Page 98 of The Blade in the Ashes
Clay would if he were here.
Yes, I needed him.
I had to keep moving towards him no matter what.
“We keep going,” I told her under my breath, forcing myself to keep walking even as it felt like my body was going to fall apart.
We didn’t have another choice.
Nessira remained still for a moment, before she pushed her shoulders back and nodded. “We keep going.”
Somehow, in this impossibly cold night air, her smile radiated warmth—such warmth that it nearly brought me to tears as I forced my frozen fingers to unfurl so I could take her hand in mine.
“Thank you for coming with me,” I whispered.
She inclined her head at me, squeezing my hand. “There was never any chance of me staying in that castle without you, Thea. You're my Lady, thetrueruler of this land, and my friend. I will follow you to the ends of this realm.”
Briefly, I envisioned that first day together when her words had been the only thing that had seemed to steady me amidst all my fear. Nessira hadbeen by my side through all of this chaos, right from the very start. Gods, how lucky was I that she had been assigned to my service.
“We can do this,” she told me, tucking my arm through hers.
I nodded. “Yes, we can. We can do it together.”
Wind tore against me like a thousand icy pinpricks against my flesh, but I continued marching on, thinking of my king, imagining his warmth and love, and pretending that I was somewhere far away under the sun.
By the time the sun rose, sending rays of orange against our numb skin, and our boots stepped down on the cobblestone path that led towards the town, I was hardly aware of who I was anymore.
I just knew that I was cold.
So. Cold.
I hadn’t realized it was possible to freeze so thoroughly—so much so that it felt like my heart itself had turned into a solid chunk of ice.
“Just a little further,” Nessira encouraged, taking my hands in hers and sending a quick burst of warmth to the skin.
My fingers had long ago curled in on themselves and then gone entirely numb. Her fire magic had restored itself enough to keep her warm, but when she had tried to extend it to me, I had refused. We’d fought briefly about it, but then had gone quiet to preserve our strength.
There was no need for both of us to die if her power ran out again.
Still, she had kept a watchful eye on me as we walked, reaching over every so often to send a burst of warmth through me.
At first, it had stung when that fiery air touched down on my shivering body. Then I had stopped feeling it at all.
Now, I leaned on Nessira, unable to stay standing straight when my body trembled so uncontrollably that it was as if the earth itself shook with me. My eyelids were heavy, too heavy; it was too much of a battle to keep them open.
I wasn’t sure I could keep going.
My steps faltered, my head falling heavily onto Nessira’s shoulder.
“Thea!” Nessira patted my cheek, my eyes fluttering closed as she did.
She adjusted me, pulling my arm over her shoulder so that she could better support my weight.
“Help! Someone, I need help!”
Her face contorted in concentration as another rush of heat washed over me, sparking at my arms and radiating throughout my body. I didn't quite feel it.
I didn’t feel much of anything at all.
