I shook my head.

“Trollus is safe,” the guard said, patting me on the shoulder. “Here, you are under the King’s protection. Be grateful for that. Now get up.”

Even if I’d wanted to, I wasn’t sure if I could. My body felt numb, and though I could move my arms and legs, they didn’t feel like my own.

“Stones and sky,” the troll grumbled. “You’re not going to make me drag you back, are you?”

Thud.

I opened my eyes just in time to see the guard drop to the ground next to me, eyes blank and unseeing. Martin stood behind her, robes dripping with river water. “She won’t be unconscious for long,” he said. “And when she comes after us, she won’t come alone.”

With Martin half carrying me, we ran to the end of the tunnel and down the endless steps to the lake. It gleamed like polished onyx, and it wasn’t until I tried to push the boat into it that I realized the water was frozen.

“Will it hold our weight?” I asked, wrapping one of the blankets from the boat around my shoulders as best I could. I was dizzy, adrenaline and exertion barely holding back hypothermia.

“I don’t feel in a position to…”

Not waiting for him to finish, I stomped past him, then eased onto the lake, sliding my boots across the slick surface. “Keep your distance,” I muttered. “We don’t both want to fall through.”

The ice groaned and creaked as we made our way out over the black depths, keeping close to the walls of the stadium. But we hadn’t gone more than fifty yards before the tunnel filled with the sound of running feet. Martin extinguished his already faint light, and we plunged into darkness.

“She’s not alone.” The female guard’s voice drifted across the void, all traces of kindness gone. She was plainly visible where she stood on the bank with three others, and the moment they moved their lights out over the lake, we’d be just as exposed.

“You’re sure they came this way?” one of the others asked. “It’s a dead end.”

“It was either this way, or back out underneath your noses, so you tell me.” Another light formed over her head, then began a slow progress across the lake.

Dropping to my elbows and knees, I scuttled toward the shadow of one of the ancient pillars, using its bulk to hide from view. Seconds later, Martin joined me, the ice protesting against our combined weight. Cracks spidered out from beneath us as the guard’s light passed by, searching. Hunting.

“This is a waste of time,” one of the guards muttered. “Cursed city is full of sluag and worse, and you’ve got us chasing after some half-blood who’s decided to take up skating.”

“Catching the fool who assaulted me is an excellent use of my time,” she responded. “Go back and stand in front of the gate – I’ll deal with them myself.”

The ice moaned, and I risked peeking around the corner of the pillar. The light from the three other guards was retreating into the tunnel, but the female was making her way out toward the center of the lake. Martin plucked at my sleeve. I ignored him, suspecting that his martial talents had been exhausted in the singular blow he’d dealt to the guard’s head. But he insistently tugged at my sleeve again.