Page 250 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
Ididn’t have time to turn as a dagger slashed through the air.
“No!” I roared just as loud as the troll.
My tendrils burst out of my hands, hitting the dagger and sending it careening into a tree.
The troll shook, but then roared louder. It shook its mace in the air, aiming it straight at my head.
Not today,
My blue tendrils swirled once more, coiling around its arm.
“Draw it to the ground, keep it still,” I enchanted. “Steal its roar until release.”
More blue tendrils shot out, catching his other hand and feet. As gently as possible, they drew the troll onto the snow so that it was splayed down.
It opened its mouth wider, fangs glistening in the sun, but no sound came. That seemed to scare him even more.
The silence was worse than the bellow. I knew what it was like to lose your voice when you needed it most.
The panic in its eyes twisted in my chest.
But the troll wasn’t going anywhere until I was finished with it.
Before I did, I turned. I fought against the hope flowing through my veins, almost convinced I’d been imagining the voice.
I hadn’t.
Dax stood right at the edge of the forest, giving me the weirdest look as he approached at that maddening leisurely pace of his. The snow didn’t agree with him, making him a bit unbalanced, which Iknewannoyed him.
“You’re alive!” I called out.
“Of course I am.” He scoffed. “But you look like you’re trying very hard not to be. I had a clean shot.”
“The troll is hurt!”
“So, what, you want it to hurt you too so it doesn’t feel left out?”
A bubble of laughter burst from me. Out of relief, annoyance or sheer shock, I didn’t know.
But Dax was here–and it truly was Dax, because he hadn’t been here a full minute and he was already irritating me.
Gods, I’d missed him.
The troll writhed on the ground, sending snow flying into the air, drawing my attention back.
With slow, careful movements, I placed my bow and arrows on the ground, making sure he tracked my movements with its eyes.
“I have some medicine,” I said, keeping my palms raised. “I can treat your wound.”
I didn’t know if it could understand me, but at least I could try.
“Allie, you really need to stop trying to reason with beings that want to kill you,” Dax called out. “And you really need to stop stealing my weapons, that was my only dagger!”
“I can find you another dagger, we have an entire armory for you to choose from. And stop yelling, you're scaring it,” I hissed.
“Yes, how uncouth of me to scare the hulking, enormous, fanged beast that wanted to rip you to shreds. Shame on me.”
“I’ll deal with you later. Just shut up for now.”
