I fell into a dead sleep that night. It was just as well because had I not, I would have been obsessing, but about all the wrong things. Here I was on my way to stop an ice witch using magic I didn’t possess, and fulfill a prophecy that predicted I’d be killed. I had my pick of things to worry about. But what did I wake up with on my mind? Adrius and the way he kissed me. Trying not to think about him only made me think about him more. Really need to reexamine my priorities.
Peeling back the tent flap, I stepped outside. The blinding light threw me back momentarily, but when I focused, the most stunning smile greeted me.
“Sleep well?” he asked, another cup in hand.
“A little too well,” I lied. For the most part it was true. I’d fallen into one of the most blissful slumbers I could remember. It wasn’t his fault my subconscious decided to turn it into something else.
Taking a sip of what was the best coffee I’d ever had, I managed to look at something other than his perfect face.
“Wow. This is incredible.” I gasped scanning our surroundings in slow motion. Our tiny hill-top campsite had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Everything was blanketed with snow, every bough and blade of grass, meticulously coated in white as though individually painted by hand.
“When did this happen?”
He looked mildly at the frost covered ground. “Sometime during the night.”
“You slept out here, in this?” I was immediately racked with guilt. Visions of him huddled under a tree, nearly freezing to death were all I could picture.
He laughed, picking up on my thoughts.
“Don’t worry. I had a tent of my own to crawl into. Not that I got much sleep mind you,” he added, and then paused. I waited for him to continue, but his silence indicated he’d decided not to say any more.
I arranged myself next to him on the log that had become our makeshift table, chairs, and sofa. We sipped in silence a while longer. His gaze wandered from his hands, to the forest, to our breakfast simmering on the fire. everywhere but to me. When he did finally glance in my direction, that familiar detachment clouded his eyes. More like his usual self, less like the guy who had taken me in his arms and kissed me the night before. I wanted to say something, but the more I tried the harder it got. What could I say that wouldn’t come out sounding stupid, or needy, or clingy? It was just a kiss after all. My stomach dropped. Maybe it didn’t mean any more than that to him.
Impossible… I felt something. And he felt something. I know he did. If anything, he was trying to ignore it. And I wanted to know why.
“Adrius?”
He looked up at me through thick dark lashes, the golden flecks in his eyes highlighted by the sun-bathed snow. He was achingly beautiful. And I was reminded yet again of how far out of my league he actually was.
“Um…Nothing,” I mumbled, chickening out.
He stared at me a second longer, his expression unreadable. Then he finished his drink, got up without another word, and headed for the water.
I sat staring into the fire as the rhythmic leaping lulled me into a melancholic trance. Sadness seeped through me. How could things be so different today than they were yesterday? The flames flickered and danced, drawing fanciful imagery. They formed and reformed themselves into various shapes, over and over until an image appeared in the fire, like a window into another world. It was hazy through the invisible waves of heat, yet strangely clear. I rubbed my eyes and squinted at the image. I could see my mother, lying in a bed. She was weak and pale, but she opened her sunken blue eyes and looked directly at me through the fiery window.
“Mom?” I whispered, not sure if it was out loud or not. The thin smile she responded with seemed to take so much out of her.
“Lorelei— stay… safe,” she murmured and stretched her frail hand toward me.
My breath caught in my throat and I reached for her, wanting more than anything to feel her touch. Our fingertips met, just as Adrius grabbed my wrist, yanking me away. I struggled to get free, and crawl back to the mirage, not noticing the searing pain shooting through my hand at first. The fire erupted in a tower of shooting flames, reaching over our heads, I cried out and fell away from the fire and from him. “No!” Whirling around, I glared at him with wide accusing eyes, pain scorching my hand.
“Lorelei?” He held his hands up in front of him the way someone did when approaching a frightened animal they didn’t want to scare off. “Are you alright?”
He looked concerned and despite the pain I couldn’t understand why. All I wanted was my mother. To see her. To touch her… One touch. That was supposed to be all it would take to make everything better… to make her better. Tears welled up behind my eyes. I moved toward the fire, to the vision no longer there.
“Stop.” Adrius caught me, his arms holding firmly around my waist. I struggled to break free until I eventually gave up and sank into him. He stroked my cheek, a deep frown creasing his brows.
