Queen of Ice (Through the Fire Book 2)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “That’s… well, it’s a little embarrassing, after hearing your dream,” Tadrick said, shifting in his seat as he ran a hand through his hair.

  “Come on, tell us!” Korima urged, sitting forward as the carriage rocked at a bump.

  “Alright, alright… I’ve told you before, I’ve dreamed of being a mage-knight. It’s more than that, though. I’ve always dreamed of being a knight of the realm, or even…” Tadrick hesitated, then looked to the side. “Well, to join the Guardians of Stone. I don’t want the family title because I want to protect the kingdom, not to simply be a minor lord protecting one fragment of it or just the royal family.”

  Ruethwyn blinked in surprise, seeing a bit of shock on Sella’s face, but spoke herself, tilting her head curiously. “Why do you think it’s embarrassing?”

  “Your goal is to see things all over the world. Mine is just to join a knightly order,” Tadrick replied, shrugging uncomfortably. “It feels minor.”

  Sella sniffed at that, and Ruethwyn shook her head. The Guardians of Stone had been originally founded by the church of the Guardian, but their link to the faith was minor now. The important thing was that they were considered a chivalrous order whose goal was protecting the people and they weren’t beholden to any other organization. They did get funding from the kingdom and many nobles, but the majority of their support came from the common folk they protected.

  “Your dream is better than mine in many ways, Tadrick,” Ruethwyn said gently. “Mine is just to travel. Yours is to protect, and that’s important, so don’t discount yourself.”

  “Thank you, Rue,” Tadrick replied, relaxing a bit, then looked at Korima. “So what’s your dream, Korima?”

  “I want to become a powerful mage and gather stories for my clan to perform or tell,” Korima said promptly, not even pausing to consider it. As they stared at her, the kitsune grinned and continued. “Oh, I have other things I’d like to do, but those are the big ones. I’m not suited to sitting around.”

  “I’ve noticed that much,” Ruethwyn replied dryly.

  Korima stuck out her tongue at Ruethwyn, but quickly thought better of it as they hit a bump and quickly pulled it back, exclaiming. “That was close! Anyway, what about you, Sella?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ve just been going with the flow of things. I was thinking I wanted to be a healer, but… maybe I was thinking too small,” Sella said, frowning as she looked at the floor.

  “I’m not sure on that. I’d say to just decide on what you think makes you happy. As much as I miss my parents… they were happy with their lives,” Ruethwyn said, shrugging again and looking out the window. “I wouldn’t want you to do something that you didn’t truly want to do.”

  That made the others fall into thoughtful silence, and once again Ruethwyn began watching the landscape slowly roll by, almost consumed by her thoughts. Again, she found her fingers brushing Anara’s hair.

  As the carriage slowed, Ruethwyn looked at the small town just outside and smiled sadly. Small was a relative term since it was certainly larger than Mellesyn had been. While her hometown had possessed an inn, it had no more than three spare rooms, and most of the space had been intended for the townsfolk to eat or drink. This town had an inn with a large stable, and she suspected it had at least ten rooms, if not more. There was a tavern as well, which was a marked difference from Mellesyn.

  “Oh, we’re done for the day? I thought we’d be going farther,” Korima said, shaking her head and sneezing. “Gah, dust!”

  “We made pretty good time, really. I’d guess this was what, a third of the distance to Waterstone?” Sella said, looking uncertain. “I think I remember passing through here… it was a full day before we reached the capital when I was with the caravan.”

  “We’re a little farther than that, really,” Tadrick said, waiting for the carriage to stop patiently. “I did a bit of research, and most caravans to Corwal take about five days to get there. That’s the city nearest Waterstone, Korima. Anyway, we’ll reach Corwal tomorrow night, and get to Waterstone well before noon. A proper stagecoach could make it in two days, but that requires changes of horses along the way.”

  “Ah, that explains it,” Korima said, nodding quickly. “I’ve seen how slow most merchant convoys move, at least compared to the troupe.”

  “The town doesn’t seem much bigger than Mellesyn was,” Ruethwyn said, her tone slightly wistful. “It has a much bigger inn, though.”

  “I’d guess that’s because it’s between major cities, Rue,” Sella said, smiling at her. “Waterstone’s a bit bigger than this. Why, we even have a proper watchtower!”

