by K T Munson
Before she could see much else, they both erupted out the top of the volcano. The wind made her shiver and she could feel herself floating.
“Hold on,” she heard him say again.
Then the wind shifted direction and she realized they were rushing downward. Looking down again, she saw the sprawl of the ocean far below her. The surface of the water sparkled and twinkled in the sunlight, giving her a magnificent light show from that height. She smiled a little. She was heading straight for it, but it felt too fast.
Thea weakly shifted her eyes up to Kirill. His head was bowed, he was panting, and he was definitely trembling. She felt it. He was going to crash. He had run out of water and thus run out of magic. She looked back down at the ocean as it came faster toward her. Well, at least she was going to die among a pretty, twinkling light show.
They hit, and everything vanished from awareness.
Frost: Chapter Thirty-Seven
The water was less forgiving then Kirill thought it would be. It slammed into him, jarring him to his bones, leaving his body feeling tingly all over. For a moment, he forgot everything and just floated, forgetting how he had come to be floating in the water in the first place.
He quickly came back to awareness when his lungs needed air. Breaking the surface, he took in a deep breath, and immediately started looking for Thea.
“Thea!” he called hoarsely.
She wasn’t floating on the surface. He dove back into the water, and there was just enough light from the fading day to see her form below, sinking slowly into the inky black depths. His arms burned, and his body protested, but he clawed and kicked at the sea to reach her. She wasn’t conscious, and didn’t fight or help him when his arm wrapped around her waist. Holding her tightly to his side, he fought his way back to the surface. Breaking the water again, he shook his head to keep his long hair out of his face, and pushed Thea’s hair back as well. She didn’t burn him, and he thought he might be too late. But then she weakly coughed up a terrifying mix of blood and water. Still, relief flooded through him.
“Kirill!” he suddenly heard Fitzu yell.
Kirill looked and was relieved to see a boat coming toward him. Fitzu was waving, and men rushed to the side to gaze at them. Kirill started toward it; he needed to get them out of the water. Who knew what lurked in those foul depths? Worse, Thea was bleeding, so if they attracted something, it wouldn’t be something nice.
“Help me get her out,” he called as the boat came within range.
Fitzu was shaking his head. “You’re both crazy.”
Fitzu got hold of one of Thea’s arms, while another man grabbed the other, and they hoisted her out. Two other men helped Kirill out. Kirill knew he was too warm, but he would survive. His gazed flicked down to Thea; he wasn’t so sure about her.
Kirill dropped to his knees as some blankets were put over her, and Fitzu began examining her wounds. Someone handed Kirill a canteen of water, and he hardly managed a thank you before gulping down half of it. Thankfully it didn’t take long to spread.
Fitzu was feeling around the wound in Thea’s chest with his hand glowing orange, trying to mend some damage, but Kirill knew his healing abilities were limited. Fitzu was trying, Kirill could see that, but his grim expression said it all.
When Fitzu glanced at him and started shaking his head, Kirill fell back against the side of the boat. After staring at him in disbelief for a moment, Kirill ran his fingers through is hair and looked down at Thea. She was so pale and lifeless he hardly recognized her.
Suddenly Fitzu froze, his expression shifting into one of panic. “No,” he whispered.
Kirill looked up as Fitzu frantically started feeling around her abdomen. “What is it?” he demanded.
“She’s…” his voice trailed off.
Kirill lunged forward and took the front of Fitzu’s shirt in a fist. “Spit it out!”
Fitzu’s eyes were wide. “She’s pregnant.”
Kirill looked down at Thea as she lay nearly dead between them. He slowly let go of Fitzu’s shirt and took her hand. It didn’t even react to his cold touch anymore. She was nearly as cold as he was and would turn to stone any minute.
“Are you sure?”
“I felt the small fire in her womb,” he replied, “but it’s fading with her.”