Without taking his eyes off me, he reached for his canteen to bathe my hand, now covered in seeping blisters, with cool water.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, my voice dry and brittle. Within minutes the blisters subsided and with it the throbbing pain. It surprised even me how much more quickly flesh wounds healed here. It wouldn’t be long until there was no trace of the burn left at all.
I scanned the fire once more. It had returned to its normal cracking and popping, nothing but leaping red and orange flames remained.
Had I imaged what I saw? I wiped away the beads of perspiration that dampened my forehead despite the wintry temperature.
Adrius sat next to me on the log and inspected my hand once more. “What happened, Lorelei?” His eyes took in my sullen expression. “Did you see something?” he asked, still looking concerned.
“Not really.” I didn’t know why I said that. But he wasn’t fooled.
“So you make a habit of sticking your hand into fire?” His tone was serious, yet gentle. “Tell me. What was it?”
I sucked in a deep breath. “My mom,” I said wistfully, not meeting his gaze. “I saw her. Lying there… helpless.” My voice cracked. If he didn’t already think I was insane, this would be all the proof he needed.
Adrius was quiet.
“Anyway,” I said, roughly brushing away a tear and rubbing my hands over my face. “It was nothing… Just my imagination. That’s what comes from too much caffeine and not enough sleep.”
“It’s not your imagination. It’s the Prahna awakening in you. The energy of magic is always strongest with people you love. It connects you to those you care about most, wherever they might be.”
Looking up at him, I challenged him with a directness which was far more brazen than usual for me. “Is that why I feel it with you?
Adrius stood up and scratched his head. He spoke slowly, in a voice so low it was as if he didn’t really want me to hear.
“Lorelei, I know you feel like this connection between us means more than it ever can be. But I don’t want you to put your life on the line… for me.”
“So what is it then?” I asked, squinting up at him. The full stature of his frame was silhouetted against the sunlight, highlighting him in a glowing outline. His shirt, still untied, draped open as he bent down to tie his boots, revealing chiseled abs. He didn’t seem to notice his lack of attire. And I couldn’t notice anything else. Freshly washed hair hung in dark waves around his perfect face. A few strands falling over his eyes. Lit from behind, he looked like an angel, descended from the heavens.
“A side-effect of your awakening powers… It’s the way things unfold in the Nevermore,” he said, a shadow dulling his eyes. “Nothing more.”
“Soooo… you think the reason I’m here, is to deliberately put myself in danger… just to be with you. Have I got that straight?
He cocked his head, looking down through damp spiky lashes. “Are you?”
A flicker of irritation ran through me. If I remember correctly he was the one who kissed me. “Why would I do something like that?” I met his gaze.
Lacing his shirt, he scrubbed his still damp hair. “I don’t know, Lorelei. I’m in the dark on why you do most of what you do.”
I stiffened, narrowing my gaze. What was this really about?
“I just don’t want you getting your hopes up for anything happening. Between us, I mean. Because you’ll be disappointed,” he finished, sounding too reasonable for my liking.
I folded my arms across my chest, wrestling an urge to fight back. Then I realized that was exactly what he wanted. “Are you trying to get me to change my mind with this obnoxious Julien act? Because I won’t.”
“You should,” he countered. “There are lots of reasons, of course… but I was in a relationship before and… it didn’t end well.”
“That’s it. You’re done now for all of eternity because of one bad breakup?” It seemed insane, even in a world where insane was the new black.
Adrius swallowed hard. He stared into the sky for a moment then looked into my eyes, all warmth vanishing from his face. “I can feel the way your heartbeat quickens when you look at me, but… There can never be anything between us, Lorelei. I want that to be clear.
My cheeks flamed.
“I know last night it seemed…” He looked away, focusing on some distant point on the horizon. “I don’t want to mislead you. And I’m sorry for my momentary weakness. It won’t happen again.”
“Fine,” I said matching his cool tone, even while my throat burned. “But you have nothing to worry about. If you got the impression I was falling for you… well, then I guess that’s my fault. Because I’m not.” Could I sound more like a third grader? I didn’t care. He was behaving like one as much as I was with his whole hot-one-minute-cold-the-next routine. Before he could look past my lie and read the truth written on my heart, I headed for the river bank, stuffing back a flood of mixed emotions — disappointment, embarrassment, frustration, heartache, each taking their turn. In the span of a few seconds, I went from wanting to slap him to wanting to burst into tears.
