Page 171 of Frost and Death
Yet something strong and abrasive weighs down on my entire body, as if it is trying to steal the light from me. It coaxes my grip off Runa, yanking me away and toward my family. I weep with relief knowing I am reuniting with them and will not be alone in this world.
I welcome the deep voice into my mind, even as the unrecognizable pleading turns my vision black.
“Come back to me.”
36
The Ledge
Ablast of wind hits me, forcing my eyes open. Scanning my surroundings, I hover on the ledge of my balcony. Warm hands are wrapped around my torso, pulling me in the opposite direction. My movements are sluggish, my nightmare still hitting me through the repeated whispers against my hair.
“Please, please come back to me, Frostbite.Pleasewake up,” the deep voice pleads once more.
I am dragged backward and swept away from my balcony, my backside making contact with a hard chest. That voice, the heat—
“Jer?”
Jerrick’s breath hitches, and he stops and rotates me. The heat running through my body is swiftly removed, replaced with his cold hands on my shoulder and my cheek.
“Frostbite?” Jerrick asks, scanning me from head to toe.
His eyes are red, his hair messy, his clothing disheveled. By the time his blue gaze meets mine again, the shock of whatalmosthappened sinks in.
My own breath catches at the temperature shift along with the terror in his eyes. And I can’t believe he is here, in my chambers, right now.
Tears well in my eyes as I reach for him, my arms snaking around his waist and gripping his tunic. The side of my face meets his chest as I burrow into the rich cologne and leather, honing in on the scent as I struggle to ground myself after my nightmare.
A shuddering cry leaves me as Jerrick embraces me.
He laces his fingers through my hair and squeezes me. But the tighter he holds me, the harder it is to stop the choked sobs from escaping at the relief of being awake and in his presence.
“I’ve got you. I’m here.” He rubs soft circles along my back as my tears soak through his tunic.
“Wh-What happened?”
He hesitates. “I-I came to check on you. Dorit told Jonas and me you had a nightmare earlier, and when we finished our meeting, I had to make sure you were alright.” He breaks our embrace to hold my cheeks, wiping away my tears. “When I came up here, you were shouting, and the next thing I know, I was knocking down the door and seeing you standing outside on… on the ledge.”
I try to look to where I could have met my death, but he tugs my attention back. “I tried to wake you, but you kept fighting me. And—I used my magic to try to wake you, to get you to stop what I thought you were going to do.”
A lump forms in my throat, still unable to process how close I truly was, remembering in my dream the heat and the voice.
Jerrick’svoice.
His features are distraught and pained.
It scratches underneath my skin, my chest aching and hating I am the cause.
“I know I used my magic on you, and for that, I apologize, but Ineededyou off that ledge.” Jerrick takes a long sigh, lowering his head and avoiding my gaze as if he is in the wrong here.
But I am. I am the one hurting him every day.
My soul tears, a festering mournful song plaguing me from the pain I am inflicting on Jerrick. My efforts to help him and ensure the fighting does not happen need to be more earnest and intentional. I will never be able to live with myself if anyone in Palaena were to get hurt.
I feel that even more with Jerrick here.
The complexity of our meeting was jagged and splintered, but the time we’ve spent together has sealed those cracks, smoothing them over with a deeper, more meaningful understanding of one another.
I blink away my tears, taking a deep breath before reaching for his cheek and guiding him to me.
