“And after this,” he continued, his voice low but eerily carrying, “you have the audacity to survive long enough to find yourself in my presence again.”
Though Mara’s mouth was set in a hard line, I saw it tremble slightly before he mastered himself.
He’s afraid. And with good reason. I recalled the stories of what River did to those who betrayed him. And I didn’t doubt that Mara had seen demonstrations of River’s power.
“You talk of betrayal?” Mara said. “Of loyalty? How am I to remain loyal to someone who has deceived me for so long?”
I stared at him, baffled. River took a step forward, his expression stormy. “How have I deceived you?”
Mara didn’t reply. He watched River as one might watch a dangerous animal. I looked from one to the other. This was ridiculous. They were going to come to blows, here, after all that had happened. After I had just learned that Lusha was safe.
“River,” I said, touching his arm. “I want to see my sister.”
He blinked, and something within him seemed to recede. “Yes. Of course you do. Lead the way, Mara.”
The chronicler gave him a long look. He walked past us, giving River a wide berth. I could have run after him, but River grabbed my arm.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes,” I said. I felt perfectly warm, and though his magic still hummed distractingly against my skin, the sensation was fading. “Your spell—”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Something in his tone made me think again of the ghosts, and the chill water wrapping me in its deathly embrace. Somehow that chill still burrowed inside me, though I felt warm enough on the surface. I looked away.
“I think so.”
River shook his head, dismissing my words. He took my chin gently in his hand, sending a shiver down my spine. Then, just as gently, he brushed my lips with his.
Some of the ice melted.
River turned. “Come, Azar-at.”
I started. I had almost forgotten the fire demon was there, perched by the mouth of the cave, gazing at us. It had surely been watching as River and I kissed, as we almost—what? I shivered, despite River’s spell. Azar-at’s fiery gaze was calm, patient. So like a wolf, and yet so unlike. Even when I turned away, I knew that its eyes were still on me.
“What?” River’s pack was moving. He wrenched it from his back and dropped it in the snow. A horrible growling emanated from somewhere within its depths.
I laughed with surprise. I knew that growl. “Ragtooth! We forgot all about you.”
The pack continued to emit menacing sounds. The fox had woken up in an unfamiliar place, and he was not happy about it. The pack began to roll down the slope, writhing, until I caught it and yanked the creature out. Ragtooth leaped up my back and wound himself around my shoulders, nipping my ear.
River looked into his pack, letting out a cry of dismay. He lifted what looked like a handful of ribbons. “That rabid beast shredded my spare shirt.”
“Sorry,” I said. Ragtooth made a sound that was almost a snort.
By the time we arrived back at the cave, it was full morning. In front of it, someone had built a fire, which silhouetted a hunched figure. The sound of our boots made him turn.
He was pale, with a faint sheen of sweat upon his brow. When our eyes met, his face lit up with such unbridled relief and joy that I let out a cry.
“Tem!” I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck. “What are you doing here?” The dragons fluttered out of the cave, wheeling in a circle around us as if they too were delighted by our reunion.
Tem hugged me back, so tightly I could barely breathe. “Kamzin. You’re all right.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I drew back, half laughing, wiping the tears from my eyes.
He touched my face, then drew back, frowning. “Your hair is wet.”
“It’s a long story. Tem, how did you—”
“Lusha and Mara found us,” Tem said. “They were camped on the far side of the glacier. They saw our fire and hiked over. Showed up only a few hours after you left. Dargye just about fell over, he was so startled.”
“Where is Dargye?”
“Back at camp with the yak.” Tem shook his head. “He was in no shape to go any farther, with his injured arm. Lusha, Mara, and I followed your tracks in the snow to the Ngadi face, and I used my magic to help us up.”
“You used your magic.” I gazed at him, amazed yet again by the evidence of my unassuming best friend’s power. “Tem—”
“I know, I know,” he said. “You wanted me to stay behind. But I couldn’t, no matter what it cost me. Not after what Lusha told me.”
“What?” I said. Something flitted by overhead, momentarily blotting out the sun. “What did she say? Where is she?”
Tem’s gaze drifted. The shadow flitted by again, and then a sharp cry shattered the air—
A raven’s call.
“What—” I began, before something black and flapping descended on my head. I waved my arm, stumbling away from Tem, as the raven skimmed my hair with its talons.
“Biter!”
I recognized the raven instantly. The creature darted away from me as a second dark shape floated into view—Lurker, her wings tucked against her body as she dove toward the snow. Toward River.
He was crouched at Azar-at’s side, murmuring something to the fire demon. Lurker let out a sharp call a second before she struck, and when she did, it was no ordinary feint. Her talons raked the side of River’s face, speckling the snow with small drops of blood.
River swore, pressing his hand to his head. A second later, Biter joined the attack, coming away with a strand of River’s hair. River raised his arm to protect his face, and in response, Lurker sank her talons into his hand, spilling more blood.
“Stop it!” I started forward. “Biter, stop!”
But the birds paid me no heed. Again they dove, and again, the snow was dotted with blood. The ravens were large birds, but I had never feared them before. They were quick and merciless, with an eerie focus.
“Enough.”
As Lurker circled back for another dive, River made a motion with his hand. The raven abruptly paused in midattack. Her body shuddered, and she dropped to the ground. She lay there in the snow, one wing half-raised, and was still.
“No,” I whispered. River’s gaze turned to Biter, and I grabbed his shoulder. “No! River, don’t.”
“To me,” a voice cried.
Biter wheeled around with another echoing crrrk. He drifted over the snow, wingbeats scattering the loose flakes, and settled on Lusha’s shoulder.
Lusha.
She strode toward us, her head bent against the chill breeze, her eyes full of fury. She walked with a slight limp that did little to lessen the imposing aura that surrounded her. Like Mara’s, her face was pinched with weariness, her chuba torn. Her normally glossy, flowing hair was a tangle. But somehow, with her height, and the darkness in her gaze, her disheveled appearance only made her more intimidating. She could have been an avenging spirit. I had imagined running to her, and hugging her as I had hugged Tem, but I now had to suppress the urge to run away.