Instead, I sat down, pulled off my boots, and dangled my feet in the water. Frost still coated the ground and the trees. The river was frigid, but somehow the cold didn’t bother me. It was calming, allowed me to think and gain some perspective. So he didn’t want to be with me. It didn’t matter, I told myself. But it did matter. A lot. And not only because of the way I felt about him. He felt something too, I was sure of it. I could sense his feelings for me, burning as intensely as mine did for him. If I actually believed any of what he said with his words, it might have made a difference. I could have accepted it and moved on. But I didn’t. How could I when his thoughts practically screamed something else? He was fighting those feelings for reasons he wasn’t admitting, and the most frustrating part was he’d rather hide behind duty than admit there was something between us.
It was this exact thought that was still on my mind as we rode wordlessly into Noctria. He’d decided it was wiser for us to ride together, leaving one unicorn free in case of trouble. With his arms wrapped tightly around my waist, I tried to ignore the rising and falling of his chest against my back and the warmth of his breath singeing my neck. The ride must have taken a lot out of me because at some point I fell asleep.
Adrius roused me, pointing out that we had arrived. Not that I needed to be told. It was like entering a city of smoked glass, every rock and tree, coated in a crystalline layer of black ice. It reminded me of Drearyton after an ice storm we had once, only haunting and more threatening.
Trees crippled and bowed having been encased in their icy prisons for who knows how long. Ice covered paths snaked through the forest and what might have once been a rippling stream was frozen dead, in mid flow, every insect, fish, and animal a macabre statue. Billowing grey clouds lined the sky, giving an ever present sense that a fierce storm was imminent. The wind sounded like howling cries of pain.
“The souls she is capturing. They cry for their rightful resting place when she sucks them from her victim’s frozen corpse,” Adrius explained. His hands clenched like he wanted to hit something.
I stifled a shudder and looked up. Looming above the ice-encrusted mountains, rose a tower that seemed to pierce the sky with its icicle summit.
“So, this is where Octãhvia hangs out?” A strange, raw-edged panic gnawed at me.
“This is the place.”
“And what’s your plan for getting inside?” I chewed my lower lip, as the impassable gates came into view. Ominous black gates encased in ice soared over us.
“We knock on the front door.”
I burst out laughing and it took me a few seconds to notice he wasn’t. “You’re not serious?”
“Think about it. Any attempt we make to get inside undetected will be in vain. The ice acts as a mirror, allowing her to see everything. It would take a flash heat wave to melt away enough ice for us to sneak past her guards.”
“Okay, but… the front door? Won’t she catch us anyway?”
“Not when she hears what I have to offer in exchange for the map.” He glanced at me from the corner of his eye. “— And your life.”
“And what’s that?” I asked, through chattering teeth.
He gave an impatient sigh. “We can stay out here and freeze to death discussing it, or we can get moving. I vote for the latter.” He nudged his unicorn into a full speed gallop, bee-lining for the icy tower.
We stopped and dismounted, approaching the ten foot gates. I still had issues with his plan, but he seemed so sure it would work that I kept them to myself. We were within reach of the iced wrought iron barrier, but before we could touch them, four swirling smoke apparitions appeared on either side of us, forming into guerrilla-sized beasts. They would have looked like men, except for the massive amounts of hair covering the majority of their bulky bodies. But it wasn’t their hairiness, or their bloodshot, pupil-less, milky eyes, or even their razor-like talons that had my attention. It was the needle-tipped spear pointed against my chest I was focused on.
“Who dares attempt to breech her mistress’s fortress unannounced?” One beast growled. “Speak!”
Adrius, as per usual, seemed abnormally calm and relaxed. “We are here to see Octãhvia,” he said, as pleasantly as if he was talking with old friends. “You can let us in, or… you can draw your last breath. The choice is yours.” He flashed a dark smile, and his hands lightly fingered the hilt of his sword.
The guerrilla men took one look at his sword and lowered their spears, grunting in what sounded like annoyance. Seconds later they disappeared, as quickly as they had come, and the huge iron gates creaked open. I watched wide-eyed as an icy brick path appeared out of nowhere, the onyx gleam leading straight to the witch’s castle.
“It’s now or never,” Adrius said, taking my hand.