  Ruethwyn laughed as the carriage came to a stop. Tadrick stepped out of the carriage to fold down the steps, and Korima quickly followed him down. Ruethwyn paused to let Sella go first, but the other woman smiled and gestured her on.

  “You first, Rue. I can wait a couple of seconds,” Sella said.

  “Alright. Thank you, Sella,” Ruethwyn replied, and carefully took ahold of the doorframe, stepping down with legs that felt oddly like jelly. Korima helped her down, and Ruethwyn smiled at the kitsune. “Thanks, Korima.”

  “You’re welcome!” Korima chirped happily, grinning and stepping away.

  “Master Tadrick? I’m going to get the carriage settled and have your things brought in. Is there anything else you need me to do this evening?” The driver asked, poking his head around from his seat.

  “Thank you, Evan, but that won’t be necessary. Get yourself a good meal and a bath,” Tadrick replied, and while he was distracted Sella slipped down the steps, her eyes all but dancing as she smiled at Ruethwyn and Korima.

  “Thank you, Master Tadrick. It’s greatly appreciated,” Evan replied, smiling. Once Sella was out, the man started the carriage moving toward the stables.

  Tadrick frowned slightly, looking at Sella, then said, “Sella, I’ve said that I’m sorry! Would you please forgive me?”

  “Maybe once I’m sure you’re sorry for the right reason,” Sella replied, her arms crossed as she stared at him. “You still don’t seem to get why I’m upset.”

  As Tadrick took a breath, Ruethwyn shook her head and looked at Korima, murmuring. “This could be a long trip, at this rate.”

  “It’s good for him,” Korima said simply, shaking her head. “He’s not helping his case, though, and—”

  A sudden hissing sound almost like a hornet split the air, and something hit Ruethwyn in the left shoulder, sending her staggering backward. An instant later a solid spike of pain exploded through her body. It was like the time she’d cut herself with a knife, but so much worse.

  “Rue!” Korima exclaimed, catching her. Ruethwyn looked down and her eyes widened as she saw the shaft and stiff leather fletching of a crossbow bolt buried in her shoulder.

  “Oh dear,” Ruethwyn said, wincing and gasping as the pain seemed to get worse. “That… that hurts…”

  “What the hells? Where did that come from?” Tadrick demanded, spinning to look in the direction the bolt had to have been loosed from.

  “Rue, are you okay? Of course you’re not okay, I mean—” Sella began, rushing over and flinching as Korima lowered Ruethwyn toward the ground slowly. Startled exclamations began ringing out around them as the townsfolk noticed, along with an air of rising panic.

  “Calmly, Sella,” Ruethwyn said, gritting her teeth and taking a deep breath. “I’ve… I’ve had worse. I don’t think it hit anything vital.”

  “Good. Sella, you’re the healer, take care of her for me,” Korima said grimly, her eyes bright with anger.

  “What? But what’re you going to do?” Sella demanded.

  Fortunately, Sella looked like she was calming down, Ruethwyn realized, grimacing as she shifted positions. The pain was intense, but it was nothing compared to the agony after she’d been burnt. Oh, the sites where she’d been directly burnt hadn’t hurt, but everything next to them had been agony for over a month and a half, which this paled in comparison to
.

  “I’m going after whoever shot her. Tadrick, come on!” Korima said grimly, and then her body shimmered and flowed.

  A moment later, a gigantic fox as big as Korima was standing where the kitsune had been, its fur the color of the kitsune’s ears. Ruethwyn blinked at the fox, which flicked its ears and looked at Tadrick.

  “Right, lead the way, Korima,” Tadrick said, his face grim.

  The fox nodded slightly, then dashed down the street with Tadrick in hot pursuit. Ruethwyn watched them go and felt as though the world was going fuzzier. She was likely going into shock, she realized.

  “Alright, Rue, I need to get this out and to seal the wound. I can’t entirely heal it quickly, I just don’t have that much training,” Sella said.

  “Right. I understand, Sella,” Ruethwyn replied, closing her eyes and bracing herself.

  “Can I help, miss?” A man’s voice came from behind Ruethwyn, his tone worried.

