Page 70 of Ties of Frost

At last, Rouven turned his back to the blue door of his cabin, his countenance thoughtful. “When did this happen?”

“Er…” I thought for a moment. “Nine days ago.”

Rouven pursed his lips and stared out across the inlet toward the sea. I hoped the ship hadn’t traveled too far in the time since we’d left. The captain had ordered the crew to shorten sail until we returned, but this was taking longer than I’d anticipated.

“Please,” I begged. “If there’s any way I can repay you, I swear I’ll do it or return with whatever price you demand. Her dragon fire is constantly at risk of burning away my barrier, and it’s beginning to affect her arm—”

“Fine,” Rouven sighed. “Bring her. Even retirement doesn’t annul the oaths I took to use my knowledge and skills for life and healing, and as refusing might doom the girl, fine. Bring her, but I make no guarantee that I can save her. Besides, I admit I am curious to see this barrier you have placed. Never have I heard of such a thing being done.”

If I’d had the time, I might have fallen to my knees in gratitude. Instead, I shouted my thanks over my shoulder and ran back to Sajen, who was already shifting.

We quickly found the ship, and this time, Zidra rode on Sajen’s back while I struggled to keep up with the gryphon’s speed on my ice disk. Show-off flying-type shifters.

When we landed, Rouven was nowhere to be seen, but within moments, he poked his head out of his cabin and impatiently waved us inside.

“I’ll keep watch out here,” Sajen said as he took up position next to the blue-painted door.

Zidra looked at me. “Are we sure this is really Rouven?”

“As sure as we can be.” When she hesitated on the threshold, I grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be with you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She looked like she might argue, but then she nodded and took a deep breath. Her hand slipped out of mine, and I followed her into the house.

Twenty-Five

Zidra

The back of my neck itched as I crossed the threshold into the cottage. Inside, a sizable four-poster bed with its curtains tied back took up nearly a third of the space. A washbasin large enough to stretch out one’s legs occupied most of one wall, while a tidy desk and stuffed bookshelf occupied all the space under the large window that faced the water. Random household implements filled shelves built into the walls on either side of the spacious fireplace, and a small armchair sat in the center of the room. Combined with the fact that this one-room house was tucked into the concave space at the bottom of the cliff, situated right beneath all that rock, the cramped space made me want to take flight.

“Cozy,” I said, half trying to convince myself that that word could describe the room. “But it seems lonely.”

“It seems crowded,” Rouven groused. “It’s supposed to have only me in it!”

“Why would you choose this?” Even though I liked my time alone, I’d lose my mind without contact with another person for days or even months on end.

The elderly ice elf scowled at me, drawing the lines of his face deeper. “I wanted some peace and quiet away from people who always want something from me.”

I watched him closely. “Not because you’re running from anything?”

His posture stiffened. “You’re here for medical attention, not to ask personal questions.”

Not a no. “Maybe I’d like to know who is treating me before I trust you.”

“And why should I trust you, hm?” He pointed at my insignia. “Maybe you all murdered some rengiri and stole those. Maybe you made counterfeits.”

I raised my eyebrows. “To…what? Trick you into helping me?”

“Or into letting you in.” His mouth twisted to the side. “Although I suppose if you wanted to kill me, you would have attempted it now that there’s three of you inside my defenses and I’m not actively wielding any magic.”

“Does someone want you dead?” I asked, trying to keep my tone casual.

But Rouven’s eyes narrowed. “For someone with a life-threatening condition, you seem more concerned with prying into my affairs than securing my medical expertise.”

Kyrundar stepped up next to me. “Pardon her. She’sjust nervous, and wyveri don’t like tight spaces.”

Rouven considered this, then nodded slowly. “I suppose that makes sense, given your size when shifted. Well then, come sit on the bed then, girl, and let me take a look.”

“There’s a perfectly good chair—”

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