Kirill hung his head a moment and squeezed Thea’s hand. He sighed despite himself and closed his eyes. What he was about to do could never be undone. He quickly grabbed the water canteen and drank the last of it before tossing it to the side and reached for Thea.
Fitzu immediately moved in her defense. “What are you doing?” he asked, trying to block Kirill.
“Saving her life,” Kirill told him harshly. The words had to force themselves past his lips, because in a way he was saving her, and in another way condemning her.
“Stop,” Fitzu insisted, trying to keep Kirill’s hands away without actually touching him. “I know what you’re thinking. She would be damaged forever.”
“But not the baby,” Kirill insisted, staring him down. “She could carry the child to term. Tell me that isn’t worth it.”
He didn’t answer and they simply stared at each other. Fitzu finally took in a breath and moved his hands out of the way.
Kirill lifted Thea’s upper body, resting her in the crook of one of his arms, and touched her wound with his fingertips. Slowly he began filling it with his ice. He was careful, and precise, moving the ice intricately to form stone bridges and tubes for vital veins that had been severed by the ice spear, allowing blood flow to her heart again. But the stone would damage the muscle and tissue inside her permanently, disrupting full function of her left arm and her lung. Only time would tell if she would survive at all.
He stared down at her face intently as if willing her to live. “You have to fight,” Kirill whispered to her. The irony of those words was not lost on him, though, because the damage from his magic would likely prevent her from fighting again. He wasn’t sure how she would react to that, but her life was worth more to him than her forgiveness.
Fitzu was working on her other injuries, trying his best to advance her healing, as the boat hurried toward the Fire Nation’s shore. “It’s working,” Fitzu said. “She and the baby are warming up.”
When Kirill’s stonework was done, he gently laid her back down on the deck, and fell against the side of the ship still clutching her hand. He let his head lull back, and gazed up at the sky, allowing himself a break to let everything that had happened sink in. They had to hurry and get to the Frost Nation, warn the queens about Freya, and prepare for battle.
Day was fading into evening when they reached the mainland. Fitzu was speaking with the men as Kirill sat with Thea. He couldn’t look at her face, knowing what he would have to tell her when she eventually woke up, but he couldn’t release her hand either.
“Kirill,” Fitzu said, crouching by them. “One of the men lived close to here. He had two carriages and a horse corral. Some horses may have stuck close to familiar territory. We’re going to try to retrieve them. I have ten more men going to their own homes to see if any of their horses stayed close by as well. We can use them to get back to the Frost Nation.”
“Let’s move her to shore,” Kirill said, “for when they come back.”
Fitzu nodded as the boat ran aground. Men jumped out and pulled it further onto the sand. A handful of other men fanned out in every direction to find horses. Looking back at the sparse company left on the boat, Kirill realized then how few Fire Nation soldiers remained.
“How many did you lose?” he asked Fitzu.
Grief was etched into every line of his face. “The piece of the iceberg she tossed out of the volcano crushed every soldier camped at its base,” Fitzu bowed his head. “Kimbro included.” He tuned his pained gaze to Thea, “Which is really lousy since he would have come in handy right about now.”
“I am sorry,” Kirill said.
Fitzu gathered Thea into his arms and picked her u
p. “Only the few that stayed with the boats are left,” he added as Kirill jumped over the side.
The water splashed and rushed into his boots, but he hardly noticed as he reached for Thea, and Fitzu passed her into his waiting arms. Kirill held her close, feeling her growing heat through his clothes, and waded through the water toward the shore. Fitzu splashed into the water behind him.
“Mhmm?” Thea muttered, and Kirill stopped on the beach.
He carefully knelt and set her bottom down as Fitzu hurried to join them. “Thea?” Fitzu asked, leaning over Kirill.
“Hmm?” She asked and then blinked. She seemed drowsy, almost drunk.
Fitzu hurried around to kneel by her side. His hands lit up with his orange magic, and he instantly started to infuse more heat into her to warm her up.
