Page 72 of Take No Prisoners
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Niall
Niall hoped Jasmine knew enough about harnessing her fire power to teach him a few things. When he'd been working in the training pit the last two mornings, he'd heard Jasmine and Renald laughing from somewhere inside the barracks. When he opened the back door near the water spigot and stepped inside, he was pleasantly surprised to find the room cooler than the outside air. The further inside he went, the colder the air until he could see his breath.
The elder who had given Niall his first taste of ice magic stood beside Jasmine, his hand palm up below hers. A ribbon of ice hovered above her hand, spinning in the air. Her curly white locks blew about her face with an unseen wind as the ice weaver's creation danced on her palm.
"I still can't grab it," she said.
"That's all right," the elder said. "You recognize it now, and that's a start." The ice melted into thin air, and the man turned and held out his hand to Niall. "Nice to see you again. I'm Elder Frost. Not my given name, but the only one I need these days." He was taller than Niall, though reed thin. Everything about him was a warm brown, from his skin tone to the stubble covering his scalp. Even his eyes were amber flecked with gold. It was hard to believe he had ice without a lick of fire, but Niall couldn't sense any fire on him.
He grinned in response to Frost's amiable smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Niall."
"Beatrice's grandson. Jasmine told me about your harrowing rescue. Young Renald was lucky to have you aboard that ship."
Niall withheld the barb against Vadim. Yes, Vadim had kidnapped him, but knowing he'd done so with the intention of delivering him to Aquarion made it easier to bear. Vadim had put them all in danger, but so had Efren when he sankImperial Fool.
Niall didn't have time to dwell on the past, though. He needed to get back to his grandmother as soon as possible. He hoped he could return with the ability to work all eight elements.
"I need a moment of Jasmine's time, if I may."
Frost nodded. "She's due a break, if you'll take her over to Petri's for her afternoon snack."
"Snack?" Niall frowned at Jasmine, who stared up at him with sad eyes and her hands clasped to her chest.
"Please?"
He laughed. "Is it a good snack?"
"Petri makes them special for us! Yesterday, mine was sugar cracker and cinnamon spice in warm heavy cream."
That sounded disgusting to Niall, but he couldn't argue with the way she clapped her hands and then dragged him toward the barracks' back door. They exited the building and made their way across the already shaded yard to the copse of palm trees around Petri's food stand.
Petri ignored him as they handed Jasmine a half-coconut of a frothy cinnamon-scented drink. "Here you go, Princess."
"Thank you, my Sovereign."
"My Sovereign?" Niall laughed and bowed his head toward Petri. "Do I need to address you that way?"
"Only if you want to be called the emperor of this island," Petri quipped. "What can I get you?"
"Oh, I'm escorting the princess to her snack, in the hope she can return the favor and teach me a little fire magic."
Petri nodded. "A lofty goal. If you do manage to light a flame in the palm of your hand, I will call you the Emperor of Aquarion from this day forth."
"Won't that get us both strung up for treason?" Niall couldn't resist a grin as his face burned.
"We'll say you're acting emperor when Emperor Hugo is elsewhere." Petri's ceremonial bow made their word into an official decree. "What can I get for you? I've been too busy to ask about your favorite foods."
"I don't really have favorites." Niall shrugged. "Fruit?"
"Have you ever tried cocoa powder? It's delightful with the heavy cream I've mixed for our princess."
"I don't think so." Niall had heard of cocoa, but it was far too expensive for Niall to try even a tiny piece in the candy store.
"You'd remember this."
Petri shooed him away to the bench where Jasmine was sipping her drink.
