Page 2 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

What a mess.

Naia climbed in, closed the windows, and moved the iron bars back to their original place.

The room was chilly, so she put more wood in the fire, and only then turned to look at the bed. It was a young man, regardless of his pointy ears, which were not even that visible under his wavy brown hair, which hung past his shoulders. The two horns on top of his head made a difference, but somehow it was as if they belonged there. He had a square jaw with delicate lips and no facial hair. This was the furthest away from a monster that she could imagine. Now, white fae, as far as she knew, had light hair, so she wasn’t sure what to make of him. His skin was much lighter than hers, but his hair was brown, also lighter than her own black hair, but definitely not pale blond.

Carefully, she pulled the metal tray from under him, then took another blanket and dried his hair, torso, and pants, avoiding the weird parts. He had no visible wounds and no fever. His only issue was how cold he was. She warmed a blanket by the fire and wrapped it around him. The room was no longer as chilly, so that should also help.

Naia got up, stood by him, then checked his pulse again. Still alive. Hopefully his problem was only cold. For a so-called monstrous creature, he was quite vulnerable, quite… human. She touched one of his horns. The texture was different from what she’d expected. Despite its smooth appearance, it was rugged and rough. She ran her finger over it, fascinated by it. This would probably be the only time she’d be so close to a fae. And then, perhaps this was also the only time she’d be close to a beautiful young man, at least if it depended on her father. His voice echoed in her mind, saying she didn’t need to get married, that she was so lucky, so strong, so independent.

If romantic wishes and dreams of kisses were weaknesses, then she was far from strong. She was seventeen, and had no idea if she was normal or not, no idea what a girl her age would be doing or thinking. No idea about anything, just some odd wishes. And perhaps that was why she was keeping the fae a secret. It was nice to look at his pleasant face with delicate lips, alone where nobody would know what she was doing. It was nice to look at him while he couldn’t see her, couldn’t judge her. Even if he was probably her enemy and likely to have horrific red eyes, at least she had this moment.

More and more droplets, then drops of water hit the windowpane and the roof as the drizzle turned into thick rain, the loud noise outside a quiet comfort in case one of her thoughts escaped her head and turned into words. Thoughts. Nonsense.

The scent of rain was taking over the room, a scent so intoxicatingly wonderful that she closed her eyes for a moment to bask in that feeling. Odd how she’d never noticed what rain smelled like. Perhaps because she’d never brought in a wet, muddy young man.

A young man that hopefully would survive. He had to. Even her heart was starting to tremble with worry. So much worry for him… Well, of course. She had to figure out who he was and what he was doing here. In fact, as a princess, getting that information was her duty.

And so was telling her father.

But she could ignore that part for now. After all, she’d been the one to find him. And the one to get her feet wet.

Speaking of that, only then did she remember her numb toes, so she took off her shoes and sat by the fire, imagining how horrible it would be to have her entire body cold like that. After a couple minutes, when she felt her feet had thawed, she got up. When she was about to turn, something pushed her.

Naia found herself face down on her rug, the fae above her, with a hand around her neck, as if about to choke her. Before she could even process what was happening, she called an iron poker and hit his arm, then between his legs. Her brother had told her that men were fragile there or something, and it seemed to be true, as the fae yelled in pain and let go of her. Naia took the opportunity to push him and roll away.

Enemy. Monster. She should have known he could be dangerous.

Naia got up, still pointing the poker at him. “Is that how you thank me for saving your life, you ungrateful prick?”

Trembling on the floor, his pointy nails holding the blanket around his torso, he turned to face her, his eyes wide. Those eyes. They were not red, but rather a warm brown. Mahogany eyes, now moving about as if to check the room, check where he was. And no sign that he had even heard her question.

“Do you speak my language?” she asked.

He looked at her and frowned. “No.”

Great. She was wondering how come he had answered her, when he added, “You speak my language.”

She rolled her eyes. Aluria had its own language. It was old, yes. She had never thought about its origin. But that wasn’t even the point.

“Why can’t you answer me, then?”

“I just did, didn’t I?” He remained on the floor, a casual expression on his face as if he were relaxing there.

“I meant the first question. I saved your life, and I can still decide whether I tell anyone about you, so if I were you, I’d make an effort to be nice.”

He frowned, as if thoughtful, or perhaps in disbelief, then chuckled. “Saved… me?”

Naia shrugged. “Well, is it a fae thing to lie half-naked outside in the rain?”

An edge of a smirk appeared on his pretty lips. “Well… Maybe not in the rain. Not—” He lifted the blanket wrapped around him and peeked underneath it. “Half-naked, you say?”

“And unconscious. I brought you here. I won’t accept anything less than life servitude as thanks.” She was joking. Or maybe testing him.

He blinked slowly. “Life servitude?” He looked away, as if thinking, then ran his dark nails through his hair. “I would need to agree with that.”

Naia scoffed. “I wasn’t serious. But I do want an apology for attacking me. And keep your voice down. You don’t want my father finding you here.” Neither did she, in fact.

He got up, towering over her, which was odd because she was tall herself and it meant he was even taller than her brother. Her first reflex was to step back, but she stood her ground. She wasn’t going to let him think he could intimidate her.

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