As we stepped onto the path, we were greeted by two massive white tigers. Wearing armor lappets, their fangs exposed, faces stained with dried blood. I sucked in my breath, but Adrius continued toward the doors like it was perfectly normal to be accompanied by two wild cats that could swallow us whole if they wanted.
“Relax, Lorelei,” he whispered, when my hand tightened around his. “They’re her pets. The fact that she sent them to escort us is a good thing.”
I stole a sidelong glance at the freakishly large cat padding next to me. “What exactly would be a bad thing?” They led us to an entry and then without a sound, they vanished.
The glasslike doors of the castle stood closed before us. Adrius shot me a look then pounded his fist against the door. I shook my head with a scoff and then shrugged. This plan was all kinds of crazy. The surface fogged over and then splintered. A spider web of cracks veined across the surface and the door trembled before the entire door shattered with a violent scream. Millions of ice shards razored at us with such force I thought we’d be sliced to ribbons. At a speed too fast for human perception, Adrius grabbed me and shoved my head down, his body arched over mine like an umbrella as the fragments rained down on us. When the last fragment tinkled to the floor like a bell, everything fell silent.
My hands burned, I looked down to see a rash of tiny nicks, where the ice had imbedded into my skin. Adrius wasn’t as fortunate. A gash across the side of his face was dripping blood down his cheek. Pushing back the sudden queasiness rocking my stomach, I reached for his face, placing my hands on either side. I closed my eyes. It only took a second before the wound began to heal.
He stared at me. “That is amazing,” he said softly, looking at me with the same intensity as the other night. Before he kissed me, told me how much I meant to him, and then basically took it all back.
“It’s a gift.” I shrugged and reluctantly pulled my hands away.
The glacial halls were lit with an eerie glow. Much like Elyssium in Mythlandria, trees and vines grew inside as well as out. Only here they were lifeless, stony things, embalmed in walls of ice.
We rounded a sharp corner, through a patch of dead brush growing through the icy floor. Adrius stopped.
“What? What’s wrong?” I asked, moving closer. The wool cape I was wearing did nothing to ward off my shivering.
“Shhh. We’re being watched,” he whispered. “Over there, behind the tree.”
I froze. “There’s something after us?” I foolishly hoped we’d clear this place without any more trouble.
“This… complicates things.”
Moving closer I strained to peer between the trees. “Shouldn’t we run?” At least if we managed to get outside, we stood a chance of outrunning whatever it was. Right now we were sitting targets.
“Why? It will only follow.”
“What do they want?” My voice was barely a whisper.
“Does it matter? If it wants you, it will have to go through me.” His eyes narrowed. “Stay here,” he ordered, pushing me behind a column.
I was too panicked to argue.
“And whatever happens, don’t move.”
I froze in place as Adrius moved silently down the frozen corridor. I was still scanning the area when I saw it. Two yellow-green slit eyes, glowing from the shadow of a tree, above a shining row of needle-like teeth.
“Redcaps,” I breathed. Those eyes were not something easily forgotten. My breath caught in my throat, making it impossible to scream. I wanted to run, yet my legs refused. The creature crept out of the shadows and slithered across the ground, inching its way toward me.
“The she-elf thought she could get away from us,” the goblin hissed. “There is no escape for you. Not ever.”
Just as it reached for me with blackened claw-like fingers, Adrius leapt with laser like speed, between us. The tip of his sword pressed against the creature’s throat. A single drop of black liquid dripped down its withered neck.
“Don’t. Even. Try.”
In that moment it was hard to tell which was more terrifying, the deadly tone of his voice or the Redcap.
He grabbed the creature, pinning him swiftly to the ground. “Lorelei, are you alright?” His gaze fixed on his target, daring the creature to move.
I tried to tell him I was fine, but couldn’t get enough oxygen to my lungs to speak. The Redcap fought, kicking, twisting, and struggling to break free, but Adrius held him effortlessly in place. The small albeit vicious creature was no match for an Elven warrior. His hands wrapped around the creature’s throat and he slammed its head against the ground with enough force to erase the sadistic grin plastered on its face.
“You will tell me what I want to know,” he whispered, his voice cool and deadly. Adrius pressed the diamond tip of his blade against its throat, glowing green smoke swirling around them. “Where is the map?” he snarled.
