Page 49 of A Storm of Fire and Ice

“Come spar with us,” Brontes invited Fannar.

Fannar started to decline, but a spark from Brontes zapped his thigh.

“Hey!” Fannar yelped, startled.

I knew it hadn’t really hurt him. We just wanted to draw him in.

“Not funny!” Fannar protested as I flicked a coil of fire at his hand.

He recoiled. “You too, Helena?”

“Show us some fire!” I teased.

Another spark hit his backside. “Gwyneira!”

She smiled impishly as I cackled. My flickering flame made her shriek and duck. But then she returned a tiny shock of her own, making me yelp playfully.

Soon sparks flew as Brontes and Gwyneira ganged up on me. I unleashed ribbons of fire, dodging their lightning bolts.

“Help me, two against one!” I called to Fannar.

He hesitated. “I can’t just—”

“Don’t think, just do it!”

Fannar’s face hardened with determination as stray bolts hit him. I could see him reaching his limit.

“Use your fire!” I pushed.

A bolt narrowly missed his face. Fannar thrust his palms out, flame erupting forth.

We froze in awe. Then I whooped, “Yeah! Go Team Fire!”

Laughter filled the gym as we resumed sparring wildly. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. We battled until, one by one, we collapsed in exhausted heaps.

I sprawled across Fannar’s lap, looping my arms around his neck. “You’re so warm,” I murmured.

He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. “I feel it.”

I nestled against him. “I’m proud of you.”

Fannar smiled, leaning his head atop mine. “Now we just need to teach you ice.”

The silence between us hung heavily in Fannar’s dorm room as we got ready for bed. I busied my hands brushing my hair, stealing furtive glances at Fannar. He sat on the edge of his bed, his broad shoulders uncharacteristically slumped, and his arctic eyes carried a distant glaze as he stared vacantly into the nothingness of the floor, sending a pang through my chest.

Things had been strange between us since I returned from the Fire Kingdom earlier today, as if an impenetrable awkwardness had wedged itself between us.

He had withdrawn into himself, and it felt like he was pulling away from me, from us. My stomach twisted uneasily. After everything we’d been through, were we really drifting apart so quickly? I knew I needed to say something, to clear the unspoken words hanging in the air, but part of me hesitated, afraid of what he might say.

After what felt like an eternity, I took a deep breath, finally steeling my nerve to cut through the stillness. It was now or never.

“Fannar?” I asked tentatively.

“Hmm?” His pale blue eyes met my gaze.

“Is everything okay between us?” My voice came out shakier than I intended.

He looked up at me, surprise flickering across his face. “Of course. Why do you ask?”

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