  “Yes, thank you! I’m a healer, so if you could snap off the tip of the bolt? Then, when I tell you to, pull the other half out,” Sella said, sounding relieved.

  “Right, I can do that.” The man seemed relieved.

  Before she had any warning, there was a sudden downward pressure on the bolt, accompanied by another lance of agony that seared through Ruethwyn. Her eyes opened and she let out a whimper as the sound of splintering came from behind her.

  “Careful! We don’t want to make this worse!” Sella exclaimed.

  “Sorry, I didn’t think it’d do that. Sorry, miss,” the man said, and Ruethwyn turned her head to see a brown-haired man, one who looked a bit like the blacksmith from home. The thought sent another pang of sorrow through her.

  “It’s… it’s alright,” Ruethwyn managed to say, taking another breath. “I’ve been through worse.”

  “That doesn’t matter, Rue!” Sella snapped. “You shouldn’t be going through this at all. Now, on three. One, two, three.”

  The man pulled the bolt out and Ruethwyn inhaled sharply, feeling the blood begin flowing in earnest along with more pain. Sella’s voice was soft but intent as she spoke an incantation, and her hands were cool against Ruethwyn’s skin. In response to her voice, the blood flow slowed, then stopped as the pain dulled. Ruethwyn belatedly realized that there were tears in her eyes.

  “Alright, that’ll take care of things for the moment. Let’s get her into the inn, then I can try to finish the job,” Sella said, her voice sounding slightly more distant now. “I wish I knew better healing spells… most of the ones I have for things like this heal over time.”

  “Alright, I’ll help with that,” the man agreed.

  “I can probably walk,” Ruethwyn protested, and Sella sniffed.

  “Of course you’d say that. No, Rue, you’re not going to try to walk. Not after every other time I’ve seen you push yourself too hard,” Sella said firmly. “Now, up you go.”

  Ruethwyn wanted to protest, but she couldn’t marshal the energy to do so. Instead, she barely noticed as she was all but carried into the inn, and after a momentary discussion, taken up to a room. She did hear Sella’s exchange with the man, though.

  “She does this often? I see she’s been hurt before, and rather badly,” the man said, and she thought she saw him looking at her.

  “Ruethwyn’s had an… eventful year. She was in Mellesyn when it was attacked, and we’ve had a number of incidents at the academy after that,” Sella said, pausing in the middle of the room. “I think I’d best get her out of the dress before laying her down. There’s no reason to get the sheets all bloody. Anyway, it really isn’t Rue’s fault. She’s just had bad luck… though where this came from is beyond me.”

  “I’ll take your word for it. Hellfire, she was in Mellesyn? Poor girl,” the man said, sounding chagrined. “Look, I’ll be outside if you need me. You seem to have her in good hands.”

  “Thank you for your help,” Sella replied, and then the door shut. “Now, let’s get you out of that dress.”

  “Um…” Ruethwyn hesitated at that, a part of her mind stirring again. “I’d really… rather not have—”

  “Rue, shut up and cooperate. You’re woozy and out of it.” Sella’s voice was sharp.

  “…alright,” Ruethwyn said, the dull ache from her shoulder growing worse as she shrugged, and she winced, trying to focus. “I just get… weird about other people seeing me.”

  “I’ve seen a lot of things, Rue,” Sella said, unbuttoning the dress and glancing up to look at Ruethwyn in concern. “I think you’re in shock, too.”

  “Probably. I’m just… I got burnt, Sella. It was…” Ruethwyn let her voice trail off, and stood still, or as still as she could with the room swaying around her. She just couldn’t seem to focus.

  “Yeah, I know you got—” Sella began, but her voice cut off as she got the bodice of Rue’s dress open. The shock on her face was telling, and Ruethwyn closed her eyes again as the room seemed to start swaying more.

  “I see what you mean, Rue. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize what you meant. Does it hurt?” Sella asked, and Ruethwyn heard her pour water from a pitcher into a basin, then a damp cloth wipe over her shoulder. “Does it hurt anymore, I mean.”

  “My shoulder does,” Ruethwyn said automatically.

  “I didn’t mean that; of course your shoulder hurts. I haven’t healed it completely, silly,” Sella scolded, slipping the dress off, leaving Ruethwyn in her shoes and underthings. “I meant your side.”

