Her Ice

Chapter Twenty-Six

Elisheva was getting restless. She sat on her bed, back against the wall, with her arms wrapped around her knees. It had been three days since they escaped Greta's castle and hid in this house. This morning, they heard the news about Greta ordering house searches. It will take a little while until they reach Imelda's house and find them. Metcalf was in the kitchen arguing with Aden about their plan.

They needed more time to rally the people. Small riots were happening in the streets in her name, but soon those riots will be squashed. Metcalf wanted to take Elisheva away from the city, hiding her until a good amount of people were behind them to fight her sister, but Aden thought the opposite. Aden wanted them to fight now. He felt that they had waited long enough. The sooner people knew Elisheva was alive, the quicker they would rally. In a way, Elisheva agreed with him. The riots would grow hotter and faster if they saw her in the flesh.

Elisheva's head snapped up at the sound of Metcalf yelling. She got off the bed quickly and ran out of the room and into the kitchen. Metcalf and Aden were standing close to each other; both were fuming. Elisheva looked over at Imelda sitting at the table. Imelda rolled her eyes and shook her head at the fuming brothers. "They've been arguing all morning, Princess."

Both of the men whipped their heads over to look at her. Metcalf's expression softened as Aden's expression hardened. "Eva," Metcalf grumbled. "Why are you out of the room?"

Elisheva rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I've decided something."

Imelda's face held the most minor form of a smile. "What would that be, my dear?"

Elisheva kept her eyes on Metcalf's face. He was the only one who made her brave; right now, she needed to be extremely brave for all of them. "I want to let the people know that I'm alive."

Aden rolled his eyes. "That was already our plan."

Elisheva shook her head. "I know. What I'm talking about is that I want to tell them personally." She let her arms fall to her sides. "They need to see my face and hear my voice to rise up."

"No," Metcalf growled.

Elisheva glared at him as she stood up straighter. "I'm doing this, Metcalf."

"No," Metcalf repeated, his voice laced with furry. "That is to dangerous. You are not going out and putting yourself in danger." He took a calculated step toward her. "You're sister wants you dead."

"And she wants you dead, Metcalf!" Elisheva countered. "Now, she'll want Aden dead. This is the best way to rally the people the way that we want." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm tired of hiding, Metcalf. My sister has destroyed this kingdom and I'm the only one to fix it."

"I agree with the Princess," Imelda spoke up.

Metcalf whirled around to look at her. "She could get herself killed!"

Elisheva took a step closer to him and placed a hand on his arm. "You and I both know that I'm right about this. They have to see my face. They have to hear my voice."

Metcalf stared down at her, his eyes searching her face. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her flushed against him. "Fine. We'll do this your way, but I'm not leaving your side."

Elisheva smiled up at him, her hands resting against his chest. "I wouldn't think otherwise."

"We'll be in the shadows, Princess," Aden commented lowly. "Protecting you."

Metcalf nodded. "Always." He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. Elisheva could tell that he was working hard to control his anger at her plan. She knew that he wouldn't have liked her plan, but it was their only choice at this point. "When are you wanting to do this?"

Elisheva tapped her fingers nervously against his chest. "Today." She continued quickly when she saw Metcalf open his mouth, planning to disagree with her. "My sister is already ordering house searches, Metcalf. Soon her soldiers will be at Imelda's door, taking us back to her prison. It's now or never, Metcalf."

Metcalf pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Fine," he growled. "Let's get you ready."