MATES

T H I R T Y - F I V E

Rose 

One second I was being blinded by the Queen's light and the next, I was face planting into a pile of cold snow. 

I groaned and rolled onto my back, spitting out the dirty melting snow. 

"Why can't I ever land on my feet in this stupid land?" I muttered to myself.

A shadow fell over me and I looked up in time to see Lord Dahl's smug smile cross his face. 

"How's the view from down there?" he snickered "It must be positively chilling." 

I shrugged, spreading my arms out and moving them back and forth to form the snow angels I've seen done so many times in the movies. 

"Wouldn't you like to know." 

"What the Hell was that?" Grey growled from his spot in the snow "What did she mean that the Castle was compromised?" 

Dahl shrugged "Don't know." 

"You're her head of security" I stood, dusting the excess snow off my body "Of course you know what that means." 

He looked away "Don't worry about it." 

I was about to say something else when the ground beneath our feet shook and gave way. 

Grey lunged for me just as we started free falling. 

"EVERYTIME!" I screamed as we fell through the icy tunnel. 

I held onto Greyson as we descended down and closed my eyes, praying to whoever would listen to me to keep us safe. 

When I didn't immediately plunge to my death, I peeked open an eye. 

When I found a familiar woman staring at me with an amusing smile, I opened both my eyes. 

"Lady Wynter" I said cooly, hovering ten feet in the air "Is there a reason why you tried to give me a heart attack?" 

She laughed, her voice sounding like little bells "Not particularly." 

"Well" I nodded towards myself and Grey "Are you planning to let us down soon or is this a cultural thing? Making your guests hang from the ceiling?" 

She laughed again and nodded to her guards. 

They banged their icicle looking sphere on the ground twice and we immediately fell to the ground.