Chapter 13
“They’re retreating,” Casimir said as he rose from the ground, pulling Ava with him. The moment Saxumdale arrived with additional forces, the remainder of the enemy army stopped their advance, clearly outnumbered.
Checking Ava for injuries, he scanned her leather armor, now painted in black and red blood. When he came upon that daemon towering over her with a blade to her throat, it had unlocked a fierceness so deep it was all he could do to stay in control.
“Are you hurt?” His palm cupped the side of her neck, thumb stroking her jaw.
“I’m alright. But you still have a dagger in your thigh.” Her eyes darted to his leg.
Taking a step back, he yanked it out and tossed it to the ground. “Not anymore.”
“Cas,” she chastised, dropping to her knees as she put pressure on the wound. “What is wrong with you? You aren’t invincible, you big brute.”
Reaching beneath his leather armor, he ripped a strip of fabric from the bottom of his tunic. “Here.” He handed it to Ava. “Wrap it. I’ll be fine. It’ll heal on its own eventually.”
With an exasperated sigh, she tied the fabric around his thigh. “If I had a dagger in my leg, you’d be carrying me to a healer right about now,” she muttered. “But no…the stubborn general just pulls it out like it’s nothing.”
Casimir couldn’t control the quirk of his lips as she rose. “Thank you, love.”
“You’re welcome. Now what?”
His amusement faded as the aftermath of the battle hit him. “We assess our casualties and move out. Take the wounded with us. We cannot camp this close to Frosthaven.”
Bodies littered the ground, the crimson stains bright against the white landscape.
Snow fell in a light flurry, the beauty of the flakes at odds with the morbid scene.
Moans of the injured carried on the icy breeze.
Casimir shuddered, the scents of fear and blood a sudden reminder of his imprisonment.
Ava laced her fingers in his. “It reminds you of the camp, doesn’t it?”
He answered with a nod.
“Me too. It smells the same. Like death.”
Releasing her hand, he wound his arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. “Do you still dream about it?”
“Sometimes…but I think having you there keeps me from waking up in a panic.” Her brow knitted with concern. “Do you?”
Shaking his head, he swallowed, preparing to speak his biggest fear aloud. Something he hadn’t yet expressed, though it haunted him almost daily. “Most of my nightmares are about something happening to you.”
Leaning into him, she whispered, “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
They embraced for a few minutes longer. Casimir’s hand tightened on her hip and Ava leaned her head against him. Hundreds of fae from Saxumdale continued to march forward, their iridescent armor contrasting their gray rocky skin.
Raine approached with Sabriel in tow, both speckled with daemon blood. “Good to see the two of you are in one piece.”
Casimir raised a brow. “Good to see you didn’t lose your sense of humor.”
“Never,” Raine replied.
Pax strode up. “Maeryn’s looking for you, general.”
Casimir let go of Ava, giving her a quick kiss. “Stay with them,” he ordered.
“Yes, bossy general.”
Pax slung his arm around Ava’s shoulders, giving Casimir a wolfish grin. “The princess will be fine. She decapitated a daemon with her roots in battle.”
Casimir jolted, tilting his head. “Impressive, love.”
Raine’s eyes widened. “I wish I had seen that.”
Ava winced. “It was disgusting.”
Reluctantly leaving Ava with Pax and Raine, Casimir joined Maeryn, already in discussion with the Saxumdale leaders. One of their queens, Astrid, had come while Soren stayed behind to oversee their kingdom.
“Casimir,” Astrid said, her black curls pulled into a coronet braid. “I’d like you to meet our general, Roan, and one of our captains, Imsel. You will coordinate with them, along with myself.”
Casimir extended his hand, shaking Roan’s. “It’s nice to meet both of you.”
Roan’s bright green eyes danced, stark against his deep gray complexion and short blond hair. Releasing Casimir’s hand, he clapped him hard on the back.
“Excellent. It’s fantastic to meet you too. Now just to let you know, Imsel here…well…they’re a bit quiet. So don’t take offense when they don’t speak much.” He tapped his temple with his forefinger. “They’re always thinking…planning. Truly my best captain.”
Imsel evaluated Casimir and Roan with sharp attention, a hint of exasperation in their dark brown eyes, as if it was typical for Roan to point this out.
