Authors: Amanda Hocking
Frostfire (32 page)
“Run,” he whispered. “Run, white rabbit, as fast and far as you can.”
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.” I stood tall despite my fear.
“This has gone on long enough,” a voice grumbled behind me, and I whirled around.
He’d been standing in the shadows, along the wall of the tunnel by the mouth of the
dungeon. He wore all black, helping him blend in, and his skin had shifted color,
completely matching the stones around him. But now as it shifted back, it was like
watching a mirage come to life.
Then I realized that not quite everything had changed color. The scar that ran across
his face from just above his left eye down to his right cheek, that had stayed a dull
red. His black hair was greasy and landed just below his shoulders, and his beard
was more unruly than I’d seen in pictures.
But I knew exactly who he was. I saw his face glaring down on me every time I stepped
into Ridley’s office. It was Viktor Dålig—the most wanted man of all the Kanin.
“Finish her!” Viktor commanded, and that was enough to snap my senses into motion.
With the keys still in my fist, I swung at Viktor. But he was too fast, and he grabbed
my arm, bending it back. He grabbed my ponytail, yanking my head back. I kicked him,
but he was unfazed, and then Viktor slammed my head into the stone wall.
The first time, I felt it. A blind searing pain that blotted out everything. Somewhere
in the background, I thought I heard Konstantin yell out. But the second time Viktor
slammed my skull into the stone, the world fell away, and I collapsed into darkness.
I shoved my clothes roughly into my duffel bag, and Ridley knocked on the open door
to my bedroom.
“How are you holding up?” he asked when I didn’t reply.
“I’ve been better.”
My right temple had a scabbed-over gash and a dark purple bruise, but the worst of
it was under my hair, where I’d needed six stiches. Viktor had meant business, and
the medic that had fixed me said I was lucky that he hadn’t actually smashed my skull
in.
Twelve hours later, I had a killer headache, and the vision in my right eye still
didn’t seem quite right. Whenever I looked to the left, I could see a blinding white
spot out of the corner of my eye.
“If it hurts, they can give you something for the pain.” Ridley leaned forward, inspecting
my injuries. He reached out tentatively to brush back my hair from the wound, but
I pulled away before he could, so he dropped his hand and straightened up.
“I’m okay. I just want to get out of here and get home.”
“Well, I’m all packed up. We can head out whenever you’re ready.”
My jeans were blocking the zipper, so I pushed my clothes down deeper and continued
my fight to get my bag zipped. “I’m just about done.”
“You know, you shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened,” Ridley said. “You went
down to reason with Konstantin, who was in a cell. You had no reason to think he could
break out and attack you. If they had any kind of security here, they could’ve stopped
him. But they think he went through one of the doors out into the lake, and he has
to be long gone by now.”
In the morning, Ridley had come to my room to see how I was doing, and when I wasn’t
there he’d gone down to the dungeon, where he’d found me unconscious and bleeding
on the floor. When I first awoke, I remembered nothing of the attack. I only knew
that Ridley was holding me in his arms, his eyes filled with fear and affection.
But as the morning had gone on, my memories had been slowly coming back. A hazy blur
of the dungeon. Konstantin telling me to run. Viktor Dålig emerging from the shadows.
Then the blinding pain.
I knew I would tell Ridley about seeing Viktor, but I wanted to wait until I was certain
that Viktor was involved. Everything felt too hazy and blurry, and I wasn’t even sure
I could trust my memories.
Viktor had killed Ridley’s father, and he’d been on the run for years. I’d had the
chance to stop him, but I’d let him get away, and I couldn’t tell Ridley about it
unless I was sure it was true.
“If don’t blame myself, then who should I blame?” I asked, sounding much harsher than
I meant.
“Konstantin,” he said simply, and I let out a deep breath that I didn’t even realize
I’d been holding.
“Ah, good.” Lisbet smiled, entering my room without knocking, and Ridley and I stood
at attention. “I’m glad to see you’re both here. How is your head doing?”
“Better, Marksinna,” I told her politely.
“Good.” She walked around my bed, the long train of her gown filling up the floor
as she went over to the window. Her gills fluttered lightly, and she glanced down
at the bed. “What are you doing? Are you packing your things?”
“Yes, Marksinna,” Ridley said. “Bent is dead, and Konstantin is gone.”
“You weren’t invited here to find Bent or Konstantin,” Lisbet said. “You’re here to
find my granddaughter, and I don’t see her anywhere.”