The goblin thrashed in a renewed effort to break free.
“What did you do with it? Answer me, creature. I promise, this is your last chance.”
The Redcap suddenly stopped struggling and slowly lifted its head. With a guttural sound it spat a green gelatinous substance at his captor.
Adrius ducked, as it flew past his face.
“I’d sooner rot,” it hissed, choking and laughing at once. My eyes darted around, certain the noise would draw more unwanted attention.
Adrius was lethally calm. His mouth curled into a dark wicked smirk and fury lit his eyes. In a voice that was shockingly peaceful by comparison, he simply said, “Your choice.”
With a sharp quick thrust, he plunged his sword into the goblin, skewering him through, then swiftly removed the blade. The goblin let out a piercing wail, collapsing in a heap on the ground. The twitching subsided and eventually became still.
I turned away, trying to calm the waves of nausea that threatened to spill the meager contents of my stomach. Dropping to the ground on my knees, I doubled over taking shaky breaths. The scene was terrifying… I had never witnessed anything killed before. Not like this. But what disturbed me most was seeing Adrius like that. It was the way he had slain the Redcap. A cold, calculating, merciless anger had taken him over… something dangerous, feral, that went beyond mere survival. This was a side I’d never seen before, the dangerous lethal hunter. It was frightening to see him in this new light, which made little sense since I was fully aware he had saved my life, once again.
He fished around in the lifeless body, locating the map it had taken from us back in the cave. Adrius cleaned his sword, on the goblin’s tattered rags, returning it to its sheath before turning toward me. His eyes full of uncertainty. Taking my elbow, he helped me up, searching my eyes. Was he surprised by the depth of terror he found in them? I stared back, eyes wide as though looking at the face of a stranger.
The acidic stench of the goblin filled my nostrils, and my stomach heaved again. He had returned to normal — no resemblance of the lethal warrior remained. Just Adrius. I relaxed a little yet kept my hands clamped together, not wanting him to notice they were trembling. But I could never fool him.
He took them in his, his long fingers wrapping around mine and held them to his chest. I drew in a staggered breath.
“Lorelei.” He stroked my cheek. “It’s alright. It’s over…This time.”
I frowned, not sure what to say. We hadn’t been here an hour and already we were under attack because of me. He watched me carefully for a moment longer, before letting go of my hands.
“We got what we came for. Now let’s get out of here,” he said.
I gave a weak nod, hoping my legs wouldn’t give out. If he noticed my slight wobble he didn’t mention it.
“If you’re planning on going back the route you came, you might want to rethink that plan.”
We whipped around to find a stout bearded man, no more than four feet tall, standing behind us. He wore a Viking-like helmet and engraved chest plate and carried an axe slung over his shoulder.
“Tilak. At your service, my lord.” He gave a low bow, tipping his helmet. My mouth gaped open, but Adrius extended his hand in greeting.
“Tilak was once one of Octãhvia’s staff. He infiltrated her castle and delivered pertinent information to the Elven guard on her actions.” Adrius nodded at the dwarf. “Our thanks, Tilak. If you have any suggestions on the best way out, we’d like to hear them.”
“Lucky for you, lad, there’s more than one way into her majesty’s fortress of death,” Tilak replied. “And more than one way out.”
The route we had entered by was no longer an option, so we searched for another escape, slinking down one icy passageway after another, traveling in stealth down countless halls.
“The Redcap was bringing the map to Octãhvia?” I asked, keeping my voice to a whisper. “But how would it help her find me exactly?”
Tilak looked at me incredulously. “You don’t know, lassie? It’s spelled with necromancer magic from the underworld. In Octãhvia’s hands it’s not only a map to Faerie. It’s a map to you.
Suddenly it made sense, the glowing dots of light moving across the surface of the map… I’d been one of them. I didn’t get a chance to ask who the other lights represented, before the wonderful luck I’d been cursed with reared its ugly head.
Adrius held up his hand and we came to an abrupt stop.
Armor clanged and a chorus of rasping metal filled the air. Servants of the ice witch surrounded us, encircling us with a shimmering wall of black light, pulsing with dark magic. Adrius gripped my hand as bit by bit our surroundings began to vanish from sight. It only took a heart-stopping second before I realized, it wasn’t the room that was disappearing—
We were.