and just as quickly return them safely to your palace.”

“We will,” I say, tapping his flask with my own. “Between the two of us we should be able to accomplish this task. Those people at the university—they won’t be expecting us.”

“I doubt anyone expects a girl like you, Thyra.” Kai rises to his feet and tosses the sharpened stick on the fire. “I’m going to grab my blankets and try to get some sleep. I don’t want to be too tired to think tomorrow.”

“Good idea.” I stand and stride over to my saddlebags to retrieve my own blanket. “Shouldn’t we douse the fire first, though?”

“It’ll die down on its own.” Kai leans back against a broad tree trunk and drapes the wool blanket over him. “Just don’t sit too close. Sparks might fly.”

I settle against a tree on the opposite side of the fire. “I’ll keep watch. We probably shouldn’t leave the horses unguarded. We don’t know what might be out there, in the dark.”

“I told you we should’ve brought Luki,” says Kai, his voice laced with exhaustion. “But you’re right, we need to stay alert. You watch now, but wake me in a few hours so I can keep a lookout and you can get some sleep.”

“All right,” I reply, though I’ve no intention of waking him. I can manage on no sleep and my magic can keep any wild creatures at bay. Kai doesn’t possess such gifts.

I stare into the dying flames, working through as many equations as are required to keep me awake all night.

***

The morning dawns cool but clear. Kai and I eat a quick breakfast and saddle the horses before the sun rises above the distant mountains.

“You were supposed to wake me,” says Kai as we set off toward the walls of the city.

“Well, you were sleeping so soundly, and I don’t require as much rest as mortals do.”

Kai shifts his reins from hand to hand and shoots me a sharp glance. “You’re still human.”

“Mostly.” I stare straight ahead. “But I can call on my magic if I grow weary. You can’t.”

Kai falls silent. We ride without speaking until we reach the city gates and mingle in with a throng of other riders. Following tarp-covered wagons bulging with mysterious goods, we move slowly into the main square. A utilitarian fountain, ringed by numerous people clutching buckets and pails, sits in the middle of the square. Looming over the cobbled courtyard is a slender brick clock-tower. As Kai and I ride into the square the clock strikes the hour and a bevy of mechanical figures spit out of the clock, performing a pantomime that involves a hunter chasing a fox that chases a dog chasing a cat that chases a mouse. They spin in and out several times before the chimes die away and the doors on the clock face slam shut.

“Thyra,” says Kai, “we need to ride on.”

I realize that I’ve been staring at the clock without moving for several minutes. Shaking my head, I dig my heels into Freya’s flanks and head toward the main avenue leading from the square.

“You’ve never been in the city before, have you?” Kai pulls his horse alongside Freya.

“No.” I keep my gaze focused straight ahead, where I spy two tall towers.

“Well, stick close to me. It’s easy to lose your way.”

I toss my head. “I won’t get lost.” I point toward the towers. “I assume that’s the university?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

I hear something in Kai’s voice that spurs me to look at him. He’s staring at the towers with a longing that makes me catch my breath. I know the emotion that lies behind that look. It’s the wish for something more, something just beyond one’s fingertips. It’s the mirror completed and my mind and body preserved, safe from harm forever.

“Come on,” I say, “let’s find those shards.”

We ride to the edge of the university, dismounting at one of the ancient oak trees that flank the entrance. Tying the horses to the metal rings that stud the brick outer wall, Kai and I walk onto the university grounds. Unlike the rest of the city, trees shade all the buildings except for the two stone towers that spring from either end of a two-story brick structure.

“Time to locate the science building,” whispers Kai, taking my arm.

I glance at him in surprise, but he just smiles. “You’re my sister, remember? I can’t let you roam about unescorted. It simply isn’t done.”

“Very well, but when we find the shards you follow my lead.” I wiggle my arm until Kai loosens his grip slightly.

“Whatever you say, Thyra.”

We stroll the grounds, the perfect picture of a student and his young lady, be that sister or sweetheart. My plain cape and my wool gown—the skirt pulled down to hide the tight breeches I wear while riding—don’t look out of place here, where everyone’s dressed in muted, unadorned clothes. I’ve spun my magic to alter my appearance so that I draw no special attention. After wandering for a while we stumble upon a timber and stucco building that bears a plaque proclaiming that it’s the Hall of Mathematics and Science.

Kai’s fingers dig into my arm. “Here we are. Time to work your magic.” He leans in to whisper in my ear. “Can you sense the fragments of the mirror?”

“Not yet,” I say, pulling away from him. As we enter the hall Kai releases my arm and I stride forward to the center of the black-and-white tiled floor, where a mosaic seal depicts a night sky filled with figures formed of stars.

“It’s the constellations.” Kai steps up beside me, gazing at the seal. “And look, the phases of the moon.” He points to the painted dome above our heads.

“Can I help you?” asks a voice behind us.

I turn to face an older man. Shorter than either Kai or me, he’s as round as the full moon painted on the ceiling. His pink face is fringed with wisps of pale hair and his nose and cheeks are flushed red as ripe berries. But his arctic blue eyes examine us with an intensity that belies his jovial appearance.

“Oh, hello.” Kai extends his hand. “We’re just looking about. I’m attending university next year and I wanted to show my sister where I’ll be studying.”

The man takes hold of Kai’s hand. “I’m Professor Daman, Head of Mathematics. And you are?”

“Kai Thorsen.”

I wonder why Kai’s using his real name but immediately realize that he must, if he ever intends to enroll here. He can’t pretend to be someone else now and appear as Kai Thorsen in another year, not with the primary professor in his chosen field standing before him.

I, of course, have no such problem. “My brother is so looking forward to studying with you.” I dip a little curtsey, not certain what’s appropriate in this situation.

“Oh, sorry, sir. Where are my manners? This is my sister … Caris.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Thorsen.” Professor Daman looks me over with those piercing eyes before turning his gaze on Kai. “So, young man, you are joining us next year? Studying what, may I ask?”

“Mathematics, I hope, sir.” For the first time since I’ve known him, Kai looks flustered in another person’s presence. “And some sciences too, if possible.”

“Really?” Daman surveys Kai as if estimating his mental capacity. “Well, I suppose we shall see how that turns out. Now, perhaps Miss Thorsen would like a proper tour of our facilities?”

“Oh yes,” I say, a little too fast.

Kai bangs his elbow into my arm. “Very gracious of you, sir.”

Daman waves aside Kai’s continued thanks. “Not at all. Come along, then. I haven’t much time.” He glances at his gold pocket watch. “Have a lecture in half an hour.”

We follow the professor on a swift tour of the building, making the appropriate approving noises as he guides us in and out of various classrooms and labs. Watching Daman waddle before us, leading us toward one more lecture hall, I feel a tingling in my fingers. I glance to my right and see a door standing ajar. It opens into a small storeroom.