Their light gray skin was pale against their long black hair, unbound aside from braids along the sides of their scalp, silver beads woven throughout.
A kreovite staff—the same iridescent mineral the stone faes’ armor was composed of—was strapped across their back.
They extended their hand, giving Casimir a nod as they shook, but remained silent.
After the introductions were over, Maeryn cleared her throat. “We must get free of this terrain before a blizzard hits and slows us down even further.”
It’s a little late for that, Aro said, ambling up to the group.
“What do you mean?”
The animals can sense a storm brewing. We must keep going but we won’t be able to avoid the weather.
It was worse than Casimir could have prepared for, the snow so thick there was hardly any visibility. Shivering, he adjusted the hood of his cloak, trying and failing to keep the thick flakes off his face.
“I’m so cold,” Ava said from in front of him, Luna snuggled on her lap while they rode Aro.
Casimir wrapped his arms tighter around her, pulling his cloak over her in an attempt to warm them further. “I know, love. Me too.”
The wind howled, biting into every inch of exposed skin as they plodded on. The storm was so loud the fae could barely hear each other over the noise, taking to shouting or speaking through their animals to communicate.
“We must find shelter and try to weather this storm,” Casimir said to Aro.
They pressed on for another half hour, Casimir pleading with the Mother to give them some type of break.
They’d already lost soldiers during the ambush; they couldn’t afford to lose more to the elements.
But they knew what they signed up for when they joined his forces, so he shoved down his dread and focused on searching for shelter before their losses became devastating.
Once Casimir got word from Aro of a suitable place, he directed their forces toward a group of tall pine trees, their silhouettes scarcely visible in the whiteout conditions.
Casimir and Ava ducked to avoid the evergreen branches and emerged into the clearing.
Though the snow still spun around them, the boughs filtered the wind enough to improve their ability to see.
Casimir dismounted. Luna leaped down and padded through the snow, then Ava slid off. They both pulled their cloaks tighter as they took in the space.
“Let’s set up camp!” Casimir called as Imsel and Maeryn approached.
“I’d like to raise rocks along the north side of this clearing to keep out the wind,” Imsel said. “Might there be a way to use the lava wielders to keep us warm?”
Maeryn pulled her black cloak tight. “We can easily get fires going. I wonder if your rock might be able to hold some of our lava to create makeshift warmers.”
Imsel shook their head. “Too hot. It will crack.”
“What if we let it cool down a bit first?”
“Worth a try.”
Casimir searched for Kai, finding him shivering. Jorrar was placing another cloak around him, pulling it tight beneath Kai’s chin. “You mustn’t fuss over me,” Kai said.
“I will always fuss over you, dear,” Jorrar replied, giving Kai a chaste kiss.
“Where would you like the healers’ tent?” Casimir asked.
“Against the stone wall. We need to get those who were wounded in battle taken care of. Many already succumbed to their injuries on the way here…” Kai answered.
Casimir’s heart lurched. “How many?”
“I don’t have a count. But I estimate half.”
“It’s not your fault, Casimir,” Jorrar said, knowing exactly where his mind had gone. “We couldn’t remain that close to Frosthaven. Besides, we wouldn’t have been able to provide care with no shelter.”
Casimir nodded. Though he knew Jorrar was right, every death plagued him. He was responsible for the safety of his army, and he’d failed them. They had lost too many.
The camp was set up swiftly, a large fire roaring against part of the makeshift wall near the healers’ quarters. The leaders gathered around the flames, faces gaunt with exhaustion, huddled together for extra warmth as they ate their dinner.
“What’s our next step?” Raine asked, waving his spoon. “Now that this damned weather has delayed us?”
“We move out as soon as our injured are stable. We can’t remain in the cold for long,” Casimir answered.
“Our forces will be exhausted by the time we arrive at our capital,” Thalia said. “We’ve already pushed them hard.”
Maeryn stared into the flames, clutching her bowl. “Once we are a few miles away, we will make camp again to recover. We shall keep an eye on the daemons’ movements until we’re ready to move out.”
“And then?” Ava asked.
Aelerion’s orange eyes filled with determination. “And then we take back our home.”