Page 17 of Winter's Dragons. Frozen Flames
It was a bit of a low blow to use the sexual attraction between us against Cassia, but any method was valid as long as it kept our female safe. Alas, Cassia was not so easily swayed. She only allowed herself to linger a few moments in our shared embrace, and then escaped our trap, gliding away from our hold like an incorporeal spirit.
"You can't protect me from this. It's something that's my responsibility, and I alone can handle it."
Maybe she was right. There were certainly plenty of perils here that I had no knowledge of and was in no way equipped to handle. Even so, leaving my soulmate behind while I cowered and hid was fundamentally repellent to me. My female might have been perfectly capable of protecting herself, but that didn't mean she didn't need us.
"We're stronger together than apart, treasure," I insisted. "Granted, your magic might be more powerful, but we're not exactly harmless either. If the source of this attack is as dangerous as you say, wouldn't it be better for us to deal with it together?"
Cassia threw her hands up in exasperation. "Ugh! Why are you so stubborn? How do you expect me to keep you safe if you refuse to listen?"
"Well, now you know how we feel," Emmerich muttered under his breath. "Also, of course we're stubborn. We're your soulmates. It kind of comes with the territory."
I couldn't have agreed more. The gods only knew that Cassia was just as stubborn as all of us put together. Usually, we tended to acquiesce to her demands since we had horrible trouble denying her anything, but this would just have to be one of the exceptions. I had no idea why she suddenly felt she had to keep us safe, but it was something we couldn't accept, not at the expense of our separation.
Our refusal did not please Cassia in the least bit. "Don't give me that. That's not an answer, an explanation, or a solution. What about your families? You can't just leave them here where they're vulnerable!"
"Our parents can do whatever they wish, treasure," Raijin answered. "We can send them on their way to Tis Ánoixis if you think that's best. But we are not them, and our hearts and duty are with you. We can't leave. We won't."
The simple certainty in those latter two words said everything we'd been struggling to explain through our more elaborate responses. We wouldn't leave. It really was just as easy as that. Maybe our female would get angry with us for disrespecting her decision and distrusting her judgment, but we would just have to earn her forgiveness later, once we removed the threat that was making her act this way.
I'd have been more satisfied with our choice had a shadow of wretchedness not settled on Cassia's beautiful face. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes glittered with unshed tears.
I froze, the realization that our actions had upset our soulmate making my insides twist and my dragon cry out in dismay. "Cassia, we—"
I never got the chance to finish the phrase. The door to the healing quarters opened, revealing the female nisse healer we'd already seen a few times before in the palace. "Your Majesty, you can come in to see the patient now."
"Thank you, Alva."
Wait, Cassia hadn't seen Karasu? Then why the panic? What had caused her sudden desire to send us away? And why would the healers make their own queen wait, especially when December had pointed out that this was an emergency?
It was so confusing, but the only one who could answer those questions was Cassia herself, and she had already disappeared inside the healing room, following the nisse. We scuttled after her, knowing that there was probably not much we could do, but needing to be with Cassia more than ever.
Karasu was lying on a bed, with his black wings strapped down and his limbs immobilized. Most of his usually reddish face had taken a purplish tinge, and a glow of malevolent magic still lingered around him.
Several other nisse had taken up position by his side but seemed uncertain how to deal with the matter further. They bowed at Cassia when she entered the room. "Your Majesty, the patient's condition is very serious," another healer reported. "We've done what we can, but our attempts have failed to assist him."
"Yes, I imagine that they would have," Cassia answered as she glided toward the bed. "It is all right, Viveka. This failure is not your fault."
The closer Cassia got to the tengu, the more convinced I became we shouldn't be allowing this. Something about that magic really unsettled me. December had already mentioned that it was murky and odd, but I didn't find his description appropriate. It was dark and corrupted, and a shiver coursed down my spine when I remembered the last time I'd seen such vicious, sick powers.
As expected, Raijin noticed the phenomenon as well. "Treasure, don't touch him," he hissed. "That's Ton Daímon magic. It's much too dangerous."
"It's more dangerous for everyone else than it is for me," she answered.
I didn't believe her, and my guess was confirmed seconds later when Cassia pressed her hand to Karasu's exposed chest. Karasu's eyes shot open, completely consumed by a bright, white light.
Ice flared around the two figures, sweeping through the room in a spiral of frost that sent the nisse healers cowering away from the bed. They needn't have worried since Cassia had the situation under control. She flicked her fingers, and a shield of ice manifested between Karasu and the rest of the people present, containing the alien, malevolent magic.
This was getting stranger and stranger. Like Raijin, I could've sworn that Karasu was branded by demonic powers, but the inhabitants of Ton Daímon very rarely made use of ice magic. There were plenty of ice demons, but most of them did not have the kind of abilities Cassia wielded. They were more akin to her yetis, dangerous beasts with a great deal of physical strength and a tendency to devour every living creature that crossed their paths, but no real esoteric skills.
As the bright light faded into a dimmer glow, Karasu clenched his fists, straining against the bindings keeping him tied down. When he found himself unable to escape, he looked up at Cassia and smirked. "Ah, yes. The little nymph usurper. It's been a while since you and I have spoken properly. My, you've grown."
"The years fly by when you're busy rebuilding a realm. Get out of him, Snegurka. Don't make me force you. You know that I can."
The person—creature?—who had apparently possessed Karasu let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Do I? You're soft, little nymph. You don't deserve to be the avatar of winter. You've abandoned your realm and the truth of your abilities. And for what? Three men who weren't even born here? Three intruders who claim to love you? Ridiculous."
I clenched my fists in anger, wanting nothing more than to rip apart the being who dared to question our bond to Cassia. Unfortunately, this was not a problem I could handle through any of my skills, not unless I wanted to kill the possessed tengu.
Despite her earlier panic, Cassia showed no sign of being taken aback or upset by the same words that had angered me so much. Instead, she smirked. "I find that highly ironic, coming from the woman who was driven mad by her own quest to find a soulmate."
