Page 34 of Winter's Dragons. Frozen Flames
In the end, Jarylo's fate mattered very little, and I couldn't have focused on him if I'd wanted to. Snegurka turned away from the body, and since her line of sight was also mine, I could only see what she did. It was just as well that her prospects were about as promising as that of the spring god she'd defeated.
Helios made his way to Snegurka's side, leaving traces of fiery footsteps wherever his golden sandals made contact with the blood-stained grass. "You have abused the privileges you have been granted. You were meant to guard these lands and provide sanctuary and comfort for the creatures that inhabit them, just like every other king and queen of the realms of the seasons. You have failed in your duties, and for that, you will be punished." He knelt next to the fallen snow queen and gripped her hair in a tight hold that started to burn off the silver locks. "Most importantly, you have taken from me, and so I will take from you."
A world of pure flame swallowed Snegurka whole, taking my consciousness with it. I'd never thought I would ever experience the pain of a burn, but for a few seconds, the same chaotic, potent magic that usually answered my call seemed to consume me, because it was consuming the body and mind of my temporary host.
Despite the momentary agony, the sensation ultimately helped, in that it, at last, placed a clearer barrier between my sense of self and hers. My firedrake nature did not fail me, wrapping my mind in a protective cocoon. Snegurka was not so lucky, and through the distant haze of her memories, I could still feel the shadows of the pain and anguish she had experienced. She was trapped, and no matter how much she flailed and tried to escape, she could not break free of whatever prison Helios had built for her.
I didn't know how long she must've suffered in this way, but when her memories became clear once again, the first thing I saw was Cassia's familiar figure, standing in front of me and scanning my—or better said, Snegurka's—form with a grave expression. She was older now, and I remembered that she had mentioned having been fifteen when her father had actually granted her the powers of the avatar of winter.
We were in a ritual room, and Snegurka was upright, tied to some kind of slab. The only other people present were Helios and another woman, a brown-haired nymph who must have been Cassia's mother. Elaborate symbols covered the otherwise smooth floor, creating a circle that practically teemed with magic. I could not have understood them on my own, but Snegurka did, and she grasped the reason why she was here and what Helios was planning. "You'll pay for this, little half-breed," she snarled at Cassia. "No matter how long it takes me, I'll make you pay."
A shadow flickered over Cassia's face, and in her now ice-blue eyes, I saw a sadness that Snegurka could not comprehend. "If that is to be my fate, I will face it, just like you will have to face yours."
Snegurka tried to strain against whatever magical bindings were keeping her captive, but once again, she was powerless. "Foolish girl," she spat. "You have no understanding of what it means to be the avatar of winter. You cannot wield this power. It is not in your nature."
"Then I will change my nature and I will learn. There is no other way."
Cassia's mother interrupted the exchange, calling out to my soulmate in a gentle, but strong voice. "We are ready for you, Cassia. Come here."
Cassia took a deep breath and straightened her back as if bracing herself for something she knew would be painful. "Of course, Mother," she replied. The words held a grim sense of finality that made me hate this whole realm, Snegurka, Cassia's parents and everything else that had led to this moment.
As Cassia disappeared from Snegurka's line of sight, my own vision started to grow dark again. I didn't know if it was because of my anger or for an entirely different reason, but I could do nothing but go along with it. The world began to swirl, and I fell through fire, ice and nothingness, into a shapeless void where I could feel nothing at all. I roared and tried to claw at myself, but I couldn't even hear the sounds I was uttering, and if I managed to shift, I couldn't process it.
When, at last, the darkness faded, I hastily attempted to gather my bearings. I might have encountered more success if not for the fact that, moments after I took in the change in my circumstances, I landed heavily in a snowdrift. Distantly, I was surprised that I didn't break every bone in my body due to the impact. I might've been a dragon, but even I wasn't immune to the damage inherent to such a fall.
Of course, when my head cleared, I realized that my sudden magical immunity to blunt trauma was, much like everything else, caused by the fact that I was still in some kind of astral space. This might have saved me from physical injuries, but it did nothing to reassure me, since I remained very aware that this place was, in all likelihood, controlled by my soulmate's enemy. Whatever phenomenon had made me temporarily see into her mind had also vanished, because she was now standing in front of me, staring down at my prone form with an inscrutable expression.
"Well, that was unexpected," she said. "You have hidden talents, Emmerich von Adalbert."
I struggled to my feet, still woozy from my unpleasant fall and the trip down her memory lane. As I stood, I couldn't help but notice that this version of her looked very different from the dark ghost we'd originally fought in the amarok caverns. Her silver hair and ice blue eyes bore a striking resemblance to Cassia's present coloring, something I didn't feel in the least bit comfortable with. She shot me a bitter smile as if she could guess exactly what I was thinking.
"You see now what they have done, everything they have taken from me?" she asked. "You understand, don't you?"
To a certain extent, I did, as I'd gotten a good enough look at her memories to know how much she had suffered. My abilities might have protected me from the fiery prison where Helios must've kept her trapped, but she was not a firedrake. She was an ice elemental, which meant that her assigned punishment had involved something that had clashed with her magical essence.
But despite the fact that I could somewhat empathize with Snegurka's pain, I could never forgive her for attacking Cassia. I was a firedrake, and it was not in my nature to be kind with the enemies of our mates. If anything, on some level, I actually found the knowledge of Snegurka's sentence satisfying. I didn't think it would be a good idea to point that out, though, so instead, I replied, "I do understand, but you must also see that none of it is Cassia's fault. If anyone is to blame for your pain, it is Cassia's parents." And Snegurka herself, since had she not cast the spell that had driven her insane, everything would've been perfectly fine.
Snegurka's gaze darkened, and for a few seconds, I thought she would lash out at me again, just like she had outside. She didn't. "I don't care about that any longer," she said instead, once again wrapping her arms around me and bringing our bodies close together. "Helios was right about one thing. If you take something from a person, you can expect that person to take something from you. It's only fair, wouldn't you agree?"
Was Snegurka referring to Cassia's life and body, or just to me? Everything inside me protested the idea of being intimate with any woman except Cassia, but I wouldn't have minded sacrificing myself if it meant Cassia would be free. Even so, I had a feeling it would not be so simple.
"You know in your heart that I'm telling the truth, that I'm the one who is your soulmate, not her," she murmured against my lips. "There's no reason to pretend any longer. I will claim you and your companions, and then, we can all be free of their evil."
I tried to come up with a reply, something that would not ruin my chances of helping my female, but my mind was a blank. Snegurka appeared to be completely convinced that I was her soulmate, and if I refused her, she would see it as a reason to hurt Cassia again.
"I've told you a million times before, Emmerich. I'm not so fragile."
Snegurka went rigid and ripped herself away from me. A familiar figure emerged from the mist, and I could've sobbed in relief when I saw her. "Impossible!" Snegurka snarled. "You should not be here. Your soul should be gone."
The landscape around us started to change, the icy plains we were in somehow turning more... alive. "I think I'm the one who is supposed to say that," Cassia said. "But in case your little stint in my body has you confused, you should know by now that very few things in this world are impossible. Souls are stubborn things, and sometimes, they cling to the most unexpected anchors."
Looking away from her nemesis, she shot me a small, sad smile. "I'm here for you. I'm here for all of us. And no matter what happens, I'll end this, once and for all."
