Ez grabs Dayton and Kel by their tunics. “Get down!”
The ice monster erupts, shooting daggers of frost. The princes barely leap out of the way before the creature is on them again.
Oh no, oh no, oh no. I grip my hair. I have to do something. But if Kel can’t even stop this thing, what good am I?
Rosalina gives a frantic look at the fight, then jams her dagger harder against the ice crawling up Flicker’s chest. “Koop!” he cries, fingers straining for his dog.
Koop’s big, sad eyes stare up at his owner before the ice covers him completely. He’s frozen, mouth trapped in a sorrowful howl.
Now, Flicker’s crying in earnest, the ice nearly overtaking his arms. Rosalina swears and tries to pry her dagger into the growing frost. Her dagger snaps, the tip shattering. “No.” She stumbles back. “No, no, no.” She’s using her fingernails now, scraping at Flicker’s frozen body.
I can barely breathe, my heart is racing so fast. The abomination has Ezryn in his hands. Frost crawls over his armor. Kel roars, ramming his sword into the creature’s colossal ice leg, but it gets stuck and is yanked from his grip. It throws Ez straight into Dayton and Kel, and they roll one over another before landing in a pile.
This is what’s killing my home. It’s going to freeze my friends first, then take Coppershire. My family…. And Rosie. Rosie’s here.
The abomination stretches a frozen claw over the princes, who stare up in horror.
But I can’t let them do this alone.
There’s a well within me, a reserve of power in the deep darkness of my spirit. A well that needs only a spark to ignite.
My friends, my family, Rosalina… They are that spark.
I focus all my energy on the abomination. Heat spreads through my chest, growing outward, lacing through my veins and swelling at the tips of my fingers. Flames erupt from my hands.
A torrent of fire hits the creature, each burst striking like an explosion. The wraith staggers, struggling to maintain its footing on the slick ice beneath it. But I don’t give it a chance, pouring every reserve I have into the attack.
Its frozen flesh begins to melt and crack. A roar explodes out of me, and flames engulf the corpse. The ice dissipates, and all that is left is charred bone.
I slump to my knees, breathless. Kel, Ez, and Dayton rush over. They pat my shoulders, touch my face.
“Good work, kid,” Keldarion murmurs. “We were in a tight spot.”
“You been holding back on me, Fare?” Dayton smirks.
I try to smile at him, but I feel like I’ve just walked through an inferno.
Our moment is broken by Rosalina’s scream: “Help! Quickly!”
We all rush to her. She clutches Flicker’s face; his body is like an ice sculpture, hands frozen as they reach for Koop. Only his face is untouched, but the frost is moving quickly, crawling over his skin.
“I want to go home,” he whimpers. “I want Koop.”
Rosalina laces her fingers through the little boy’s hair and turns to us. “Help him.”
I feel it: everyone’s eyes on me.
“High Prince of Autumn,” Ezryn says lowly, “your people need you.”
I sink to my knees beside Rosalina and place my hands on Flicker’s face. His eyes are desperate, pleading.
That well within me is still there, burning brighter than I’ve ever felt it before. But I can’t very well firebolt this child like I did the ice abomination.
I close my eyes, seeking within myself. I think of my mother, who she was as High Princess. Everything you need is inside of you already, Farron, she’d told me when she passed the title down to me. But you must be brave enough to claim it.
Warmth drifts through my body, but this time it’s not an inferno. It’s the glow of the bonfires we hold at night, the steaming mugs of mulled cider shared with friends, the coals of a bushfire that has cleared the forest of debris and made way for regeneration.
My hands dance with orange light, and I trail it over Flicker, chasing away the frost. The ice retreats and melts down his body. With a crack, his arms are free, and he gives them a big shake before hugging himself.
“Keep doing whatever you’re doing,” Dayton says. “It’s working.”
Sweat drips down my forehead, but I hold that reserve in my chest, keeping the warmth of Autumn close to me. The Fool’s Summer we sometimes get where the sun’s rays burn too hot; the crackling hearths in the great halls where we hold festivals; the looks of love shared over a bountiful harvest. I hold it close to me, then it flows to him.
Flicker falls forward, feet finally free of the frost. I catch him in my arms, and he holds me tight around the neck. “You saved me, High Prince.”
“I… I suppose I did.”
Still, he sniffles. “Koop?”
I shuffle over to the dog trapped in this frozen tomb. Is the Blessing of Autumn enough to save those we thought lost?
Orange light glitters off the ice as I summon the magic once more. My friends don’t make a sound, all of them holding their breath.
A howl fills the valley as Koop shakes melted ice from his coat and runs to Flicker. The boy grabs his dog, and they collapse to the ground, laughing.
I fall.
“You did it!” Rosalina wraps me in her arms until she falls to the ground, too. “Oh, Farron, I knew you could.”
Kel raises a brow. “We might have a fighting chance yet.”
“I don’t know.” I touch my chest. “My own well of magic feels so small. I don’t think I could do much more than that.”
“If only Caspian wasn’t sucking all the magic from Castletree,” Ezryn growls.
“At least we know how to kill them,” Rosalina says perkily. She still has her arms all over me and I pull her close, breathing her in. “I bet we could figure something out. Maybe there’s a way to channel your magic.”
“That’s a good idea,” I say. “Autumn has many old spellbooks. I wonder if one of them contains—”
“Hey, I hate to break up the party,” Dayton calls. He’s standing up at the top of the hill away from the wood. “But you should get up here.”
We all exchange a look, then run up the hill, joining Dayton at the very peak.
“Oh my god,” Rosalina breathes.
“Yeah,” Dayton says. “I think we’re going to need some more fire power. And fast.”
At the very edge of the horizon, a shambling line of glinting white hobbles over the rolling hills.
An entire herd of frozen corpses, bringing the deathfrost with them.
38
Ezryn
I inhale deeply and swing my arms, taking in the comforting sounds of metal against metal, grunting soldiers, and the smell of sweat and steel. I haven’t trained with other warriors in years, and I’ve forgotten how good it feels.
As High Prince of Spring, I’ve practiced with some of the greatest warriors in the Vale, but the fae men and women in the Autumn troops are a force to be reckoned with. A crisp wind wisps past the slight bit of bare skin between my helm and the loose black tunic I’m wearing. The open-air training grounds in Keep Oakheart are well-kept but harsh. The ground is hard, reddish-brown rock, and a wrong fall could crack a fae’s skull.
Dayton and Kel are at my side, along with Farron’s little brothers, Dominic and Billagin, and a handful of specialized magefighters selected from the army. There’s an excited buzz in the air, and even I find myself unable to stand still.
It’s been two weeks since our discovery of the winter wraiths. After our report, Princess Niamh sent out scouting parties to patrol the villages and dispatch the wandering wraiths. But no matter how many we kill, more keep coming. Though we now have a source of the frost, we still can’t figure out where these wraiths are coming from: they’re all over the Autumn realmlands. And Niamh still isn’t convinced Keldarion doesn’t have something to do with it.
Tomorrow, Farron begins daily expeditions to visit the villages destroyed by frost. The hope is he can unfreeze the villagers the same way he did the boy and dog two weeks ago. And in his absence, we must be prepared to protect Coppershire with our greatest weapon.