Keira
It almost made her thankful that she was trudging through knee deep snow to find some bloodthirsty monster. At least she had something to occupy her thoughts. Mostly. Still her mind tortured itself with the same impossible question. Then what? When this little quest of theirs was over, what then?
“We need to find shelter,” Caspian’s voice shouted against the wind, echoing her sentiments exactly.
Her gaze studied Caspian, who was removing his breastplate so that he could sit more comfortably. His jaw was trembling and his breath along with it. They were both dangerously cold. This small shelter wouldn’t be enough to protect them from the elements. If the chill set in much deeper…
She couldn’t very well conjure a full Ingus without him noticing, but the same magic would heat the skin from within.
It wouldn’t be as potent, but insulated the way she was, it should be enough.
Moments after she breathed the incantation, the feeling returned to her fingers and toes. She was almost warm even.
Caspian noticed the change as well, at least subconsciously.
His arms held her tighter, pressing her into his chest. Soon his shivering stopped.
His breathing became deep and slow. At last, she could relax fully into him.
Time passed strangely as the storm continued to rage, but it wasn’t too long before she was sure that Caspian had fallen asleep.
Keira relished his scent, the rise and fall of his chest, the steady beat of his heart, all the things she had thought were lost to her forever.
She wanted to find nothing but comfort here, joy even.
But any solace she might have found was layered in pain.
Knowing that this moment would end, and when it did, she had a choice to make.
If she continued on this path, if she kept the truth from him, she’d either fade from his life or he’d discover her, her lies, and she’d have even more to answer for.
She curled closer into him, eliciting an unconscious sigh from deep in his chest. There could be no more hiding. If she let her fears of the past overtake her, she might lose him all over again. She didn’t know if she could survive it a second time.
Keira opened her eyes blearily to bright sunlight filtering through the pine branches. The wind had died, and the clouds cleared. The bedroll was still draped over her shoulders and now half buried in snow. Beneath her, Caspian’s chest was rising rhythmically in sleep.
She moved slowly, shifting the bedroll aside.
He stirred as she crawled carefully from their hiding place.
Keira watched him, breath caught in her chest. Instinct called for her to summon the Occulos charm again, but he did not open his eyes.
No more hiding, she told herself again, resolve hardening. No more.
Keira stood, knee deep in the snow. Now that the weather had cleared, she could gather her bearings.
It seemed they had wandered a fair distance in the blizzard, their surroundings no longer familiar from her vision.
They had reached the base of the mountains.
Their peaks blocked the horizon to the west, stretching north as far she could see.
Back east from where they’d come was the forest, now covered in a dense layer of powder.
Even as she watched, thick sheets of snow were sliding from the pine branches, cascading to the ground.
Her brow pinched. She might need to perform another scrying to find the way again, though if she had to guess, they had strayed a bit far north of their target-
The crunch of a heavy footfall in the snow sounded behind her. From the opposite direction from where Caspian now lay asleep under the trees. Keira whirled on the spot and nearly fell back into the snow.
The beast was prowling low on its haunches, its shaggy white mane blending almost perfectly into the rocky hillside.
Throughout its pelt were stripes of thick black quills.
Its massive jaws parted into a predatory hiss as their eyes met.
She saw the hint of a powerful, barbed tail swish behind its feline shape.
Manticore, her memory supplied. Ferocious carnivorous appetite.
Lethally venomous sting. Native typically to hot desert habitats, or so her studies had led her to believe.
Yet, the fact of it stared her down from only yards away.
Keira’s heart hammered, sending a pulse of energy through her whole body.
“Caspian!” Keira shouted, her voice shrill with fear.
Prompted by her call, the manticore abandoned all attempts of stealth, bounding down the slope toward her. It was as tall as herself on its four legs, twice the size of an ordinary lion.
Her hand rose instinctively before her. A cloud of noxious vapor expelled from her palm right into the manticore’s face. It recoiled. Hissing and clenching its eyes shut.
Keira bounded away, slipping and scrambling and falling down the slope.
“Caspian!” she screamed, hands and knees buried in the deep snow.
He was already free from their hiding place, plowing through the drifts, eyes locked on the furious beast.
“Stay back,” he said, drawing his sword.
Hardly a chance of that, Keira thought, following him. She wasn’t some hapless forester, and she was not going to leave him to face that beast alone.
Trudging her way back up the hill was not nearly as effortless as Caspian had made it appear.
His legs were a good deal longer, stronger, and altogether better suited to such things.
She looked up, still several yards away, just in time to see Caspian swipe at the manticore with his massive blade.
The greatsword found its target with the second swing, cutting a deep gash into the beast’s shoulder.
The manticore hissed and faltered, swiping out with its claws. Quicker than she would have thought possible, its barbed tail flicked to arch over its body.
“Above you!” Keira shouted.
He looked, just as the venomous stinger surged forward.
It struck the exact spot he had been only a second before. But Caspian had already pivoted, slicing the tail with another slash of his steel as it embedded into nothing but snow.
Keira found herself momentarily awestruck. She had never seen this side of him, the warrior. Caspian’s brow was set with singular focus, his black eyes sharp and dangerous as flint. His movements were purposeful, powerful, and wickedly fast.
In her hand, she gathered the chill, the frigid sting in the air, until she had a shard of ice lethal as any dagger. Keira shot it toward the creature, finding its mark deep in the beast’s flank.
The manticore howled at the unexpected pain, failing again to swipe at Caspian who sliced into its hide once more. Its white pelt was running with blood now from its wounds. A snarl rumbled in its chest.
Keira gasped as it pounced. She lost sight of Caspian as the savage cat landed. A heartbeat later, he rose a few feet away, having rolled to safety. The manticore was flanked between them.
Without another moment wasted, Keira grabbed the knife from her belt. She hissed the incantation, from my blade to your flesh. She lashed out with the dagger, slicing through nothing but air, but even at a distance, she could see the trails of red opening on the manticore’s flank.
It turned to her, knowing she was to blame. Its lips drew back in a feral snarl, eyes alight with rage as it began to charge.
Keira slashed again, releasing a furious cry as a deep cut appeared on its snout.
A moment before the beast was upon her, a mass of teeth and claws and quills, Caspian planted himself between them. He swung his massive sword, finding his mark again. The manticore recoiled, weakened and limping, bleeding into the snow.
“Run!” Caspian said, turning to wave her back.
The word died on his tongue as he saw her, her true face. His black eyes went wide and unmoving in disbelief. Confusion flashed across his features.
Behind him, she saw the manticore’s tail angling to strike. Dread twisted in her stomach as she realized what was about to happen. It urged her forward as she charged toward him. Her magic sent him sprawling with a wave of her hand. She watched as he fell a few feet away. Safe.
The impact pierced her chest so quickly at first she didn’t understand. Then the stinger withdrew, and the world bent as Keira crumpled to the snowy ground.