Page 59 of From Frost to Flame

A cool rage washed over Silas. A darkness swallowed him whole. He took a step toward Arden, and ice spread under his feet. His vision sharpened into hyperfocus despite not shifting into a wolf.

Arden’s anger faltered. He took a slow step backwards “What? What are you?”

Silas tackled him down onto the branch. They wrestled along the bark until Arden’s sword plummeted down and disappeared in the thick blanket of fog below. He pinned Arden on his back, a knee on either side of the thrashing fae. He gripped onto the back of his neck and frost shot out of his palms. The ice crystals spread around Arden’s neck, encasing his throat in white.

“She won’t give you whatever she promised. She’s using you to catch Lex because she wants to hurt me. After you give her what she wants, she will kill you. Trust me, I know her.”

“What did you give her?” Arden asked through chattering teeth as ice coated his lips. The wind howled around them and threatened to blow them both right off the branch. “You clearly gave her something to get this power. Is that why she told me not to kill you? Are you her pet or something?”

Silas shook his head. His heightened vision returned to normal and the ice under his hands and feet halted its spread. “Are you even listening to me? I’m trying to help you. She’ll destroy everything you love. Your kingdom will fall to ice and ashes.”

“Whatever you did, she gave you enough power to win the crown. She made you—an orphan—a legend. Why are you the only one who deserves her favor?” His breath fogged out from his snarled expression like an angry dragon as he thrashed.

“You don’t understand.” Thunder roiled overhead and the thick snowflakes turned to sharp chunks of solid ice, scratching against Silas's exposed back. Trails of dark red blood rolled down the length of his spine. “She’s given me nothing.”

“I thought maybe it was romantic with how she talks about you. Was it truly seduction that got her to put her power in your veins?”

Bile rose in the back of Silas's throat. Before he could even explain how deeply wrong Arden was, a loud crack echoed through the night. The branch they were on abruptly tilted downward. Silas had to grip the bark to stop Arden and himself from sliding off. He looked up to see Lex’s blue flames had spread down the tree’s black bark in fiery ribbons.

Lex was no longer burning the tree. The area around the gem was burned away enough that he could wrap his hand around the front of it. Swaying slightly, he gripped it and tugged. Lex’s exhaustion spread through Silas's limbs and he knew, even if the gem had a little hold, Lex wouldn’t be able to get it free. Every muscle was spent.

He turned his attention back to Arden. “I’m giving you one last chance. Walk away, or I will kill you with my bare hands.”

“Fuck you.”

He gripped his neck tighter now with full intent to break it.

The Ravenous One’s venomous voice came from all around them, like it was the forest itself. “I’ve had enough of this.”

Lex.

It was too late. There was a boom and a torrent of blue flames shot out from the bark behind the gemstone as if there was a bomb buried deep in the tree. Lex and the gemstone were thrown backward. Lex’s body bounced and rolled like a rag doll until he came to a stop. Where the gem once sat was a roiling portal of angry blue flames.

Pain radiated up Silas's spine and pure panic flooded his body. “I’m coming, don’t move!”

He scrambled up the burning tree trunk, his fingers sinking into the bark, and heaved himself up to the branch where Lex lay motionless. He raced to his side and caressed his scorched cheek. His heart hurt as he looked down at his limp body. “Can you hear me? Can you move?”

Lex groaned and rolled away from Silas. “I got it.” He stretched his hand out toward the gem a few feet away.

“We’ll worry about that later.” He grabbed his shoulders and forced him on his back. “Right now, I need to know if anything is broken.” A tentacle shot out from the torrent of blue flames in the tree trunk and wrapped around Lex’s outstretched wrist. In a flash, Lex was ripped from Silas's arm. “No!”

“Come get your toy if you want him so badly,” The Ravenous One cooed from behind the wall of flames. Another tentacle wrapped around Lex’s torso.

The anguished scream Lex let out tore through Silas's heart. He lunged forward and gripped onto the tentacle wrapped around Lex’s chest as tight as he could. Frantically, he tugged with all his might, but her grip didn’t falter.

“Don’t let go,” Lex pleaded as the tentacle flexed and tightened. A strangled sound came out his throat. “It hurts.”

“I won’t. I’ve got you.” The Ravenous One would have to take Silas's hands before he ever let go. He leaned in and bit into the inky limb, determined to free him, but her hold only intensified.

Two more tentacles shot out of the fire. One snatched the gem and retreated with it into the flames. The other snatched Arden out of the air like a frog catching a fly. Her grip crushed his wings and, in one swift movement, he passed through the blue flames with an animalistic scream.

Silas's eyes widened in panic at how easily Arden was taken. He looked down at Lex, his eyes full of tears as her tentacle reeled him toward the flames at a cruelly slow pace.

I’ll fail if she threatens his life. I can’t beat her with her soul still scattered. Desperate to save Lex, he pleaded with her. “You don’t need to take him. Take me instead.”

“Silas, what’s wrong with you?” Lex shrieked. “Don’t say that.”

He ignored him and pleaded again. “I’ll go with you. I’ll do what you want just please...don’t take him.”

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