Chapter 44 #2
Dawson’s concentration faltered as he felt the change ripple through him.
“What is—” His gaze snapped to hers.
The ice cracked under the assault of their combined force, jagged fissures widening across its surface.
He looked at her blade, then back at the splintering barrier. “Strike it, Alaire. Now!”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Raising her blade, she brought it down with all her strength. The combined force of steel and aether shattered the final remnants of ice.
“Take cover!” Alaire shouted.
Ice exploded outward in a shower of glittering shards. She crouched, arms shielding her head. The ground trembled, but the impact never came. Not a shard had touched her.
When she lifted her head, the ring’s glow had dimmed, returning to its ordinary state. Around her, everyone was alive, breathing.
Dawson’s eyes lingered on hers, then drifted to the shallow rise of her chest, to her fists clenched so tightly her nails bit her palms. His jaw ticked, but he said nothing.
He stalked toward her. No words. No questions.
Ever so slowly, his knuckles brushed the line of her jaw. His fingers hovered for a heartbeat before tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, ghosting over her temple—careful, measured, as though she were something to be treasured.
As she reached for him, her body jolted back of its own accord. Not this again.
The winterflame was calling. Just as the ring had. Just as the phoenix egg had.
She shot Dawson an apologetic glance over her shoulder and turned toward it. Hesitation gripped her as she stepped closer.
The flame hovered in the air, four feet high, cobalt and hypnotic. Its blue light crackled and swayed.
With trembling hands, she reached out, bracing for pain. Instead, she felt the cool caress of silk. She spread her fingers through the outer edges of the fire. Nothing.
Then, with both hands, she cupped the winterflame. Instantly, it shrank to fit between her palms. A surge of power shot through her, hotter and fiercer than anything she’d ever felt.
The world blurred into light and shadow. The flame’s glowing heart pulsed in her grasp. And then, like a tidal wave, the visions crashed over her.
Gone was the icy cavern.
Alaire stood on the edge of a battlefield, the air thick with smoke and the metallic tang of blood.
The sky was a deep, bruised purple, teetering on the edge of night, backlit by fires raging across the land.
Soldiers clashed in combat with creatures moving with inhuman speed and ferocity—vampires.
Cries of fury and pain rang out all around her.
Her heart pounded as her gaze snapped to a familiar silhouette in the distance. Golden spires rose from the heart of her ravaged kingdom. Dawnspire.
On a high balcony above the chaos stood a woman with flowing chestnut hair, her crimson gown embroidered with gold—always red and gold. How could she have forgotten that? Her mother. Queen Elara.
Sorrow and determination etched her features. She raised her hands, summoning a shimmering white barrier that enveloped Dawnspire and its people.
But it wasn’t enough.
Shadows entrenched the battlefield. Alaire didn’t see him, but she felt him—waiting for his masterpiece to unfold. The Voidshade Sovereign. His was the darkness that swallowed every flicker of light. With a single, gut-wrenching strike, he shattered Aurelia’s barrier.
Alaire crumpled as Dawnspire’s defenses fell. The dark forces surged forward, crushing the last line of resistance.
The vision shifted.
She stumbled through desolation. Bodies of Aurelia’s warriors littered the marble floor. The stench of death permeated the air.
It shifted again.
Her parents knelt before her, faces set with grim resolve.
She felt her mother’s embrace—so fierce, so desperate.
Tears splashed onto her shoulder. Her father’s steady hand pressed between her shoulder blades.
Then she was being pulled away, dragged by her parents’ most trusted advisor.
She strained against the grip, but could only watch their retreating backs.
She couldn’t hear their words, but she saw their lips move.
Alaire screamed, the sound tearing from her throat—but no one heard. She was a ghost in this memory, helpless to do anything but watch.
Her parents rose together, hands clasped tight. Her father kissed her mother’s forehead, his eyes filled with love and heartbreak for all they had endured and all they would never live to see. Pain etched their trembling lips. Still, they held on to each other, steady in their resolve.
Then, in a final act of defiance, white fire erupted across the realm.
A phoenix’s final cry shredded the silence.
Alaire fell to her knees, clutching the winterflame as tears streamed down her face. She was back in the icy cavern, shaking, breath ragged. Tremors rippled through her body from the aftershocks of the vision.
Dawson rushed to her side. “Alaire, what happened?” His hands steadied her shoulders, eyes sharp with concern.
Her wide, haunted gaze lifted to his. “I remembered what happened on Starfall. I saw them…”
He pulled her against his chest, shielding her from the flame’s flicker. “We’ll make sure their sacrifice wasn’t in vain.”