  “No, not really. I don’t feel anything there, except around the edges. There… I’m really sensitive,” Ruethwyn replied, opening her eyes again cautiously. As a part of her mind had expected, she saw pity in Sella’s eyes.

  “Come on, Rue. Sit down so I can get your shoes off. Then we can heal your shoulder,” Sella said, keeping her voice calm. She wasn’t scolding anymore, Ruethwyn realized.

  “Alright,” Ruethwyn said, and with Sella’s help, she managed to make her way across the unsteady room to the bed and sat. It wasn’t too comfortable, but she was beyond caring at the moment. It took a moment for Sella to get off her shoes, and then Ruethwyn found herself laying down.

  “This’ll take a few minutes, Rue, and the healing will take at least an hour,” Sella warned, and Ruethwyn nodded.

  “Okay. Thank you, Sella… I appreciate it,” Ruethwyn said, blinking tiredly as she murmured. “I really wish… I’d contracted… a life elemental…”

  “I don’t blame you,” Sella replied softly.

  As Sella began chanting, her fingers dancing through the air, Ruethwyn’s eyes slowly drifted shut.

  Chapter 27

  “…don’t have any idea who did it?” Sella’s voice was taut with anger, Ruethwyn thought. She also wished she’d quit waking up like this.

  “We don’t have a clue, aside from it being a female elf,” Korima said, her voice unhappy. “Whoever it was, she had her escape planned out in advance, and she used a nasty powder to shut down tracking hounds. My nose still burns from that.”

  “The local guard say they get a lot of travelers heading north to Corwal and back, so there are usually a fair number of outsiders in town,” Tadrick added, and Ruethwyn turned her head to see her friends clustered nearby, and the young man’s arms were crossed. “Worse, they don’t have a list of all of them. No one saw who used the crossbow, so we’re stuck trying to figure out who was or wasn’t present. For all we know, they had a horse outside town and just left.”

  “Damn,” Sella murmured angrily, scowling. “If that bolt had been a little farther down and to the left, it’d have punctured a lung or hit her heart. I’m not a good enough healer to fix that, or not fast enough, anyway.”

  “That would have been… unpleasant,” Ruethwyn interjected, blinking at them as she reached up to fumble around her shoulder. She couldn’t feel any injuries there, but from what she remembered, Sella was the reason for that. “Thank you for healing me, Sella.”

  “Rue, you’re awake! I was a bit worried when y
ou passed out, but then I realized you were sleeping,” Sella exclaimed, looking relieved as she approached. “How’re you feeling?”

  “I suspect that not having a target meant I didn’t have anything to focus on and allowed me to lose consciousness. Danger tends to focus the mind wonderfully, in my experience,” Ruethwyn replied, smiling at her. “As for me… I feel mostly well. A little out of it, but that’s to be expected. I heard you didn’t find who shot me, or find out why?”

  “Nope. Someone scattered a powder to mess with the nose of dogs around, and Korima got a solid sniff of it,” Tadrick replied, shaking his head. “I never expected anything like this to happen. This was just supposed to be a simple trip!”

  Korima nodded unhappily. “I’m not going to be smelling much of anything but burning for hours. I’m glad you’re alright, Rue.”

  “So am I. Gods above… why did someone do that?” Ruethwyn asked, her thoughts beginning to focus. “How long has it been, anyway?”

  “A couple of hours. It’s just getting dark out, now,” Sella said, then added, as Ruethwyn began to sit up. “Hold on, Rue! You’re mostly naked under there, you know!”

  “Oh, right. I… well, I forgot about that,” Ruethwyn said, flushing. “Still, I’m awake, I’m alive, and I think it’s time for a meal.”

  “Right, that means I should leave,” Tadrick said, having the good grace to look embarrassed. “See you in a minute, Rue.”

  “Sounds good,” Ruethwyn replied, and hesitated as the other two stayed. After a moment, she asked, “You two are staying?”

  “I’m making sure you don’t collapse again,” Sella said, her arms folded as she looked at Ruethwyn. “Also, I already saw pretty much everything, so what does it matter?”

  “And I’m not letting you be in private, not when someone tried to kill you,” Korima agreed, looking cross. “I’m frustrated that she got away as it is!”