Page 11 of Ties of Frost

Muffled sounds of shouting filtered through the door.Something heavy shifted with a scrape and a clang, and then one of the doors swung inward. I blinked against the candle burning in the hand of the petite human woman in the dark entry.

“What’s all this—Kyrundar Ilifir?” Her lower jaw went slack.

Oh no. Right now wasnotthe time to deal with an admirer.

“Please,” I said. “Are you a healer?”

“Yes…well, no.” Her bronze skin took on a ruddy hue. “I’m an apprentice.”

“Are there any senior healers here?” I demanded. “Preferably an ice elf. Zidra Eilmaris was struck by an ice curse.”

The dreamy expression fled the woman’s face. She blinked and lowered her gaze, as if she hadn’t noticed the unconscious rengir in my arms. “And she’s still alive?” Her voice rose to a shout.

“I stopped its progress, but it’s too powerful for me to extract—”

“Come in, come!” The apprentice frantically waved us inside. I’d barely cleared the doorway when she set off at a brisk pace. “The senior physician on overnight emergency duty is sleeping, but I’ll wake him at once. Through here.” She motioned into a room.

I angled through the doorway, careful not to catch Zidra’s feet on the frame. Why was she still unconscious? What if I’d failed to save her?

The human scurried around, lighting candles set insconces. Golden light spread, illuminating a narrow but unusually tall bed covered in crisp white linens. I eased Zidra onto it, grateful for its height. I brushed curls out of her face, then adjusted her limbs until she looked comfortable. At least, as comfortable as someone could be while wounded and wearing armor.

When I turned to ask the apprentice how long it would take the physician to arrive, she was gone.

A stool stood in the corner opposite the bed next to a narrow table with neatly arranged containers. In the diagonal corner, next to the door, was an upholstered armchair with a blanket tossed over one arm. Instead of taking either, I perched on the edge of the bed near Zidra’s feet and waited, praying with all my might that she would live.

Five

Zidra

I awoke to pain.

Soft fabric greeted my palms rather than packed dirt. Competing emotions tangled inside me, making my head swim—or perhaps that was the pain. Dark spots danced in my vision, and I sat up with a groan. A figure outlined in an orange glow moved abruptly in front of me. On instinct, I reached for my sword, only to find my scabbard empty.

“Zidra?” The anguished male voice snapped my attention up. Kyrundar stood over me, his eyebrows pushing together like they were attempting to merge into one.

Irritated with his face and unwilling to meet his eyes, I continued searching for my weapon. “Where’s my sword?” My voice emerged hoarse and indecipherable. I cleared my throat. “Where are we? And where is my sword?”

“Uh…oh. I—erm.” He fiddled with an aquamarine on one of his earrings.

Ignoring a strange surge of embarrassment that Kyrundar should have been feeling, not me, I took in my surroundings. I’d never seen this room before, with its plastered walls, army of candles, and one small bed. A framed embroidery hanging on the wall depicted a crook wreathed in herbs, a symbol of healers.

“You brought me to an infirmary?”

He blinked at me, the fool. “Yes? You were—”

“No!” I grasped my wounded arm. “The people who ambushed me—”

“All dead,” Kyrundar interrupted.

“I need to examine their bodies! There could be an indication of who they were, who sent them, if the informant was a deception this entire time or if they killed whoever contacted me! And did you leave my sword behind?” I waved at him. “But you brought yours, I see!”

He edged back a step. “You almost died. I wasn’t thinking—”

“Obviously!”

“—clearly.” The hurt on Kyrundar’s face must have softened my anger, because regret filtered in.

“I need to go back.” I sucked in a breath through my teeth and clenched the wound on my arm tighter. “Why does this feel like it’s burning and freezing at the same time?”

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