12. Thyra
Chapter Twelve
Thyra
I’m shattering. Freezing.
The next relentless thump of power pushes me down onto Stellen’s chest.
My head hits his shoulder, my breath rasping through my frozen lips. My right arm rests opposite me, pressed to his chest, my hand on his heart.
In this position, the blood bind is fully visible to me.
Whatever strength the bind has siphoned to me, it isn’t enough to combat Stellen’s immense power. I thought he was powerful before. I had no idea how much he poured into this blood-soaked band.
“Stellen, please…” A trickle of blood leaves my lips.
The warm liquid freezes instantly, nearly choking me.
Another shudder thrums through me. Another jolt of power crushes my heart.
The thumping power is merciless. The deadly song in the air is relentless.
This rage won’t stop.
Ice hits my back and my silver armor can’t protect me from the onslaught.
Cold, confusing liquid fills my right fist and I try to unfurl my fingers to understand what’s happening, but another thump of power forces my hand to remain clenched.
Spots appear behind my eyes.
As darkness encroaches on my mind, golden light flares across my arm, the sign of a blade vision.
I’m about to lose what little control I still had.
As the blade’s energy triggers, the runes begin rotating, collectively forming shapes.
This is how the blood bind drains the kings’ power. The runes cycle through the image of snowflakes, then flames, then blood, each one corresponding with a king: Frost, Ember, and Iron.
For a few precious heartbeats, I remain conscious, able only to watch as the runes rotate out of the shape of snowflakes, as if the dark magic no longer has any use for Stellen.
A flicker of fury rises within me, quickly fading as the bind follows its sequence, rotating into the shape of flames.
It’s about to siphon the Ember King’s power.
At that moment, another sensation fills my chest.
A fluttering. Like a bird opening its wings.
An Oracle vision!
Colliding with a blade vision.
My eyes fly wide and I gasp for air, dragging frost into my chest, trying to stay conscious, trying to take hold of the new sensation and stay awake for as long as I can because an Oracle vision will help me…
For the briefest moment, I catch a glimpse of fire and then—
A quiet flame embraces me, a warmth that eases the ache in my heart. Through the flames, the Ember King appears, a violence of action as he strikes a path through ripples of icy energy, his powerful form banishing the cold.
He’s in pain, flames bursting across his chest as a scythe of frosty blue cuts across his chest and heat meets ice in an explosion that sends him flying backward, and yet, in that tiny moment, his eyes meet mine. As if he sees me.
As if he would reach for me—
The image stutters and vanishes and I’m lying on Stellen’s frozen chest, the blade’s energy reaching into my mind, and too late, I remember the daggers strapped to my thighs. Wood handles that block my Oracle power.
The blade vision pulls me into its darkness and all I can manage is a garbled whisper. “Maxim…”