Daughter of Sun, Bride of Ice by H. L. Burke

Author:H. L. Burke [Burke, H. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781087094847
Publisher: H. L. Burke
Published: 2019-09-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Light and warmth surrounded Arynne as well as an embrace. She could hear a heart other than her own beating in her ears and feel the crackle of magic tickling her skin. Still, it couldn’t reach the chill that had built up in her bones, that held her heart in its frigid grasp. She shivered, her entire being a shard of ice in spite of the heat around her.

“Arynne, please, hang on,” a voice reached her, entreating, soothing, entrancing.

“I ... I’m so ... cold,” she whispered through chattering teeth.

“Hold on, Arynne. Hold on just a little longer, and I promise you, you’ll never be cold again. I’ll give you all my warmth, every drop of my blood, just live. Don’t give up, please, Arynne, my brave princess.” His hold on her tightened, and she nestled into him. Magic hummed beneath the surface of his embrace, the same starlit magic of her earlier dreams, sparkling and effervescent, bursting on her skin and sinking into her, like light to her heart.

The starry magic completed her. It filled an emptiness within her she hadn’t even known existed, flowing into her, warming her. Her heart fluttered, and for the first time in her life, all was right.

An unknown length of time later, the smell of wood smoke and rehydrated dry soup wafted around her, and she opened her eyes. She lay wrapped in their bedroll next to a roaring campfire. Soft green grass covered the ground, and arching pine trees shadowed her. A gentle ambient light surrounded the camp. Kay sat a little ways away, stirring their tiny caldron at the fireside.

She sat up and blinked at him.

“Hey!” A grin spread across his face. “You’re finally up and thawed out.”

She swallowed and nodded, trying to put together the pieces of how she’d got there and where she was. Though the area around her was light and warm, she could still see dark skies and stars above the trees. How could that be? She pushed her way out of the bed roll and stood on shaky legs.

“Easy!” Kay reached towards her, but she clenched her jaw and managed to stand unaided.

“What happened?”

“Well, you faced an entire pack of grimwolves, destroyed them with your magic, and then passed out because you’d used all your inner heat to combat them.” He stood and offered her a dipper-full of soup. Her stomach growled at the scent. “Eat up. You need to regain your strength, Lady Wolfkiller.”

Sitting back down, she accepted the dipper and drained it in several great gulps. Kay chuckled and refilled it for her.

Was that really what had happened? Something nagged at her that it wasn’t all that had occurred. Something else had. Something important that she’d forgotten. After downing another dipper, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve and examined her surroundings.

They were in a grove of fir trees, tall and fragrant. There was light and warmth, but unlike the Solean sun which radiated from a single, fixed point in the sky, it came from all directions, diffused about her.

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