Cursed by Ice Read Free

in his youth, when boys tend to be reckless with giving away their hearts. But he was completely around the bend over Selinda, his devotion to her intense.
    Garreth envied him that. He envied the warm home and squirming child that awaited his brother once the cold of fall came calling. Garreth would continue the campaign against the new city until it was defeated,however long that took, but Dethan would leave him to it the moment the weather turned cold.
    Garreth left his brother to his letter and turned his eyes to the missive in his own hands. The paper was folded neatly and sealed with wax, which had been stamped with the intricate image of a dragon of some sort, its wings broad within the circle of the stamp. The letter was addressed:
    T O THE B EASTS AT THE G ATE
    Intrigued, Garreth broke the seal and opened the letter.
    You come upon our small city with aggression and numbers. We do not ask for war, and yet you bring it. We will not stand idly by while you rape our home of its innocence and peace. Consider yourself warned. End your folly against us now and we will let you leave unharmed
.
    T HE C ITY OF K ITH
    “Brother, I do believe we have been threatened,” Garreth said with thoughtful amusement.
    Again, without a smile.
    Dethan looked up questioningly as Garreth handed him the missive. He read it quickly and promptly burst out in a rich, raucous laugh.
    “Such posturing. They are weak and they know it. Once we lay siege and they begin to starve for lack of fresh game and supplies, they will be welcoming us with open arms. As it is, their mill and butchery are outside the city walls. We have already seized control of them, as well as the farmland and crops, which right now are ripe with growing grain and thick with orchards. Theyknow they are doomed to fall to us. This is mere posturing.”
    “It has spine, you have to admit.”
    “It shows fear.” Dethan scoffed.
    “I think it’s just the opposite,” Garreth said thoughtfully. “They sound very certain that they are not the ones in danger. Perhaps the more important question is, how did this missive reach us? The city has been locked down against us since we arrived, no one in and no one out.”
    “There is always a way in or out, whatever the circumstance. There are always some enterprising sorts willing to risk running a blockade. For profit.”
    “Yes, but the Kithians are violet skinned. Surely we would have noticed one of them in our camp who was not under guard.”
    There were Kithians in camp, all of them prisoners of the army. Mostly farmers and others who had been caught outside the walls of the city. But as Garreth had said, they were all under guard.
    “That is a puzzle, it is true,” Dethan said, a frown marring his features. He walked to the tent opening and yelled out, “You! Page! Where did you get this letter?”
    The courier who had dropped off the missives stepped into the opening of the tent, leaving the conversation he’d been having with one of the command tent guards.
    “A messenger from Hexis brought it only a short while ago,” the courier said.
    “No, not the one from my wife. The other.”
    “Other? I handed you only one missive, your most honorable.”
    “I’m holding both in my hands, page,” Dethan said, showing the letters to the man.
    “I … I only … But there was only one,” the page insisted, looking flustered and very honestly worried.
    “Never mind. Go and get yourself a meal,” Dethansaid. Then, once the young man had left, he turned back toward Garreth. “What do we make of this?”
    “Altered perception? It must be some kind of magery.”
    “So it seems. If they have a mage with that kind of power, we will have to be more alert. It was foolish of them to tip their hand though. We will now be on guard against it.”
    “But what can we do against a mage? Especially one who can alter the mind. Your wife is the only mage we know and she is two weeks’ journey away from here.”
    “My wife will