She swiped at her tears, resolve hardening. “We will,” she vowed. Somehow. Someway.
“We need to get back to Kaia and Caius,” Dawson said, urgency edging his tone.
“Right. They’ll be waiting.” She shoved down the storm of emotions still tearing through her. “But what should I do with this?” The blue flame flickered in her palm.
“ Bring it to me ,” Soflara said. “ I should be able to contain it .”
“Okay.” Alaire held it out.
“ Place it on my back , just above the braid .” Solflara bent low, feathers forming a small, protective nest of fire. Alaire carefully set the winterflame inside. It pulsed in rhythm with her phoenix’s flames, the two coexisting as though they belonged together.
The ground rumbled beneath them, a growl rising from deep within the mountain. Alaire glanced at Dawson. His eyes narrowed, head cocked, listening to the shifting sounds.
“We need to move faster,” he said, voice taut.
They quickened their pace, boots sliding across the slick floor as the vast antechamber seemed to close in. A thunderous roar drowned out their footsteps. Vibrations shook icicles loose from the walls.
Solflara spewed a spiral of flame, dissolving those that would’ve struck them. The rest shattered on the stone in glittering shards. Dawson used a burst of wind to sweep the debris aside, then seized Alaire’s hand, pulling her toward the far end of the chamber.
She spotted an alcove ahead, but it wouldn’t fit all of them.
A triumphant cry rose behind her. Wings unfurled, and Solflara slowly rose off the ground with each mighty beat.
“ The spell that kept us grounded must have broken when you and Dawson seized the winterflame .”
“ Correction — I seized it .”
“ Potato , potato .”
“ Wrong saying . Tomato , to-mah-to .”
“ I’ll be happy to leave you frozen here , if you prefer .”
Alaire’s lips twitched despite herself. “ Not a chance .”
“ Thought so . Get on .”
She scrambled onto Solflara’s back. Dawson swung onto Beck, and with a powerful thrust of wings, the two celestials surged upward—just as an avalanche thundered into the cavern, burying the space they had stood seconds before.
They soared higher, snow and shards of ice tearing at their skin. For a breathless moment, all was white chaos, a churning sea of frost and storm.
Then the roar faded. The avalanche’s fury dwindled to silence.
Alaire risked one last look at the mountain. In that frozen hellscape, something heavy had lifted from her shoulders.
The altitude made the cold unbearable despite Solflara’s flames.
They flew swiftly through the fading grey light until at last they spotted Kaia and Caius waiting at their meeting point.
When Kaia noticed Solflara’s glow, she jabbed Caius in the spine before bouncing on her toes, waving her arms as though two massive celestials could be missed against a sheet of tundra.
Once they landed, Caius greeted Dawson in an odd, masculine half-hug, fists thudding against each other’s backs. His face was lined with both worry and relief.
“You made it!” Kaia exclaimed, rushing forward. “We heard the rumbling from the west. Are you okay? We’ve been here since this morning.”
“We’re fine,” Alaire said, forcing what she hoped was a convincing smile. “It wasn’t easy—we had a few close calls—but we managed. The important thing is we obtained the winterflame.”
She wasn’t ready to share what had transpired in the cave with Dawson. When she did, Kaia would have an absolute conniption.
“What about you two?” Dawson asked.
Kaia and Caius exchanged a long, heated look.
Alaire raised her brows.
Kaia stepped forward, holding a crystalline object that shimmered in her hands. “We obtained the frostfire crystal,” she said, voice full of pride. “It was challenging. We had to navigate a maze of ice and fend off snow leopards, but we got it.”
Alaire’s eyes widened as she took in the gem, multifaceted and dazzling—fire and ice captured in crystalline form. Its polished surface caught and refracted light.
“Do you think it’s time to reunite them?”
“Yes,” Dawson said firmly.
Spinning on her heel, Alaire slowed when she reached Solflara’s side. With careful hands, she extracted the winterflame from her phoenix’s protective custody. The warmth of the artifact pulsed against her palms the flame leaned forward, as though straining toward the frostfire crystal.
Alaire held out the winterflame toward Kaia. The moment the two artifacts neared, a magnetic force pulled them together. The air thrummed with energy, and a brilliant light erupted from the point of contact. Fire and ice fused, the core an icy blue streaked with veins of red, orange, and gold.
The fusion blazed, dazzling and alive.
Behind them, a swirling vortex roared to life.
“This is it,” Caius said.
The only way out was through.