Ridley exchanged a look with me, but I lowered my eyes. I didn’t agree with the conclusion
that Ridley and the Trylle had come to, but I had been outvoted. As soon as I’d been
well enough this morning, Ridley had informed me that the Trylle were moving on, and
so would we, and that had been the end of the discussion.
“We believe…” He stopped, clearing his throat. “We believe that the Queen is no longer
alive. We think that Bent or Konstantin killed her. I’m very sorry. Please understand
that you have the deepest sympathy of the Kanin people, and you will always have our
full support. But our mission here is complete and, like our Trylle allies, duty requires
us to return home to serve our own kingdom.”
“I see.” She lowered her eyes and swallowed hard. After a moment, she said softly,
“Then there seems to be no reason for either of you to remain here. Send my gratitude
to your King for your aid, and I trust that you can see yourselves out.”
Ridley opened his mouth as though he meant to say something, but there was nothing
he could say. Lisbet left us alone in the room with a heavy silence covering us.
“So that’s it then?” I asked. “We just leave?”
Ridley let out an exasperated sigh. “What else would you have us do?”
“Finish our job!” I snapped.
“We have!” he shot back, then lowered his voice. “The Queen is dead, Bent is dead,
and Konstantin is gone, leaving without a trace, and he’s almost certainly moving
on to his next target. We can’t help the Skojare any longer. We need to get back and
protect our own people.”
He softened and stepped closer to me. “As a tracker, you know that you don’t get to
pick where your job is or when it will begin or end. You just do the work that is
given to you, and then you move on.” He put his hand on my arm. “This job didn’t work
out the way either of us had planned, but it’s time to go home.”
I nodded, hating that Ridley was right. There was nothing left for us in Storvatten.
The only thing we could do was head back to Doldastam. I finished gathering my things
so Ridley and I could start the long journey home.
Switched
Torn
Ascend
Wake
Lullaby
Tidal
Elegy
“Hocking hits all the commercial high notes.… She knows how to keep readers turning
the pages.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“[
Wake
] will please fans and likely win new ones.… The well-structured story and strong
characters carry readers.”
—Publishers Weekly
“There is no denying that Amanda Hocking knows how to tell a good story and keep readers
coming back for more. More is exactly what they will be looking for once they’ve turned
the last page.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Filled with mysteries, realistic characters, and lots of action …
Wake
is the next great book. A worthwhile read.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Hocking’s novel effectively melds myth and contemporary teen life. High school, family,
young love, and mythology all combine to create an easy-to-read paranormal suspense
story that will have fans eagerly awaiting new installments.”
—Booklist
“Amanda Hocking has a gift for storytelling that will grip readers and keep them wanting
more.… Entrancing.”
—LibraryThing
“Explosive and interesting … a nice, smooth story with unique mythology and lovable
characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
—The Teen Bookworm
“Pure imaginative brilliance!
Wake
is full of thrills, eerie suspense, and mystery … incredibly difficult to put down.”
—The Book Faery
“Real and vibrant. The first in a brand-new series that reawakens everything we love
in underwater mythology,
Wake
by Amanda Hocking will certainly leave you with the desire to pick up more of her
titles.”
—A Cupcake and a Latte
“An amazing story … ravishing yet explosive. I am enthralled with the amazing characters
and fast-pace plotline. The thrill of the water, the history that propels the reader
deeper,
Wake
is awesome!”
—Books with Bite
“Entertaining and surprisingly dark. Amanda Hocking once again had me enjoying her
writing and the world she created before my eyes.”
—Millie D’s Words
“Amanda Hocking is like a breath of fresh air in the young adult paranormal market.”
—That Bookish Girl
“Amanda Hocking is an author whose storytelling skills keep getting better and better.”
—Bewitched Bookworms
“Amanda Hocking surpasses all expectations.”
—SmartBookWorms
AMANDA HOCKING is the author of the
New York Times
bestselling Trylle trilogy and six additional self-published novels. She made international
headlines by selling more than a million copies of her self-published books, primarily
in e-book format. She lives in Minnesota, where she’s at work on the next book in
the Kanin Chronicles series.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed
in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
FROSTFIRE.
Copyright © 2014 by Amanda Hocking. All rights reserved. For information, address
St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Cover design by Lisa Marie Pompilio
Cover illustration by Mike Heath
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases,
please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-06608-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-04982-7 (trade paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4668-5077-4 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466850774
First Edition: January 2015
