Chapter 1

“Please don’t make me do this again. You know how it’ll end. I feel nothing for him,” I pleaded.

            The woman who birthed me, The Queen—no one dared use her real name—didn’t even spare me a glance. She just crinkled her nose, as if smelling something rotten, and continued to fiddle with the tray of food set on the table in the center of the opulent room. I’d only had minimal input on the décor, but I liked it. From the mound of decorative pillows on the couches to the heavy drapes covering the windows, shades of purple from soft lavender to dark eggplant were sprinkled everywhere the eye touched. I waited, anxiety ridden, wondering if she would respond.

            Her, my father, my entire clan, all expected me to join with one of the coveted Glacier Warriors and reach the full potential of my Vetur power. I was determined to do no such thing, but as the only daughter of The Queen and King Damon—perfectly fine to use his name—it was up to me to continue the bloodline. I’d been trained to hone my skills and had exceled in all of my learning, but then I’d plateaued and everyone knew why. I needed my mate to balance me, to keep me from being consumed by Vetur. Not just any mate would do though. My power had to choose him. He had to be my equal in strength and cunning. It was up to him to be strong enough to survive a joining, then become a mate who would cherish and protect me—or forfeit his life. That was the part I struggled with. I didn’t want to kill anyone, especially not our warriors.

“Do not ask for things you know you won’t receive, daughter of mine. You know what is at stake here,” The Queen finally replied. She didn’t wait for me to respond before whisking away to the door and calling for my main attendant.

I glanced out the window. Of course, I knew what was at stake. I also knew how much none of this mattered. I wouldn’t find my mate today. I would just kill another of our men, leaving one of our few women without a protector. Among my people, the Talvine, the women held the most power and were sacred. Rare. Those of us with the power of Vetur were even rarer. A girl being born only occurred every decade or so, leaving my people with an unusually high male to female ratio. This forced our men to remain alone for the entirety of their lives or form a household with one woman and multiple men. Even though The Queen was married to my father, she maintained relationships with three others in her royal guard. My father had been the first to be able to match her power. They’d discovered each other long before her power became destructive. This fact only served to prove how superior she believed herself to be to me. The only other alternative for our males was to mate with females of different races and cultures. Doing so wasn’t frowned upon, but the inherent need to keep the royal bloodlines pure required that we mated with only our kind. A miserable practice that I wanted no part of. And who could truly blame me? It didn’t matter to me who or what I mated, as long as they wanted me for me and not for my power. I knew my mate would not be amongst the Talvine. I had already killed three of my clan’s most elite warriors by trying to prove that.

            The first time was my 18^th birthday, Christmas, of all days. What a gift. Every year since then I’d been forced to attempt a joining. I remembered the last one vividly. Daneth, a highly revered warrior, had staked his claim. He’d been certain that it was he who would break my annual slaughter—his words. He’d been wrong. So devastatingly wrong. I could still remember his eyes as they froze in their sockets. The look a horrific combination of shock, fear, and anger. I hadn’t understood his anger. I’d warned him. Begged him not to touch me, but he’d insisted. I’d done everything in my power to dissuade them all, even going so far as to try and run away from my home. No one listened. And a small part of me had wondered. Wondered if he could be right. Wondered if he could be the one to end this nightmare. He’d been stronger than the two who came before him. His was prowess legendary second only to my best friend Kormen, the best Glacier warrior we had. I wouldn’t have minded if he’d been my mate. He’d been somewhat kind. Handsome. He would’ve made a decent mate. A bigger part of me had known though. Known that it wouldn’t be him.

       

Resigned, I hadn’t tried to fight when I was discovered trying to secret my way out in the middle of the night through the hidden tunnel at the back of the estate. My parents hadn’t even bothered to go through with the actual joining ceremony. Daneth had been brought to me. I’d let him touch me. If he’d been my true mate, Vetur would have surged between us and combined our essence. He wasn’t and it hadn’t. It’d registered him as a threat and immediately attacked. I’d watched his eyes as he caressed me. Watched as stark realization dawned in them. The smug smirk he’d worn had begun to fade, but stopped, frozen in place. I’d known without looking at his hand that it had frozen on my neck, the only spot that had been uncovered enough for him to touch. I’d known that as he struggled to remove that hand, his body had already begun freezing on the spot. I knew everyone had seen the frost flow along his limbs, his torso, his face. I’d caught sight of it once it reached his eyes. Eyes that had once been a warm chocolate brown had the color leeched from them until they glistened a light caramel. I hadn’t taken my gaze away from those eyes, not wanting to see the horror that had surely sprung up on the faces of the onlookers.

“Lily, I want her in white when she meets her betrothed. Come now, we don’t have much time.” The Queen’s voice brought my gaze from the snow-covered landscape beyond the window and my attention back to the room. Lily lowered her head in acknowledgement before moving to me.

My spirits lifted some when lily met my eyes through the mirror. I had to quickly stifle a giggle when she stuck her tongue out at my mother's back. I'd cried for hours after the incident with Daneth on my Lily's shoulder. Her comforting words the only thing that got me through that difficult time. She'd told me not to carry his death on my shoulders, to put the blame right where it belonged. At my mother's feet. I smiled softly when she briefly squeezed my shoulder before picking through my plethora of makeup. I didn’t know how I would have made it all these years without her and Kormen. They were always there to cheer me up and take my mind off the 'training' my mother put me through. Lily was the one to treat my wounds and patch me back up. To bring me food and water even when the Queen forbade it. Kormen had always been quick to distract my mother so I could have a moment of peace.

"I expect her to be suitable when I return."

I brought my attention quickly back to the Queen as she came to a stop behind me.

"This is for the best daughter, you'll see." She turned and sailed out of the room the guards quickly opening the doors for her.