My hands close around her ankles. A rending yank from below pulls me forward, and for a moment I know I am heading over the edge as well, but I refuse to let go of her. She is mine, and I am hers. Her wolf, her blanket, her fire, her dagger. And then I am jerked to a halt, and I glance over my shoulder to see ice fastened like manacles around my ankles, spread over the floor of the tower, rooting me in place.
My fingers dig into the leather of her boots as she screams. In the courtyard, so far below us, Nisse’s body hits hard, falling only feet from where Sander lies, still and broken. All around them are black-robed fighters, swords drawn, staring up at us. Maybe waiting for us to fall too.
“I’ve got you,” I say from between gritted teeth.
She lets out a laugh. A laugh. “I know.” Her flesh slips beneath the thick shield of her boots, and she screams again. My fingers grasp at her with white knuckles, and ice grows from my fingertips, snaking around her ankles.
I gaze at it with wonder. “I’m pulling you up.”
With my feet fastened and Thyra’s ankles encased in ice, it’s now up to me to bring my chieftain to safety. My body is so torn, a faulty, fragile vessel for the magic that has brought us both to this point. But it has been my ally for far longer than the fire and ice that have now made me their temporary home. I draw in a breath and pull, ignoring the agony of my legs, my back, my arms, my chest. I tug until my rear sits on my ice-encased heels, until Thyra’s knees rest on the edge.
“Up to you now, Chieftain. Can you sit up?”
She grunts, and I can feel her effort as her trunk rises off the wall of the tower, as she brings herself up and up, and as she reaches for me. Like it understands what I need, the ice around my right hand, the arm that bears the cuff, melts instantly, and I grasp her hand, our fingers entwining. I pull her back, and the ice around my ankles melts and turns to steam as I land on my back with her on top of me.
It is the best feeling in the world, and it makes all my pain disappear. She strokes my hair back. “I thought you would be furious when you discovered that Halina deceived you.”
“I deserved to be deceived. I refused to help you reach our warriors. You did what you had to do.”
She kisses my forehead, and the feel of her lips is heaven itself. “I had no idea Kauko was going to take your blood. I would have found a way to warn you.”
“Sig tried.”
“Thank heaven for him.”
I hope heaven is not where he is right now. “Will our warriors be safe?”
She lays her forehead on mine. “I hope so. I told them to stay where they were and hold the barricades. With any luck we’ll find them alive. And hungry, probably.”
“Will they be able to help us when Jaspar and the other warriors lay siege to this tower?”
“They’ll do all they can, I have no doubt. They have proven their loyalty time and time again. My father’s memory is clearly a powerful thing.”
“It’s not just his memory,” I say, stroking her cheek. “You gave them something to believe in, however foreign and strange it might be.”
She smiles. “I had no idea how dangerous peace truly was, but I’ll fight for it anyway.”
That is why I love her. It’s why I don’t care that we aren’t really meant to be mated. It’s why I crave this moment like water and air. It’s why I draw her down and press my mouth to hers. And when she moans and parts her lips, a taste of heaven is my reward. My magic simmers and shivers inside me, drawn tight and chaotic by the churn of want surging along my bones, but with the cuff of Astia around my wrist, the storm is quelled, and our kiss is just that. Because we are reconciled, because the magic is part of me now, maybe it recognizes her as someone I could never hurt, someone I would die to save.
The wounds that mar my body are nothing, not with her hands on me, not with her mouth on mine. Our enemy could be storming the gate right now, and I still smile and nip at Thyra’s bottom lip. I still grin when her fingers twist in my hair. I still gasp as she yanks up my tunic and lays her cool palm on my bare skin.
The trapdoor slams open and makes both of us jump. I crane my neck and see Halina’s upside-down face, her bright eyes, her grin. “Everyone settled down there,” she says.
“Nisse’s guard?” Thyra asks.
“Surrendered to about three dozen foreign fighters. The tower is under our control.”
Thyra gives me one last, brief kiss before sliding off me. She winces as she raises her head and sways in place. “Jaspar and his warriors? He must have reached them. We heard the signal that he was coming to lay siege to the tower.”
I push myself up to sitting on shaking arms, and Halina gives both me and Thyra a concerned look. “Do you have tunnels that could help us get a message to Preben and Bertel?”
“No need, little red. Jaspar isn’t coming. He had different plans than old Nisse. Guess he wasn’t so loyal after all.”
“What’s happened?” Thyra asks, her voice going flat and sharp.
“He ran,” Halina says. “Everyone was clustered up here in the north of the city, so once he reached his seven hundred fighters, you think he came here to face hundreds of Vasterutians, Korkeans, and Ylpesians who wanted a taste of Krigere blood? No. He gave up. He took them south and they escaped the city. Stole any horse they could find on the way. Bunch of their families running too.”
“Is anyone trying to stop them?” Thyra asks.
Halina shakes her head. “We want them gone, Chieftain,” she says softly, her gaze somber.
Thyra looks over at me, and I read the worry in her eyes. The Vasterutians want us gone too. We are merely guests here now. “I understand,” Thyra says slowly. “I hope you will give us time to recover from this battle.”
Halina nods. “Of course. We honor you as an ally now. You will be able to stay until you know where you will find your new home, whether it be Kupari or elsewhere.”
Thyra gives me a speculative look. “Let me consult with my war counselor here,” she says, reaching for my hand. Our fingers clench tight, holding each other up. “And then we’ll let you know.”