She was having trouble breathing as expected, but she was coming around. Her eyes blinked again, but they started to focus. She glanced between the both of them, confused, and then tried to sit up.
That’s when the horror filled her face.
Her wide eyes went down to her virtually useless left arm, then up to Fitzu as she struggled to sit up again. Fitzu held her down. She looked like a terrified animal that suddenly realized it was in trouble, constantly trying to lift her arm and breathe. Kirill forced himself to stare at her, even though he wanted to close his eyes, knowing he’d caused her this panic and agony.
“What’s wrong with me?” she demanded, her voice trembling from shock. “Why can’t I move? Why can’t I—” She squeezed her eyes shut and stretched her chest upward before her eyes flew wide. “Why can’t I breathe right?” She started to hyperventilate as she fought Fitzu to try and sit up. She was too weak to be much of a problem, but seeing her so frightened, punched Kirill in the gut. “What did you do?” she asked him.
Kirill braced himself. He opened his mouth to tell her, but stopped when the tears started dripping down her face. She began to weakly beat her right fist against his shoulder.
“It was an honorable death!” she wheezed.
“Thea,” Fitzu tried to begin, but Thea cut him off.
“No!” She cried as her fist curled around Kirill’s clothes, pulling on the fabric as she began to sob. “I know what you did! I can feel it! I’ll never fight again! I’ll never be what I was!”
Kirill wrapped his hand around her wrist and met her eyes. “You’ll be a mother.”
Thea took in a sharp gasp and went completely still as a single tear fell into her hair. “What?” She looked up at Fitzu.
“It’s true,” Fitzu said with a nod. “You’re with child.”
Her face scrunched, and this time she covered her eyes with her hand, as sobs racked her body. Kirill didn’t know what to do. He just watched her as she realized that, while one life may be over, another could begin.
“Forgive me,” Kirill whispered. “I could not let you or the child die when I could prevent it.”
She shook her head, and Kirill was sure that meant she could not forgive him. He allowed the agony of that to spread through his heart, and it felt wretched. He was torn between going and staying. He wasn’t sure where he belonged right now. He didn’t want to leave her, but perhaps she wanted him to go.
“I understand,” she said at last, and lowered her hand to meet his eyes. “And, yes, I forgive you.” She smiled at him with tears still in her eyes.
Despite himself, he felt the edge of tears threaten. He relaxed his shoulders and let his apprehension fade away.
“Thank you,” Thea whispered. “For saving my child’s life, Kirill.”
Kirill smiled at her, which nearly allowed a tear to escape from the corner of his eye. He quickly rubbed them though, looking as if he were just exhausted, which wasn’t very far from the truth.
“You’re welcome,” he said gently, meeting her eyes again. “Rest now. We have a long journey back to the Frost Nation.”
Thea nodded. Her eyes seemed to grow heavy instantly, and she closed them.
The battle wasn’t done, but he considered her life a victory. Soon they would be back in the Frost Nation and he could warn Queen Vesna about what was coming. She would know what to do.
He glanced once more down at Thea, who was already asleep—or unconscious. Her hands rested tenderly over her abdomen, as if she were protecting her baby, even as she slept. He could see her breathing was still troubled, but it would get better with a Fire Nation healer and some time. He only prayed the Moon Goddess would see them safely home.
Fire: Chapter Thirty-Eight
Darha leaned heavily over her desk as she scribbled across the parchment with financial declarations of what the Fire Nation’s emergency resources had cost the Frost Nation. Luckily, the town of Hurra had been evacuated and her nation was mostly using the resources that had been abandoned. That saved a lot of currency.
She didn’t know how or when she would be able to pay Queen Aradel back, but she was determined to keep track. She didn’t want the Frost Nation to suffer later because she couldn’t keep accurate records, and she wouldn’t risk a future squabble over funds with this new tenuous peace at such an early, tender stage. This debt would be squared if it took Darha her entire royal reign. She owed the Frost Nation at least that much.
Darha had refused to take a house in Hurra. She couldn’t conceive of taking up a whole house for herself when many were holding two or more families each. Right now, she resided in her royal tent from home. It reminded her of home and smelled like home, so she didn’t mind at all. It was more peaceful and comfortable to work here.
“Queen Darha,” Jamsun said. Darha looked up as he pushed the flap of her royal tent aside and poked his head in. “Queen Aradel has requested an audience with you, if you are willing.”
Darha grinned broadly at the confused expression on Jamsun’s face when he recited that last part. Queen Aradel was polite like that, adding “if you are willing” at the end of just about every request, except in emergency situations. Citizens of the Frost Nation were nothing if not polite.
“Thank you, Jamsun.” Darha stood. “Please see her in,” she said, and then bent over the parchment again, hoping to get a few more numbers down before she forgot them.
Darha continued writing until she heard the flap of her tent move aside again. She found Queen Aradel standing before her, and Cas right next to her, smiling.
Her cheeks immediately flushed red and she straightened up quickly in surprise. “Cas,” she said, her eyes going wide. She hadn’t seen him for a few days.
He grinned in that usual playful manner. “It’s good to see you, Queen Darha,” he said lightheartedly.
“You…you as well,” she stammered. She glanced at Queen Aradel who was gazing between her and Cas with her brows drawn in confusion. Darha had to get it together. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and stepped around her desk, approaching the two tall Frost Nation natives. “Forgive me, Queen Aradel. It’s good to see you as well. I heard your trip south was a success.”
Aradel focused on Cas with a single raised brow before regarding Darha. “It was. Thank you.” She glanced back at her escort. “Commander Cas, please wait outside.”
Cas bowed to them both, but his eyes came up to Darha’s, still dancing with sweet playfulness. Darha blushed harder. “As you command.” Then he straightened and left the tent.
Darha watched him go, exhaling heavily when he disappeared. She realized too late, that it might have been a little too loud. Her body stiffened, and she shifted her eyes uncomfortably to Aradel.
The beautiful, regal Queen stepped forward. “Queen Darha, do you need me to reassign Cas elsewhere?” she asked, concern etched across her young face.
Darha’s heart jumped up into her throat with panic. “No, no. That isn’t necessary,” she replied, trying to keep the conversation as professional as possible.
“Are you certain? Your cheeks were very red and you looked incredibly uncomfortable with him nearby.”
“No, not at all. He doesn’
t bother me a bit.”
Aradel’s expression shifted to an almost pleading expression for the truth. “Please don’t stand on the pretense of politeness. You can tell me if one of my soldiers upsets you, and I will assign another to your liking.”
Darha swallowed heavily, examining the young Queen. Darha wondered briefly if she could talk to Aradel about such trivial personal matters, or if it was improper. Thea was the one she always went to for this kind of thing. Right now, she missed her sister and her heart longed for her. But gazing at the lovely Frost Nation Queen, Darha decided if they were going to be friends, she might as well open up to her.
Darha wrung her hands nervously and bit her bottom lip. “There are other reasons a man would make a woman blush.”
Aradel’s face brightened, and she looked suddenly like a young child again. “You like him?” she asked, surprised.
Darha exhaled heavily and deflated. “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.” Aradel laughed gently, which made Darha smile and relax deeply. “Please,” she said, indicating a cushiony meeting area to the left of her tent. Aradel nodded and both of them made their way to the two plush red couches, where they sat down across from each other.
“I’m so sorry,” Darha said, folding her hands in her lap. “It’s probably inappropriate for me to bring up such a ridiculous matter.”
Aradel was still grinning as she crossed one leg over the other comfortably. “I don’t think it is.”
That made Darha grin and she sat back in her seat, thankful that the Frost Nation Queen was so gracious and understanding. “Well, this is hardly the time to indulge romantic interests. I feel ridiculous.”